Latest Blog Posts on Travel, US Flights, News from Cuba & US
Cuba Recovering from Hurricane The people I talked to in Havana had differing opinions of the approaching hurricane Irma. “No big deal, they always turn before reaching Havana” seemed to be the prevailing opinion, but a few people said that it would be bad. It turned out to be bad, but it looks lie Cuba … Read More
Flooded Havana Streets after Irma Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc in Cuba. The capital avoided the worst of the storm but Havana streets flooded and ancient buildings collapsed. They did not collapse because of winds; they collapsed because these crumbling ancient buildings can barely stand on good days. Old Havana has some stunning, restored colonial buildings … Read More
Irma Effects on the Malecon are Dramatic My son, Jeff and I were in Havana just before Irma hit the island, staying in Casa Deysi in Habana Centro . We debated whether to stay or not, but having just gotten through Hurricane Harvey in Houston (no wind but 50 inches of rain) we decided one … Read More
Five Star La Habana Hotel Open in Havana I quoted the article below about the new La Habana Hotel, Cuba’s first 5 star hotel, back in June. Since then my son and I have been back to Havana a and took the photo below from Parque Central. We stepped inside this grand hotel, but stayed … Read More
Trump Cuba Travel Changes Explained The Trump Cuba travel changes announced June 16th, 2017, are still a big unknown. What is known about the proposed changes is in the written Presidential Memorandum. What is unknown is what is to be written over the next few months outlining all the travel and business changes. What we … Read More
Expedia said today that it now offers Cuba hotel bookings online. A quick look at their site shows quite a few offerings for both hotel rooms and BNB’s (casas particulares, or rooms for rent in private homes). Thus Expedia joins AirBnB in booking rooms from private individuals. The prices on hotels and casas seem to be … Read More
Cuban Tourism is up Last Year & First Quarter Cuba’s Mintur (Ministry of Tourism) reported a 13% growth in Cuban tourism in 2016. The majority of which came from North America. This first quarter has seen an increase of 15% over that. Canadians continue to the biggest source of tourists, but American tourists are increasing, … Read More
Fewer Flights to Cuba with 3 Airlines Dropping Out Soon There are now three fewer flights to Cuba with the announcement of 3 airlines dropping out. Spirit Airlines is dropping out of the US to Cuba flight competition. This follows Frontier Airline and Silver Airlines announcing their secession earlier. Spirit Airlines is an ultra low … Read More
Gail Reed: Training Cuban Doctors One of the things that Cuba does right is to train doctors, lots of doctors, and sends these Cuban doctors back into the world. Often to places where medical service doesn’t exist. I did not realize the extent of Cuba’s efforts until I ran across this Ted Talk from 2014. … Read More
Cuba is a hot topic in this country now that travel rules have relaxed. This includes Cuban art.It may be difficult to arrange showings of Cuban art, but Houstonians have the chance to view some top Cuban artists at the MFAH.Our Museum of Fine Arts in Houston has opened a Cuban art exhibit: Adiós Utopia: … Read More