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	January 2012	TRAVEL TIPS & FAQ's Review/Guide	Text by Sofia Beckman
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	December 2011	Happy New Year 2012 Places	Text by Sofia Beckman
	Havana is not unique in the annual agony of indecision about what to do to celebrate the New Year. Many restaurants have special events (and prices) which may be worth checking out on an individual basis. For a complete guide to New Year's Eve check out our regular Havana Listings,http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/whosplaying/whosplaying_artc/whosplay_TuesDec27Mon2Jan2011.php, which has details of who's playing where this week in all the major dance/music venues.
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	October 2011	Cuban seduction Review/Guide	Text by Chen Lizra
	I walked back from my afternoon classes feeling really relaxed, stepped out to the street and walked past the first intersection; some guy passed me really close by, inside my personal space, and whispered softly “linda” [beautiful]. I smiled to myself as I kept going. He pushed a button on purpose by how he said it, and suddenly I was turned on.
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	September 2011	Buena Vista Golf Club Havana Travel Features	Text by Ann Marie Gardner
	Twenty-five miles outside Havana along the coastal highway, the sleepy fishing village of Guanabo sits beside perfect sandy beaches, warm water and ideal bodysurfing waves. Cows graze on the nearby hillside, and anyone foolish enough to be out in the heat sits under the shade of a tree.
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	September 2011	The “REAL” Varadero Places	Text by Rosa Jordan
	It´s something of a cliché to say that Varadero, (Cuba´s top resort area) is not the “real Cuba.”Why is that? Is it because Varadero hosts so many non—Cuban visitors? Or because the Cubans who live there and provide services for those visitors are not considered “real Cubans?”
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	September 2011	Habana 1791 Recovering Fragrances Places	Text by Aimara Fernández
	A city can recover and restore not only its architecture, but also its everyday basic essences. And Habana 1791 did just that. This beautiful perfume shop—cum—laboratory is located in an 18th—century mansion at Mercaderes No. 156 on the corner of Obrapía in the heart of Old Havana. The shop is easily recognizable from afar thanks to the fragrances wafting from within.
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	August 2011	San Cristobal paladar: off the radar with a touch of art nouveau and sprinkling of nostalgia Places	Text by Fiona Dunlop Photos by Piotr Loroch
	It was one of those chance finds: a restaurant with personality, and off the radar. Leaving the main road of Centro clouded with exhaust from rattling Oldsmobiles, Chevvies, Buicks et al, I had dodged a group of kids whacking baseballs to head down a side-street. The smart frontage looked promising in contrast to its surroundings. Then a heavy-looking bouncer swung open the ironwork gate and, this being Cuba, flashed a big smile.
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	August 2011	Libreria Victoria: a treasure trove of second hand books Places	Text and photos Fiona Dunlop
	Forget the shortages (think soap) and think of what Havana has in abundance, hardly surprising for a country that claims 100% literacy: it is in fact a mecca for second-hand books.
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	August 2011	Baracoa, lost in time for 500 years Places	Text by Fiona Dunlop Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	At strategic spots along the near-deserted road, locals dangled bunches of tiny bananas, strings of mandarins, cucuruchos (cones of pineapple and coconut paste), recycled bottles of wild honey, solid lumps of cacao and bags of coffee beans. Pulling in, I ended up having a chat, added a few pesos to their income and learnt how desirable a bar of soap was. This basic yet rare commodity costs a fortune: a whispered “Jabón, jabón” became a leitmotif of the trip.
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	August 2011	Arts and Handicrafts at Havana´s Harbour Places	Text by Aimara Fernández
	In 2009, the famous open—air crafts market near the Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana was relocated to the former Almacenes de San José on the Port of Havana. This harbourside warehouse was built in 1885 and is considered the oldest depository in Old Havana.
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	July 2011	Cienfuegos: Ghosts of sugar barons Places	Text by Jill Worrall
	The ghosts of Cuba's past, when rich sugar barons built elaborate mansions and planted out vast estates, still seem to linger in the sultry Caribbean air, especially around the central Cuban city of Cienfuegos.
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	July 2011	Trinidad: Sultry salsa in a time capsule Places	Text by Jill Worrall
	The musicians in Trinidad's Casa de la Trova (music club) look old enough to have been playing before the 1959 Cuban revolution. Deeply lined faces speak of many a long night in smoke-filled bars and bodies seem to creak a little when they move around the stage. But there's clearly no slowing down in the ability to play or sing.
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	July 2011	Trinidad : Topes de Collantes Places	Text and photos Aimara Fernández
	Just 20 km northwest of the city of Trinidad lies one of the largest natural parks in Cuba: the Topes de Collantes Natural Park. Getting there may not be easy for everyone—or your car—given the steep roads into the park. Nonetheless, the park is visited by many people throughout the entire year.
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	July 2011	The Garden of Polymitas Places	Text by Aimara Fernández
	Considered by many experts as the most beautiful land snail in the planet, its exclusive quality lies in its unique polychrome shells. The very name of these snails describes this special and distinctive feature: the word polymita is formed from two Greek roots—“poly” which means many and “mitos” which means thread or stripes.
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	June 2011	Old Havana: Mojitos and music still the strongest beat Places	Text by Jill Worrall
	The setting, especially if one is unprepared for Cuba's Caribbean-style communism, is slightly discombobulating. There's lobster on the menu, white linen napkins and supercilious waiters equal to any you'll find in the capitalist west. But not even a snooty waiter can detract from the vibrancy and splendour that surrounds our group of diners.
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	June 2011	Hotel Nacional: Encapsulating a nation´s history Places	Text by Jill Worrall
	A sea breeze can rouse the palms that stud the Hotel Nacional gardens in Havana to only a desultory rustle. It's a steamy evening. Even the waiters, with crisp white shirts and bowties are betraying a hint of sweat-beaded foreheads - but then they are constantly on the run, trays laden with drinks and the inevitable cigars.
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	June 2011	New Places to eat in Havana Review/Guide	Text by Charlie Thompson Photos by Piotr Loroch
	Considered by many experts as the most beautiful land snail in the planet, its exclusive quality lies in its unique polychrome shells. The very name of these snails describes this special and distinctive feature: the word polymita is formed from two Greek roots—“poly” which means many and “mitos” which means thread or stripes.
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	May 2011	The bicycle diaries Activities (sports)	Text by Kate Humble
	Juanita was totally unfazed by our unannounced appearance, sweaty and exhausted, at her front door. My husband, Ludo, and I had left Havana that morning, wobbling past crumbling mansions with the unfamiliar weight of the panniers on the back of our bikes. The suburbs petered out, we zipped past flat, scrubby farmland and after a couple of hours turned off the main road and, still heading west, found ourselves on narrower roads that wound through greener, hillier land. After 76km, thighs aching and knees burning, Juanita's “Room to Rent” sign was like sighting land after a rough sea crossing.
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	May 2011	Extreme mountain biking in the Sierra Maestra Activities (sports)	Text by Hans Rey & Tarek Rasouli Photos by Stefan Eisend
	It´s April and we are on a beach somewhere near the Sierra Maestra Mountains in the southern part of Cuba. Along with me on this Hans Rey Adventure Team trip is German Pro/Freerider Tarek Rasouli and Stefan Eisend, our photographer and cameraman in one. We have just returned from a brutal three—day trip across the Sierra Maestra Mountain Range, climbing Cuba´s highest peak, the 2005—meter Pico Turquino.
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	April 2011	Havana to Viñales by bike Activities (sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	Havana. He has an old one—gear beaten up Cuban bike which he cycles to work on each day and the opportunity to impress him with my plan had been too great.
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	April 2011	Day trips (West) from Havana Activities (sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	Day trips on a bike from Havana come in many shapes in sizes from a one hour short cruise to an all day slog. We have detailed here some of our favourite routes doing West from Havana into Pinar del Rio. These can also serve as advice for longer trips heading to Vinales or even further afield.
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	March 2011	Bicycle Cuba: They´ll Love You For It Activities (sports)	Text by Kathy and Craig Copeland
	They cluster within the confines of all—inclusive resorts that prohibit Cuban guests. They spend their time exclusively with other Anglos, particularly Stephen King, Danielle Steele, John Grisham and the like. And they do it sprawling on beaches that Cubanos, unless employed by the resorts, are forbidden to set foot on.
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	March 2011	Cuba Classics - A celebration of vintage american automobiles Classic Cuba	Text by Christopher P. Baker
	Before 1959 Cuba was the hottest spot in the Caribbean, notorious for its glittering casinos, smooth rum, fabulous beaches, beautiful women, and a caliente nightlife compared to which all others seemed fainthearted efforts. Everything that made this marvelous island, 90 miles off the Florida coast, America´s dream playground 40 years ago is still intact, albeit threadbare in places.
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	March 2011	Oraganised cycling trips in Cuba Activities (sports)	Intro by Charlie Thompson
	If the thought of setting of on your own into the Cuban outback fills you with a sense of dread and impending doom then we would recommend that you check out the various options provided by the Cubania Travel company, www.cubaniatravel.com. This is run by Lucy Davies, a good friend of ours who has provided us with invaluable tips and advice in various trips around Cuba. We strongly recommend her company as offering a reliable and fun way to take the stress out of cycling Cuba (although not all of the pain!).
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	March 2011	Varadero to Havana – by bike Activities (sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	Exiting Varadero at 8am, the idea of having drunk and smoked a little less over the weekend is prevalent and there is the temptation to check out the Viazul bus schedule. The golf course is lush and empty; the Southern side of the peninsula catches the sun. On and past the glitteringly bad two—star hotels which deck out Varadero´s entrance. It is going to be a long day—perhaps a little early for the reliable Western blowing wind to push me back to Havana.
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	February 2011	Trip Tips: Havana Independently Travelogues	Text by Conner Gorry Photos by Sam Tyler
	Havana is hot and I´m not talking about mulatas or the weather: from Cayo Hueso to Regla, Cementerio Colón to Ciudad Deportiva, you can´t swing a dead gato around here these days without hitting a tourist. To tell you the truth, I don´t think I´ve seen this many foreigners in Havana since the 2006 Non—Aligned Meeting (see note 1).
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	February 2011	Conner’s Cuba Rules Travel Features	Text by Conner Gorry Photos various authors
	Since I´m from the Estados Unidos (more fittingly known as ‘Estamos Jodidos,’ or the independent republic of ‘We´re Screwed’), very few friends have visited me here on the “wrong side”of the Straits (see note 1). The lengths the US goes to keep Cuba down makes me indignant, but also sad since my peeps haven’t been able to experience this place for themselves and draw their own conclusions as to how good (or not so) things are in my world.
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	February 2011	Chasing Che´s Chevy Travel features	Text by Christopher P. Baker
	Cuba´s Circuito Sur—circling the Sierra Maestra mountains by motorcycle. … a perfect tropical cocktail of adrenalin—charged curves, rugged terrain and superlative vistas.
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	January 2011	NO LONGER THE FORBIDDEN PARADISE Activities (sports)	Text by Armando Menocal Photos by Yarobys García
	I´ve asked myself, would I tell this story if my friend Craig Luebben was still alive? A year ago, Craig was killed in a climbing accident in the Cascades mountains of Washington state. Over the previous decade, he and I had been brought together by our passion for the people and especially the climbing in Cuba.
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	November 2010	The Havana Marathon Activities (sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	It is dark outside, 5.30am. Wishful thinking that I could simply sleep in and let the Havana marathon wait another year. I have, after, all been signed in various times over the years and never quite made it. Unfortunately, I have a pick—up arranged and the phone wakes me from my slumber to let me know that the car is waiting outside—around the corner, to be precise.
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	October 2010	The Green House Past and Present Places	Text by Charlie Thompson
	Located to the west of Havana, at the corner of Quinta Avenida and 2nd St. in Miramar, the House of the Green Tiles or the Green House, as it is popularly known, is one of the most striking mansions in this city.
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	May 2010	The house of crucifixes in Trinidad Travel features	Text and photos Aimara Fernández
	Trinidad is a true, authentic and unique Cuban city, not only for its well-preserved architecture, or its deep-rooted traditions, but for the genuine sense of belonging of its inhabitants. This city of mountains and sea has a distinctive charm, which makes it stand out from the rest of its sister cities in Cuba.
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	April 2010	Huge waves hint at Cuba´s surfing future Activities (sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	Freak weather conditions generated the mother of all swells off Cuba´s Northern coast (between Matanzas and Varadero) early Thursday morning (April 1, 2010) leading to surfing opportunities these local Cubans never dreamed of. In fact the 50 ft waves are the largest ever recorded in the Caribbean and have led some to predict a boom in surfing trips to the largest Caribbean island. An unusual lunar position combined with the perfect …
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	February 2010	A Window to the Universe at the Plaza Vieja Places	Text by Silvia Gómez
	The usually lively Plaza Vieja in Havana´s Historical Centre has an added attraction. Located in the former Habana cinema, a modern planetarium opened to the public on the 20th of January to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei´s astronomical discoveries.
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	February 2010	20 Favorite Moments in Cuba Review/Guide	Text by Claire Boobbyer
	The weather—beaten coastal road between Pilón and Santiago de Cuba is remote and dramatic. It takes you past a canvas of lashing waves and cliffs that drop vertically onto the ocean road, which itself lies just yards from the sea. At times the road rollercoasters and the panoramic scenery unfolds below. After hurricanes and bad storms, parts of the road and bridges are lost, making for some hair—raising driving; this is not a trip for the faint—hearted but it´s the best drive in Cuba.
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	January 2010	Cuba: A Decade In The Life Of A prAna Headband Activities (sports)	Text by Armando Menocal Photos by Armando Menocal
	Yarobys García, is probably Cuba´s leading climber today, an exceptional climber, and committed to the challenge to do new routes and to the tradition of mentorship. A recent picture I saw taken by him shows a very faded mustard—colored prAna headband being worn by a young Cuban named Yandy working a new project (Nirvana, 8a/8a+). I recognized that headband. Not just one like it. I knew that particular mustard—colored prAna headband. I had photos of it being worn by my girlfriend Laura Rodríguez on El Morro in Havana a decade ago, in 1999.
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	February 2009	Dancing Columbia in Cuba “Dale, chica, vete pa´ alla!” Travelogues	Text by Tamina Oliver
	Raulito´s voice cuts through the syncopated music, urgent and insistent. As he speaks, his hot breath fluttering on my ear, he indicates the stage with his head, gracefully arcing his neck. A thrill of excitement shivers through me, adrenalin surging from my gut. Excitement tinged with horror. I can´t go up there, not in front of this audience, not after these performers. And especially not to dance columbia.
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	September 2008	Isla de la Juventud Places	Text by Christopher P. Baker
	Most visitors to Cuba bypass Isla de la Juventud—the Isle of Youth. Their loss. Our gain. Then again, this inverted teardrop—shaped island in the shallow Golfo de Batabanó, slung 100 kilometres below the underbelly of Havana province, isn´t the easiest to get to. Nor is it well—endowed with tourist services. Far from it. But its fascinating history, sensational diving, and remarkable birding are among the many reasons to visit this off—beat highly individual isle.
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	August 2008	Fishing in Cuba Activities (sports)	Text by Joe Prem
	Other than the Florida Keys, this is perhaps the best place in the world to catch a big permit on a fly. There are both good numbers of big permit, and superb permit flats to be found in the Jardines de la Reina. Flats that are barely out of the water or just below the surface at low tide are two to three feet deep on a high incoming tide—perfect habitat for the largest permit. Many of these flats are bordered by deep water—exactly the same kind of conditions you see in the Florida Keys
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	August 2008	Off—the—beaten—track Cuba Travel features	Text by Christopher P. Baker Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Wild places are strewn like isles within isles. The varied ecosystems spell Nirvana to tourists who appreciate nature. Many areas are buried in thick rainforest brightened with tropical flowers. Other areas are desert—dry plateaus dotted with cactus. In fact, Cuba is sculpted to show off the full potential of the tropics, permitting you to journey metaphorically from the Amazon to a Swiss alpine forest.
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	July 2008	Cuban Cabarets - Socialism and sensuality¡ Classic Cuba	Text by Christopher P. Baker Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	The lights go down… as a troupe of near—naked showgirls in silver thigh-high boots and glowing chandeliers atop their heads appears at the back of the auditorium. Their see—through fishnet body suits drip with silver baubles that dangle like still—wet tiny fishes, and they strut down the aisle like sex washing up from the sea.
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	July 2008	Remains of the Revolution Travelogues	Text by John Graham Photos various authors
	The post—Fidel era began in Cuba even before Castro stepped down. While traveling there remains a challenge for Americans, Cuba has been condoning some private enterprise (gingerly) and building tourism (boldly). John Graham samples the travails and treasures of a country at the tipping point It is Wednesday night at Havana´s Floridita bar and the place is already mobbed with tourists …
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	June 2008	Cuba — Travelling off the radar Travelogues	Text by Julie Schwietert Collazo
	For American travelers, Cuba remains one of the last tantalizing forbidden travel destination spots in the world. While Americans may not want to visit some other countries, they can go almost anywhere with relative ease. Officially, though, Cuba is off the American traveler‘s map, or so it seems. The laws regarding Americans’ travel to Cuba are complex, requiring patient scrutiny, a high tolerance for bureaucracy, and a long wait for those who wish to visit Cuba under officially sanctioned pretenses, which are shrinking exponentially each year.
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	May 2008	Inside Cuban Culture Travelogues	Text by Chen Lizra
	It was super hot outside and it felt so nice walking on the streets at night wearing so little. The soft wind felt like it was caressing my skin. The heat mixes with seduction and the mojitos are so alcoholic that they make you tipsy. It´s hard to walk and not smile at life.
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	April 2008	An explosive Christmas —Las Parandas de Remedios— Places	Text by Silvia Gómez
	For most of us, the 24th of December—Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve—is marked with a quiet family dinner. The only interruption might be the sound of Christmas carols at the door. This was probably once the case in the old Cuban town of Remedios. But in the 1820s, everything changed. A young priest named Francisco Vigil de Quiñones had noticed that in the chilly mornings of the last days of the year, his congregations were dwindling.
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	March 2008	Outed by The Wall Street Journal Activities (sports)	Text and photo Armando Menocal
	For the past eight years I´ve been carrying on a secret affair— one that I knew could result in imprisonment and a heavy fine. But I´d fallen for Cuba and fallen hard. My winters had been a flawless cycle of skiing Teton powder and rock climbing on spectacular overhanging rock walls in the Viñales Valley of Cuba. Knock on wood. After 37 years of climbing, this was as good as it gets. I was even paying for my tropical vacations by guiding pricey “eco—tourism” to my Cuban climbing areas.
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	March 2008	Cuba, the landshells Paradise Places	Text by María Teresa Gené
	Liguus tree snails have unique designs and colour—patterns making them exquisite masterpieces of Nature. Liguus lives in semideciduous and evergreen forests, the mogote vegetation complex, the coastal scrubland, shrub spinous lands, gallery forests and the secondary vegetation throughout the island, except for the province of Guantánamo where no updated reports exist.
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	March 2008	The Orchids of Cuba Places	Text by Greta Publications
	Thousands of species of orchids add to Cuba´s natural beauty and may be found from in the 4 corners of Cuba from the plains and low hills through the mountain ranges of Guaniguanico (including Viñales), and Guamuhaya (central Cuba), and the Sierra Mastra. One of the most special places with 178 species is the Nipe—Sagua—Baracoa massif which is also home to Lepanthes silvae, one of the world´s smallest orchids, standing barely 5 mm high.
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	March 2008	Calle Honda Hamejon & Havana rumba Places	Text by Silvia Gómez Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Rumba is one of the most famous and well—known genre of popular Cuban music. Born, according to the majority of scholars, in the poor neighbourhoods of the province of Matanzas—approx 100 km away from Havana—it is characterized by the sensual movement of hips and shoulders while dancing, with an aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman
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	February 2008	Havana´s seafront lounge Places	Text by Silvia Gómez
	Construction of the first stretch of the Malecón began on 6 May 1901, with beautiful lampposts placed along the sea wall. However, the battering of huge waves during the following Cuban winter caused the original design to be replaced by another, this time with no attachments to the wall. The works were finally completed in 1959.
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	February 2008	The ideal 3 week itinerary Review/Guide	Text by Christopher P. Baker Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Cuba is made for tropical tourism: the diamond—dust beaches and bathtub—warm seas the colour of peacock feathers; the bottle—green mountains and jade valleys full of dramatic formations; and the ancient cities, with their flower—bedecked balconies, rococo churches, and palaces and castles evocative of the once mighty power of Spain. There are the cabarets to visit, and mojitos and cuba libres to enjoy, and the world´s finest cigars to smoke fresh from the factory, as you rumble down the highway in a chrome—spangled ‘55 Cadillac to the rhythm of the rumba on the radio.
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	February 2008	Rock climbing in Cuba. (the new Yusemite) Activities (sports)	Text and photos Armando Menocal
	One year after Fidel Castro had come down out of the Sierra Maestra Mountains to claim triumph for his revolution, he is to have declared, “The Revolution was the work of climbers and cavers.” Did the living icon and tireless voice of the Cuban Revolution really mean to credit the success of his revolution to climbers and cavers?.
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	February 2008	Saratoga — Reborn Review/Guide	Text by Silvia Gómez
	Standing on a portion of the former wall that once surrounded and protected the old city and over a century later, the Saratoga Hotel is as magnificent and radiant as it must have been in its first days. The intervening years, however, have not been easy. In 1881, Palacios sued the builders for delays in the construction schedule. In turn, the engineers lodged a complaint concerning additions to the building work not included in the original contract. By 1888, with no agreement reached, the nearly completed building was beginning to deteriorate without ever having been occupied other than by “lowlife characters, tramps and ladies of pleasure.”
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	January 2008	Cigar smoking Havana A visitor´s guide Review/Guide	Text by Amir Saarony Photos by Roberto D'Addona
	For an introduction to Cuban cigars where better to start than the Partagás cigar factory (520 Industria St., behind the Capitolio) in Havana? Cigars have been produced here since 1845 and the tour will create an appreciation for the art of cigar making that will last long after your return home. Even non-smokers are bound to exit impressed and with a greater understanding of the lure of the cigar. This is also the place to sample the goods; just before you exit to the street veer left through the wooden door into the store aptly named La Casa del Habano, probably the most famous cigar store in the world.
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	January 2008	The best of Cigar smoking in Havana Review/Guide	Text by Amir Saarony Photos by Roberto Adonna
	Havana is the Mecca for cigar smokers and one that is open all year round. Knowledge, experience, glamour and authenticity are all present in abundance on the tropical island that is home to the best cigars in the world. Cigars in Cuba are not just a part of the economy but are an intricate component of the country’s history, culture and everyday life.
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	January 2008	Ten best dives in Cuba Activities (sports)	Text by Eric Testi
	María la Gorda and Cabo de San Antonio International Diving Centres together have the most number and varied diving sites in Cuba. At the tip of Pinar del Río, they are wild and romantically located, with unforgettable sunsets and a string of beautiful long white sandy beaches. The Yemayá dive is very special. You begin with a descent down the vertical Yemayá wall and return via a “mysterious cave” having seen an abundance of fish, giant gorgonian and black coral.
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	December 2007	Eduardo Pimentel - Havana´s yoga master Activities (Sports)	Text by Silvia Gomez
	In Cuba—and Havana in particular— Eduardo Pimentel Vázquez is yoga personified. Known throughout the island for his national yoga television program, Eduardo has managed to convince many Cubans that the practice of this age-old discipline, which dates back to second century BC India, may be a channel for the self-knowledge and mind-body harmony that humans have long pursued in the name of faith, philosophy or science.
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	December 2007	Cuba’s underwater treasures Activities (sports)	Text by Diana Williams Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	The attraction of Varadero´s waters has been increased fourfold by the sinking of a number of boats. Barco Patrullero, built in 1945, was a Russian—Koni class, patrol ship, used by Cuban navy in the 1980´s. In the late 1990´s it took on another role as an artificial reef. It´s a fascinating ship to visit. Ninety—seven metres long, with its hull at a depth of 28 metres, it still has its guns, surface—to—air missiles and smoke dispensers. Finning over the deck, it is easy to let your imagination run riot, and transport yourself back into the cold war era, when suspicion surpassed all reason, and countries sought to protect themselves from their ideological enemies.
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	December 2007	Cool Days, Hot Nights-Parque Metropolitano Places	Text by Conner Gorry Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	On a hot summer night, a little riverside amphitheater thrums with a thousand voices, the sweaty, cathartic chorus reaching deep into the surrounding woods. While young punks and pretty debutantes perch in giant jacarandas for a bird´s eye view of the onstage party, Cuba´s future IM their friends about what they’re missing. And what they´re missing is historic.
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	November 2007	Baracoa, the most beautiful land human eyes have seen Places	Text by Christopher P. Baker Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Baracoa, Cuba´s oldest city, is perfect for independent—minded travelers seeking somewhere just a little bit different. It has an atmosphere all its own. One as haunting in its fantastical unfamiliarity as it is enchanting in its beauty. The town´s setting seems fit for a Hollywood epic. Baracoa spreadeagles below a dramatic flat—topped formation—El Yunque (the anvile)—that floats mysteriously above the surrounding hills, forming a great amphitheater flowing down to the Bahía de Miel (Bay of Honey).
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	November 2007	The Malecon: Havana’s smile Places	Text by Silvia Gómez Photos Sven Creutzman
	No one can question the femininity of the city of Havana. The great Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén discovered her “sonorous hips” and many have succumbed to her flirtatiousness and elusiveness, attracted by an irresistible smile. It is a smile of nearly seven kilometres that reveals the city’s character shaped over almost five centuries: outgoing, noisy, multicoloured, although with intervals of withdrawal and even adolescent—like shyness; open to all influences, heterogeneous and eclectic, determined to be herself, and not like any other; proud of her age and at the same time ready to take the risks of modernity. It is Havana’s Malecón or sea front drive: welcoming, revealing, enticing.
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	October 2007	Out of tune but well in accord tin-kering with the old ivories of Havana Travelogues	Text by Sue Herrod
	One very sunny day last year, in March (2007), a small party from Ireland descended on Havana laden with radio mics, cameras, sound people, leather, felt and wire. Cameras, leather, felt and wire, I can hear you asking, brows, naturally, a little furrowed? Well…could be a country crafts series, or...what about a late night, one-off, tropical bondage short? Actually, no. Rest easy.
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	October 2007	Bonefish heaven in Cuba Activities (sports)	Text by Mike Mareki
	A shadow flits across the flats. “15 metros, 2 horas,” (15 meters, 2 hours) barks Machito, the guide. The fisherman, now on his third visit to Las Salinas in Cuba, whips his lightweight rod into action, landing an almost perfect cast. The smudgy looking little fly that resembles a tiny prawn plops perfectly on the calm water, 3 inches in front of a greedy 5—pound bonefish. Suddenly, the reel screams, and the bonefish is off like a bat out of hell heading for the mangroves.
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	July 2007	Museo de Bellas Artes Places	Text by Juliet Barclay Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	One mid—eighteenth century day in London, the Venetian painter Canaletto found himself a bit strapped for cash and decided that drastic measures had to be taken. Whipping out a handy blade, he sliced in half a rather long landscape he’d painted, to sell both halves separately. Now one half of Chelsea from the Thames hangs in Blickling Hall in Norfolk. The other half is in Havana in the Museo de Bellas Artes.
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	June 2007	Viva Cuba Beisbol Activities (sports)	Text by Byron Motley and Kit Krieger Photos by Roberto Puyol
	In Havana, the local “Industriales” team are gods. They are the New York Yankees of Cuban baseball. Whether celebrated or loathed, there’s no getting around the fact that team Industriales is the island’s most successful franchise. Point proven by the fact that in the post—revolutionary Castro era of baseball, the Industriales have reigned supreme and have practically had a monopoly as the winners of most of the Cuban World Series classics. Losses to arch—rival Santiago de Cuba in the finals for the National Series championship over the past two seasons evoke as much discontent as do housing shortages, low wages, and a two—tiered currency system that sees Cubans paid in one currency (Cuban pesos) and shop in another (convertible pesos).
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	May 2007	The Hotel Nacional Review/Guide	Text by Ian Stalker
	The Hotel Nacional de Cuba has seen mobsters and missiles alike during the more than 70 years that it has served as one of the world’s great celebrity hangouts, a role it continues today. The five—star hotel, which opened Dec. 30, 1930, quickly turned into a meeting place for everybody who was somebody, with entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Cesar Romero, John Wayne, Betty Grable, and Fred Astaire hobnobbing in a property that also drew such famed athletes as boxers Jack Dempsey and Rocky Marciano and baseball great Mickey Mantle, and heads of states, among them Winston Churchill.
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	April 2007	In search of music in Cuba Travelogues	Text and Photos Karolien Verheyen
	Holguín was the place to visit the workshop of organ makers, in business since 1886, and the Malecón in Havana was a great place to attend some amazing jam sessions or ‘peñas’. But how did I land into a live recording in a music studio, you may ask? On one of my daily strolls, I dropped into Julia Valdés’s visual arts gallery in Old Havana. The man who was looking after the place asked me why I was visiting Cuba. He gave me his card and told me he was a cultural promoter, after which he picked up the phone and then gestured to me I needed to speak with this person. That person was no one less than Bobby Carcassés�
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	March 2007	The 2007 Hemmingway fishing tournament Activities (sports)	Text by Steve Gibbs
	Like all the best fishing stories, mine began in a bar. One evening in Havana, I was introduced to a man called Stewart, an affable commercial manager in a London building firm. It turned out he was part of the English team in this year’s Hemingway fishing tournament. In fact he was the only Englishman on his boat, and he was taking on recruits.
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	February 2007	Havana: an intensely inhabited city Travel features	Text by Daniel Barclay Photos by Silvia Kuti
	Visitors to the Cuban capital frequently remark on how busy the city seems to be, how the life of the city is inescapable and either delightful or irritating, depending on their disposition and expectations as a tourist in a socialist Caribbean island. The fabric of the city is often crumbling, yet Cuban life goes on with a kind of cheerful self—absorption and confidence despite (or because of?) the lack of material trappings and ‘advances’ that we are used to in western cities.
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	February 2007	Havana’s Renaissance Travel features	Text by Juliet Barclay Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	The restoration of Old Havana is internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s most innovative and exciting projects of urban renaissance. It is all more the remarkable for the context in which it is taking place: Cuba’s ongoing struggle to establish itself as a political and economic force to be reckoned with.
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	January 2007	Havana Blue Places	Text by Juliet Barclay Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Beneath the centuries of multi—coloured limewash in Old Havana’s eighteenth century mansions, archaeologists often discover elaborate and beautiful mural paintings in which an exquisite powdery blue predominates. This has come to be known as ‘Havana Blue’ and the colour is still used all over the city, gently echoing the triumphant azure of the Cuban sky.
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	November 2006	Hemingway haunts Havana Classic Cuba	Text by Juliet Barclay Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Whether in his favourite bars, at his secluded country house or among the fishermen and boat builders of Cojímar, Hemingway’s presence in Havana is still almost tangible. In April 1932, Ernest Hemingway and his friend Joe Russell sailed from Key West to Havana for a two-day trip which ended up lasting for four months. Amongst Cuba’s principal attractions were excellent marlin fishing and the company of beautiful women.
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	November 2006	The hottest beach in Cuba. Review/Guide	Text by Juliet Barclay Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	However does one find the best beach in Cuba? There are an awful lot to choose from and most of them are fabulous. The longest and most famous is Varadero on the north coast, where you would be hard put to it to walk the length of the beach in a day, especially after all the cocktails that you somehow find yourself drinking en route.
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	October 2006	Baseball - A National Obsession Activities (Sports)	Text by Charlie Thompson
	It takes a lot for the streets of Old Havana to go silent, for the normal hum of activity to diminish to a barely audible whisper. The World Classic Baseball Final played on March 20, 2006 in front of a crowd of 42,696 in San Diego was one such event. It was viewed in virtually every home in Cuba and transfixed the nation. On Obispo (the main thoroughfare of Old Havana) security guards discreetly listened to the match through their ear-pieces as the few people that were still out and about hurried to get somewhere they could see the game.
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	October 2006	Las Terrazas—Ideal trip from Havana. Places	Text by Juliet Barclay
	Las Terrazas is the weekend retreat for overheated Habaneros, especially in the summer. Who wants to go to the beach when the sea’s the temperature of soup and the sand’s too hot to walk on? While only an hour out of Havana, it feels a million miles away from the city. It’s a UNESCO biosphere, so great care is taken sensitively to develop the area and a reasonably steep entry fee is charged to prevent the place becoming too overrun with day trippers.
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	June 2005	Paladares in Cuba Travelogues
	The name paladar comes from the Brazilian soap opera, Vale Todo (Anything Goes), which was extremely popular in Cuba in the early 1990s. Raquel, the enterprising protagonist of the telenovela, was a poor woman who moved from the Brazilian provinces to Rio. She worked as an itinerant food vendor on the famous beaches of Copacabana and eventually made it big after setting up her own chain of small restaurants, which she christened “Paladar.”
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	May 2005	Cuban revolutions: cycling in Cuba Activities (sports)	Text by Lizzie Matthews Photos by Sven Creutzmann
	Rhythm. They say you've either got it or you ain't. Well, Cuba has got it in shedloads – a perpetual latin pulse that courses through each and every one of its citizens like a genetic metronome. Everything they do, no matter how mundane, looks like a series of carefully choreographed steps – women with brooms shimmy across their verandas, men with trays of mojitos ooze their way effortlessly through crowded bars, toddlers wiggle with more panache than any tourist.
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	June 2004	Why Travel Is The Most Patriotic Act You Can Do. Travelogues	Text by Julie Schwietert Collazo
	Today is July 4. Time to reflect on independence. Freedom. Patriotism. What it means to be an American. In a sense, the country I call my homeland was founded upon the cherished value that the right to travel should be protected. The idea is implied by U.S. laws, which permit Americans to travel with greater ease and to more countries than perhaps any other government in the world. It is also inspired by the dramatic journeys of the first colonists who traveled long distances to establish one of the world’s most radical social and political experiments.
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	May 2004	Sailing to Hemingway’s Cuba Travelogues	Text by Dave Schaefer
	We had been nervous for days as the boat was hauled for repairs at Peninsular Marine on Stock Island near Key West. Dream Weaver was showing some wear and tear after the first part of this voyage, the 2,000 miles from my home in Burlington, Vermont, just 45 miles from the Canadian border. I had been traveling south for almost five months, and now the challenges of the final short leg to Cuba were directly ahead. First, there was the Gulf Stream. Sailors don’t cross when the wind is out of the north and butting heads with the north—flowing Gulf Stream, kicking up square waves sometimes called “elephants.”
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	January 2003	The Piano Tuner Travelogues	Text by Tracey Eaton
	Armando Gómez is suddenly a subversive. And only an act of God, or George Tracey Eaten Bush, will allow him to attend the piano tuners convention in Dallas this week. Gómez laughed at first when U.S. authorities refused his travel visa. “What am I? A Taliban?” the Havana piano technician said.
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	January 2001	Meeting the whale shark. Activities (sports)	Text by Luisa Sacerdote
	The journey to the Queen’s Gardens has been, as always, long and tiring: but the charm of these islands, which are covered with mangroves and inhabited just by iguanas and tortoises, is this—here time doesn’t exist; everything has remained the same as 500 years ago, before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, and the difficulties to get here makes the Garden’s a paradise for a few people. And every time, it’s in some way a return home: mi casa flotante entre cielo y mar [my floating house between the sky and the sea], as they call here the floating platform where we are lodging.
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	December 2000	The Queen’s Gardens: the last paradise. Activities (sports)	Text by Luisa Sacerdote
	Diving in Cuba is the dream of every skin diver: about 50 miles away from the Southern coast, in the middle of the Caribbean sea, there is an archipelago formed by hundreds of cayos, small isles of various dimensions, rich in mangroves and palm trees that stretch over extremely white and absolutely virgin beaches. The Queen’s Gardens—Jardines de la Reina—so named because of their beauty by Christopher Columbus, cover a total length of 200 km from East to West, marking a coral barrier (the third largest in the world) which gives shelter to an uncountable number of species of fish and all kinds of coral.
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	November 2000	Dancing with the sharks Activities (sports)	Text by Luisa Sacerdote
	After a journey nearly 24 hours long, finally I’m in Júcaro. I hope Gualberto, the guide that has accompanied me on my last trip, has been informed about my arrival: I wasn’t able to call him, because here, in this remote corner of Cuba, obviously, phones don’t exist. Luckily, there he is, on the quay, beside the Explorador, the boat that will take us to the Tortuga.
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	May 1998	Paul Morrison shuns the beach resorts to seek out the real Cuba Travelogues	Text by Paul Morrison Sourced from WANDERLUST Issue 27 | 1998
	Antonio clutched at his heart as his eyes fluttered and the impassioned words left his quivering lips. In a breathless moment his life hung by a thread, and his head sunk slowly towards his chest. Then the silence was broken by Valdo’s strike at the guitar strings, and Antonio looked up once more to commence the final chorus. This was love, this was death, this was life in all its glory... and just another lunchtime in Cuba.
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