Day 14: No Party for Us in Habana

Today we woke up at 7:30 and went down for breakfast at 8:00. We sat at the table waiting and we kept hearing a knocking at the door, so we called a man and told him. He opened the door, and it was the cook, I think she may have gone to the store. We ate breakfast with a man that is friends with yodelkis and was staying at the house for six weeks. He was from Holland and spoke six different languages. After breakfast we met David and the group in the base house for our city tour. The tour was two hours and we learned about old Havana. When the tour finished, we tipped David and never saw him again.

My mom and I walked to Obisbo street and went to a chocolate store, and then to a cadeca. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant nearby and waited a while to be seated. After being seated, we placed our drink order with our waiter who did not talk. He left us when we asked if we could order food. Eventually he came back to take our order, and this time he said a few words! We waited, and waited... And waited for the food. A lady walked by and we asked how long, and she said the restaurant had no gas and had to use electronics to cook. Perhaps an hour or two later, we got our food. The ropa Vieja was really good and the vegetable risotto was ok. We asked for the check and after twenty minutes, we gave up and my mom went to the counter to pay.

We then got some churros rellenos on the corner, and they were delicious. I got mine with condensed milk and my mom got chocolate condensed milk. After our snack, we walked to market to get more jewelry and soon after walked to the hotel parque central. We have heard that it is five stars and it had internet. We waited in line to use the computers and talked to two really nice people. Eventually I gave up and we left to use the restroom and as we were leaving the guy called us over to let us know there was a computer. We went back and got on the computer. The browser took so long to use, that i sent only one email in the thirty minutes. We took a bici-taxi to cathedral square to meet up with the remains of our group.

We sat at a bar and had dinner and drinks. While sitting there, it started "pissing down" says Jenny. Everyone from the street ran into the bar to protect themselves from the rain. It probably rained for an hour, and throughout the hour, people left on bici-taxis to get home. When it stopped, we all parted and my mom, Abby and I went home. My mom and I took a siesta and ended up not sleeping that much. My mom set an alarm for 9:30 so that we could go to this music place Yodelkis recommended, but I woke up and looked at my phone, and it was 2am.

Day 13: Exploring Habana!

Today we woke up in Cienfuegos and had breakfast con nuestra mama. She said she had a surprise for me and she gave me chocolate powder to make hot chocolate! How exciting. We met the group at the base house, and got on the bus with Ivan. We drove for about 30 minutes when Ivan pulled over. The car stopped and Ivan tried to start the car again. It did not start, and Ivan put his head down. We all felt terrible for Ivan because he could no longer drive us. David called and found another van we drove to Santa Clara. We all tipped Ivan and thanked him for all his driving.

When we arrived to the Che Guevara Memorial in the van, David told us that we could not bring anything in, and that we only had 10 minutes. We walked around outside and by the time we got in line to the enter the actual museum, it was time. We all really wanted to stay, so David convinced the drivers to give us 30 more minutes. We eventually all got into the memorial and museum, and it was quite fascinating; Che seemed like a really charming fellow. We left the museum and changed vans to a smaller van and a vintage car.
We drove for a while and stopped at a gas station for snacks. After more time in the car, we stopped somewhere local so they drivers could have lunch. My mom, Abby, Annie, Lien, Anthony and Bonnie all got ham and cheese pizzas. No one finished them. While the rest of us browsed in the souvenir part of the shop. We finished our drive and arrived at the base house in Habana. We all separated and settled into our houses. My mom and I left the room and walked through town to the Malecon, which is the coastal path of Habana, and we went to watch the sunset.

Afterward, we crossed the street to a restaurant, bar, bakery and we went to the bakery section. We ended up buying a few snacks for ourselves and a cake to eat after dinner for Anthony's birthday last night. we walked home, then we all took taxis to our dinner spot. We entered the restaurant and saw very inappropriately dressed waitresses. White, right outfits and and Santa hats. When we ordered the food we talked and drank. When the food came, we all tried it and my lamb was pretty good. We finished with coffee and the cake, then we all made our way home

. Home sweet home, we are saving the party for tomorrow night. 

Day 12: Tricycles in Cienfuegos

Today I woke up at 9am with no alarm and it was really nice. I went down for breakfast at 9:30 with my mom and eventually only Abby joined us because Lien had already eaten earlier. We all went back upstairs, and my mom and I packed up our room and left the house at 11:00 to walk to the Internet cafe. On the way there, we passed a group of guys yelling at each other.

When we arrived at the Internet cafe, there was a line outside, but thanks to a guy standing by, he told us the line was for the telephone, and if we were there for internet, we could go in.  We went inside and bought the internet cards and went to the internet room. All the computers were taken, so we just had to wait.

My mom went back to the house to use the restroom and I continued to wait. A computer became empty while she was gone and I went on and emailed all my teachers about missing school and emailed a few friends. After finishing, my mom and I went to "San Jose" again because it was delicious. We both ordered cheeseburgers and it was really nice.

Afterward we walked to the market street and bought really pretty bracelets for my closest friends. We headed back to the base house after our shopping trip and loaded onto the van. We drove to Cienfuegos, and it took about an hour and a half. We arrived at the main plaza and walked around with David and ended the tour at the base house.

We moved in and loved our house with a very nice bathroom. We met with everyone at 5:15pm and we took tricycles to an outlook spot except for Annie and Lien who decided to walk. We climbed up the many stairs to the balcony and it was well worth it; the view was stunning. We all enjoyed our drinks, and I got a virgin piña colada.

After our drinks, I asked the musicians for food recommendations and they called over some guy. The man talked to my mom and I for what felt like hours and eventually, he left us alone. We walked to one of the restaurants he recommended and when we walked in we got menus and saw that everything was $15 and nothing looked that amazing, so we left and continued walking for quite a while. Soon we found our old taxi driver and he tried to take us somewhere else too. We found out that at the restaurants, if a certain person brings you to the restaurant, they get an incentive. We ignored his recommendation and found a place called Florida Blanco. The prices were much better and the food was delicious. We finished and all separated to walk home. 

Day 11-Best Day in CUBA

I woke at 8am and joined Lien and Abby as they walked to the base house. At the base house we met up with David, Annie, Marie, and a cowboy. David handed us off, and we walked with the cowboy to the horses. It was interesting to see around 20 horses on someone's front yard and around the street. We all got our horses, took some pictures, and began walking down a hill with the horses until the land was flat. We got on, Abby got her stirrups adjusted and we were off. We walked for most of the trip, but when the cowboy came from the back and whipped Marie's horse, her horse went trotting. When we were trotting, Abby taught me to stand up when the horses shoulders go forward, and sit when the shoulders go backwards. I didn't understand it on the way there, and it immensely hurt my back.

We crossed a river and the horses were splashing around. Occasionally my horse would stop and eat some grass, but for the most part, it was a great horse. The man continued to whip Marie's horse with a tree branch, and all I heard was Marie yelling stop. Later I found out that the tree branch was whipping her leg and the horses bum. I felt terrible for her, but she said she was alright.

We arrived at the park quite a while later and we were all sweating. We went to the bar and I got a bottle of water. I drank it all up before we all began the hike to he waterfall. David said the hike was 45 minutes, but it felt more like 25. The hike was really exhausting because we had just come from the horses. Halfway there, a park ranger began walking with me, and I practiced my Spanish.

Upon our arrival, we went up to the lookout spot above the waterfall. We took pictures and went down to a bench to get changed. We waded in the water on our hands and feet because the rocks were so slippery. Once in, I started doggy paddling like a fool because I was afraid to touch the bottom because of animals. after a bit, I put my feet down, but immediately fell because it was so slippery. I waited for Annie, Marie, and Abby, then we reached the end of the shallow end. Marie and I debated swimming to the waterfall. We decided to swim to the side so we could find hold, but we ended up finding a giant rock underwater, kind of like an island, and we relaxed there and waited for everyone. While we waited Marie started slipping down the backside of the rock and we were laughing so hard. We then swam over to the waterfall to be in a picture taken by Bonnie up at the lookout spot. We swam around taking pictures, mostly selfies, with Anthony's underwater camera. We all went back to the rock and talked and relaxed for a bit more. When we got out, Bonnie and Bill had already walked back. David kept rushing us to get ready, but I just told him he can go and we will meet him there. We made the hike back, got a few drinks at the bar, then made our way back on our horses.

The ride back was much more pleasant, and towards the end, my horse was whipped and began to canter (when all feet are off the ground). My butt hurt terribly when we got off, but it was such a great experience. We walked back to our houses and met back outside at 3pm to go to lunch. We walked to a stand up restaurant, where there are no seats, and it was actually quite good. I ordered a hamburger, which mostly looked like a sandwich with meat and veggies, and my mom got vegetable fried rice.

Afterward, we walked to the travel agency to find out about salsa lessons. They told us to come back at 5, and Marie, Lien, Anthony, Abby, and I agreed. Finally we walked to the bakery Annie was raving about, and tried the cake, peanut brittle, a guava pastry, and orange-pineapple ice cream. My mom and I walked to the artisan market to buy a necklace and blouse that I saw earlier. In addition, we got a shawl for my mom and a necklace and bracelet for me. We walked back to the travel agency and I had the salsa lesson with Abby, Anthony, Lien, and Marie. It was quite fun and Abby's dance partner was Anthony. I felt good about dancing in public afterward... Haha. We went back to our houses and relaxed till dinner at 8.

We went out with the group following a mans instructions to San Jose, but we did not find it. I asked another person, and she asked someone else. We followed their instructions, and we could not find it either. Finally I asked a taxi guy, and he gave the correct directions. We arrived and there were no spaces for 8, but the waiter said we could wait for 30 minutes in the bar. So we agreed and hung out in the bar. When our table was ready, we went out and sat down. While we looked at the menu, we noticed a table next to is with ginormous and delicious looking pizzas. My mom went over and asked what they all had ordered and ended up talking to them. We found out they live in San Francisco. There were three brothers, 19, 20, & 21, and their mom and dad. I talked to the 19 year old, and he was telling me that he has some friends that went to Notre Dame High School, after I told him I go to Marymount. They were all very friendly and I was glad to make new friends.

When the waitress came over,  I ordered the focaccia pizza because it said oregano and olive oil, but I assumed it had cheese. Before the main meal, I got bruschetta and it was incredible. When the pizzas came, I found out that my pizza was a crispy flat bread with no cheese. I was really disappointed that I did not get what I thought I would get and I lost my appetite. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their pizzas, shredded beef, and spaghetti. Anthony, Marie, Lien, and Abby all finished their huge pizzas after Annie challenged that no one would finish their pizzas. After dinner, we stopped by my house to change and use restrooms before walking to the cave, a dance club inside a cave.

Jenny, Marie, Abby, Anthony, and I walked through town at 11pm in the pitch black with glass on the ground. Anthony and my mom got out their flashlights (on the iPhone) to guide our way. It was spitting (sporadic light raining) for a while, which turned into drizzling on our way there. When we arrived, there was no music to be heard. We passed all the taxi drivers and a food stand and waited in the long line to get our entrance ticket. With our ticket, we seceded the stairs into the cave. The ceiling was immensely high and at first glance looked like the sky, but then I realized we were inside. There was a bar nestled into a nook in the cave and we all got drinks. We found a table by the dance floor and sat and had a great time for quite a while. When a salsa song came on, we headed to the dance floor and showed off our salsa moves. Jenny, Marie, and I left around 12:30 and began walking home on that dark path. We got home around 1am and my mom and I went to sleep relatively quickly. 

Day 10: Trip in Trinidd

This morning we woke up in our home in Trinidad and it was lovely. We went downstairs for breakfast around 8pm and prepared for our boat trip. We took a van to the marina and waited for our catamaran. We saw a few people leaving the waiting area to board a boat, so we followed them. Soon everyone was walking to the catamaran. Jenny, Abby, and I struggled to find a nice spot, but after a while, we found a perfect area on the net. Jenny and I laid of our backs and chatted for quite a while. We reapplied sunscreen then turned to our fronts after about an hour and a half.

We shortly arrived at an island and the driver offered people to get off at the island then or to go out snorkeling, then return. We chose to go snorkeling with everyone, but once we got to the snorkel spot, Abby and I did not have an urge to snorkel. We both wanted to swim, so we just got into the water and swam with the snorkelers. We found Anthony and Jenny came out as well. We took Anthony's camera and started taking selfies, continuously while trying to stay above the water. We got back on the boat, salt water in every nook and cranny, and relaxed while we drove back to the island.

When we got off on the island we sat at a table, got drinks, and chatted for a bit. Soon the food came out and Jenny and I were first in line. There was pallella, potatoes, pineapple, beets, and cabbage. We all ate and soon after played a few rounds of chase the ace. In the middle of the game, I walked over to the ramp and there was a huge iguana. People started feeding it, then throwing pallella on the sand, and eventually the crabs created a massive dog pile.

Afterward, we walked over to the water and I saw Jenny and Marie already in. I started walking out over the sharp rocks, but they kept telling me to swim out. I kept thinking to myself, how can I swim out if the water is two feet deep? I kept walking and eventually I gave in and it worked! I got out with them and soon came Abby attempting to do what I had done. We kept telling her to swim and she was probably thinking what I thought. She began crawling and made her way to us. Now Anthony came, wearing water shoes, and he so effortlessly walked through the water, over the rocks, and straight to us. We stood/crouched around for a while laughing tremendously hard as we watched people try to get into the water. We all got out to reapply sunscreen, and we hurried to the boat so we could reserve our spots.

Indeed, we got our spots, and we were soon moving. I laid out on my stomach and actually fell asleep. Jenny woke me up because she thought I was burning, and I turned over. Jenny was reading her magazine and Abby and I talked for a while until we parked at shore. David met the group with a van, and we arrived at home, and walked to the travel agency to pick up reservations for tomorrow, after picking up Lien from the casa.

Afterward, my mom and I walked to the massage shop. We arrived and they sent us to the back room where we found two massage tables with one sheet to lay on top of. They told us to get undressed, but since there was not another sheet to cover our front, we decided to keep our braziers on. My mom asked the lady and she gave us another sheet. Now we were set, until I asked for the female masseuse instead of the man. The lady said he had back problems and could only do massages on the high table, so my mom and I wrapped our sheets around us and switched tables. Finally we were settled and we enjoyed the massages.

The massage was very interesting in that the masseuse made very loud and quick sounds on my back, and every part of my body was sore... But overall it was nice. We were completely covered in oil from the massage on the way home, and I hated walking under street lights because the light reflected off my oil. We got home and my mom got first dibs on the shower, and before she finished, the group started showing up at our house for dinner. Our host opened the minibar, and we enjoyed some drinks.

The food was delicious including side dishes and fish fillet. The dessert was flan and it was quite amazing. After dinner, we all met at the base house and walked to the steps by the main square. As we arrived, we had to pay $1 cuc to get in. We got inside and saw many people dancing to the Cuban music. Quickly I got sick of the atmosphere because there were so many tourists and barely any Cubans other than hustlers trying to get girls drunk and get them to take them to another country! We elect with Annie and got home safely. 

Day 9: Wandering in Trinidad

We woke up at 9 am for breakfast and loaded onto the bus to drive to Trinidad, Cuba. The drive was 4 hours, but halfway through we stopped at a bar for the restroom and snacks. When we arrived at Trinidad, we went to the base house to relax.

We tried a traditional Cuban drink called "Chachara" (rum, honey, and lime) in the lobby and almost everyone took a sip, then put it down. No one was starving, so we just went to a small fast food restaurant with pizzas and sandwiches. The food was pretty gross and I only had one slice of the salchicha y queso pizza. Afterward we went on an orientation walk around town and then dispersed to do what we wanted.

We wandered to an artisan shop and my mom saw a piece she loved which the artist was working on. The artist said it would be ready in 30 minutes, so we went walking through towns to different stores. We walked back in the general direction of the shop, but we could not find it anywhere. We walked street after street, our backs getting tired from the cobble road. We finally found it when we had almost given up, but he was not yet done. We went to the restaurant next door to have some drinks while we watched a man cooking a pig. There was also a band at the restaurant which was also very nice. We walked back over to the shop and the man had finished it. We bought it and walked home.

We relaxed at our casa for a bit before meeting David for dinner at a very expensive place. We went to the restaurant and there was a guitarist in the doorway. They brought us crackers and different sauces, then a very interesting tasting soup, then a plate of vegetables, then our main course. By the time the meat got there, we were full. I strongly disliked my lemon chicken and I tried Annie's fried chicken and it was extremely dry along with David's pork chop. We finished with ice cream. Overall I was dissatisfied and went to bed with a very full and queasy stomach. My mom and I both did not feel well. 

Day 8: New Years Eve in Cuba!

Today I woke up at 8:00am. I quickly got dressed and went down to breakfast with my mom. The food was very interesting and I ended up just eating bread and sausage. We met in the lobby and began our tricycle tour. We picked our driver and took the seats in the back. First we drove to two different plazas, seeing the bank, the church, and others. Then we went to a galleria and my mom bought a painting she loved long with a few others. We drove to a few other plazas and visited different galleries along the tour. We also went to a farmers market and walked through getting an explanation from our your guide. At one point our driver let me try biking and it was a blast! It was difficult with people in the back, but I did it... Until the chain came off and  I was demoted. The tour ended in a plaza near our hotel and a bunch of us went to the cafe ciudad. 

Most people got coffees and five people ordered sandwiches. After our snack/lunch lien, my mom, and I walked around and visited the Coppelia, which is a government run ice cream shop. The restaurant was interesting and incredibly cheap, not even 1 dollar for two ice creams. When finished, Lien returned to Marie and Jenny while my mom and I walked back to the hotel to relax. We got back and did just that, but I wasn't feeling well so I didn't sleep that much.  I felt 100% after 6 o clock and I began getting ready for New Years, including makeup, hair, and a long dress. 

We all met downstairs at 7, and complimented everyone on their outfits and were taken aback by the inappropriate image of a lady's bottom on David's shirt. We took tricycles to the house where we would celebrate New Years. We went up stairs and talked for two hours eating snacks and drinking. We had dinner at 9:30 and afterward we headed downstairs for dancing at 11:00. We danced for quite a while and eventually got tired, so we sat down and talked. At 11:58 we went outside on the street to see a man putting up a type of scarecrow man that would light. He threw gasoline on the dummy and we waited. 2 minutes passed and David popped open the cider and the man lot the dummy on fire. Soon following the fire, down the street, buckets of water were thrown out of doors and another scarecrow was burning a while down the road. We enjoyed our cider and went back to the house for more dancing. At this point, most people in the group were drunk, and they were having a fantastic time. The host offered us cake and we tried it, but it was not very good, it tasted like egg and felt like chalk on the tongue. Then, the cake was followed by nuggets which were almost impossible to bite down on. Lastly, soft nuggets were distributed and it tasted like a type of peanut butter that was too sweet. But I am glad everyone tried the traditional Cuban food. 

When the party was coming to an end, some people left by taxi, then my mom and I, and lastly, Abby, Jenny, Marie, and Anthony. It was a really fun night. When I arrived at the hotel I was absolutely exhausted.