This morning we caught one of the old trams that hauled us up to the top of steep Nob Hill and over and down the other side. Gray and I held on for dear life on the descent.

We found a quaint café for coffee and breakfast, before walking up to visit the beautiful St Peter’s and Paul’s Cathedral, it was magnificent. We then caught the bus with the intention of visiting the Science Museum but it took so long to get there that we were kind of out of time. Fortunately across the park were the Japanese Gardens, that was definitely worth a visit. The well tended gardens were a tranquil haven.

Then it was back to the airport to pick up a hire car. At 5ish we set off on a 2 hour drive to Napa Valley, our route took us over Bay Bridge – I think I preferred going across this bridge to Golden Gate. This ‘new’ bridge has been recently completed after being partly destroyed in the ’89 earthquake. San Francisco has been plagued by 2 major earthquakes in recent history and the 1906 and ’89 quakes are regularly topics of conversation.

The winelands of Napa remind me of the Franschhoek area in South Africa. Beautifully tended vineyards set around beautiful farm houses. Thanks to Wayne and one of his work colleagues (whose cousin has a wine farm) we were able to stay in one of these beautiful old houses.

On arrival we were met by Helen and Jason, who showed us to their parents house, we were able to stay in it as they spend a good deal of the year in France. This is not just a house, it’s a home; a double storey, the kitchen clearly the hub, the bedrooms have slanted ceilings, there are beautiful old wooden floors, eclectic décor that just works. We later found out that the owner is one of Roosevelt’s grandsons and some of the furniture was once in the White House. All this is set in a beautiful garden, with a pool, surrounded by natural bush and vineyards – heaven.

We all agreed, hands down, we would rather be here out here with peace and tranquility, the hummingbirds birds buzzing around the agapanthus and the sounds of the nature to the hustle and bustle and noise of the towns and hotels.

In the evening we went into town for a few provisions. The Oxbow market provided these – WINE, local craft beer, cheese, olives, a chicken and salad. We had dinner sitting around the kitchen table, seriously content and looking forward to a couple of days of wine tasting.

Happy Independence Day America!!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Another day busy exploring a busy San Francisco. We went through the ‘hippy’ area, the birthplace of the movement in the ‘60’s and home to many of the famous musicians of the time. It still has the hippy vibe.

mWe passed Golden Gate Park, a large forest filled area with trees from all over the world. Then it was back to Golden Gate Bridge for pictures.

We then explored the quaint and busy Chinatown, filled with shops selling everything from traditional herbs to giant size statues and to our delight pandas, pandas and more pandas. We had lunch in one of the Chinese restaurants.

We then ambled down to the waterfront, passing protesters outside the Department of Immigration – the big news since we have been in the States is the outrage of Trump’s immigrant policy.

The market at Pier 1 was amazing, with restaurants and shops with fresh produce. From there we caught a harbor taxi around San Francisco bay, taking in sights of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges, Alcatraz, fisherman’s wharf and docking at Pier 39. Here we wandered around the shops, being Independence Day, it was very busy with a festive vibe.

In the late afternoon the traffic was hectic, so we took a long, slow stroll back to our hotel, exploring as we went along. The good; murals, architecture and art work and the bad; again the desperate plight of the homeless around the Tenderloin District, who live on the cold streets. The Big Bus company, while I can appreciate that this is holiday time, the queues to hop on and off were seriously frustrating – they need to provide more busses or restrict ticket sales.

We celebrated Independence Day at the Waterfront Restaurant, overlooking the harbor, with views of the beautifully lit up Bay Bridge and we saw some of the fireworks over the bay.

Eeek, a 5am alarm clock, Uber to Fort Lauderdale airport, 5 ½ flight to San Franciso. We arrived at 11:30, with a 3 hour time difference, we are now 9 hours behind South African time.

The first thing that hit us as we walked out the doors of San Francisco airport was a cold wind.

Miami and Cuba temperatures were in the high 30’s and humid. Gray informed us there was a heat wave, what he didn’t let us know was that he was talking about the east coast, not the West, which is a chilly 16 degrees. Jean had to hit Macy’s for winter clothes.

We booked into our hotel and picked up a Hop on – Hop off Bus. The round San Fran trip took around 3 hours. Highlights so far, the beautiful Victorian architecture and Golden Gate Bridge, with views of the city skyline and Alcatraz. We were seriously cold on the top of the open bus with the wind whipping off the sea. The lows were the depressing number of homeless people on the streets.

We had dinner in a beautiful old family run Italian restaurant.

Our short 37 minute flight, from Cuba to Miami, transported us back into the 21st Century, from third world to first world.

My conclusions on Cuba. If you are looking for an experience of a bygone era, get there now. If you are looking for a comfortable, luxury destination, visit Cuba in 10 years time.

With such a checkered history of war and strife – from the Spanish, the Americans, Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile crisis, civil war, poverty, communism, socialism and so on – the people are a friendly and helpful. They are, at present, in the main happy with life but through lack of exposure to the rest of the world and communist indoctrination, they know little else. There is, however, definitely a feeling change is in the air, especially among the younger generation.

Looking back, yes we went as tourists but if asked now, we would not be lying if we said we had gone there to find out more about the people and culture of Cuba and we have come away richer for the experience.

Miami airport was a dog show and customs clearance took forever.

Back at the Diesels’s home it was all stations go, washing and repacking for our next leg to the west coast of the US.

We went to Le Tub for a sunset dinner, another quaint restaurant shack on the waterfront of Hollywood ( the Miami Hollywood). The had the house speciality, burgers, one of the best I have tasted. It’s so nice to stay with ‘locals’, you get to go to all the hidden gems that you would otherwise not know about.

Thanks Wayne and Jean for your wonderful hospitality and sharing Cuba with us and all the laughs.

We woke at 5:30am, had breakfast and were ready for our 7 o’clock pick up.

We witnessed more interesting scenery on the three hour taxi trip from Trinidad to Varaderos. A large section was agricultural. There were a large number of ugly derelict buildings in the farming areas. Apparently these were high schools, students were sent there not only for education but also to work on the farms, unpaid labor. The villages were also not the prettiest, the houses were 1970’s concrete round roof structures. Common of the Russian architecture of the time.

Varaderos is a resort town and we had been booked into a ‘luxury’ hotel for our last night in Cuba. The ‘luxury’ Solymar Hotel, gave cause for concern as we drove up to the entrance. It was bright yellow and blue, with a smattering of maroon to compliment. This was Cuca Club Med. After negotiating the busy lobby area adorned with cascading fountains of creepers, we discovered we could only book in at 4pm. Fortunately we were able to store our luggage. We put on cossies and headed outside. We avoided the busy pool area and walked down to the beach.

In sharp contrast to the gaudy hotel, we came upon one of the most beautiful beaches, easily comparable, if not better than those in Seychelles and Zanzibar. Pristine, white sand with deep shades of the blue hues. The water was warm and gentle and we spent over two hours wallowing in this Caribbean paradise.

Lunch was something else, you had to queue up outside the canteen like dining room for a surprisingly ok buffet. At 4 we checked into our room, it was 1970’s style – not retro 1970’s, old 1970’s.

On a financial note, we had pooled in our pesos and cucs and elected Wayne as banker for the holiday. In a slight panic the day before Jean discovered we were short of cash, no one takes credit cards, so her and Wayne scoured Trinidad for a bank to exchange pounds. It’s like a walking a tight rope, you need cash but you don’t want to be left with any at the end of the holiday.

We went past the Diesel’s room to pick them up for our all inclusive dinner in the hotel canteen. Wayne had however discovered that he had set aside 100 pesos and forgotten about it. This put a whole new spin on our dinner plans. We asked reception for recommendation for a restaurant in town with a sunset view. They recommended Du Pont, which was out of town. As we were splashing out, we drove in style in a pink 1950 Chev. Du Pont was a mansion built between 1920 and 1930 and cost a whopping $1 000 000, at the time. It is on the sea and surrounded by a golf course. We went on a tour of the house from the basement wine cellars, to the library with original masterpieces, to the beautiful views of the third storey, now a bar. We sat on the veranda and delighted in our meal of veal and duck, washed down with a Faustino Rioja. The sunset dinner was one to remember.

Driving home in our pink Chev, I felt a bit like Cinderella on her way home from the ball.

After breakfast we headed in opposite directions, Wayne and Jean on a grueling mountain trek through the National Park Topes de Collantes to the Vegas Grandes waterfall and a well deserved swim in the cool water below the falls. The scenery looked spectacular and they got to see the national bird and flower of Cuba – the tokorrora and the mariposa.

Gray and I headed off to the Peninsula Ancon, one of the beautiful Caribbean beaches. Being a Saturday, it was fairly busy, lots of local people, drinking copious amounts of rum, it was really vibey.

We found some loungers under a tiki cabana and spent the morning bobbing in the warm, gentle sea. We took a taxi ride home and then strolled into town for a bite to eat in one of the courtyard garden restaurants.

We all had a relaxing afternoon La Jorre Padron.

Around 6pm we strolled back into town, it takes on a different look and feel as the sun starts to set. It is a feel of the days work is done and life is now to be savored and enjoyed. We found a courtyard pub, framed with beautiful old mango and avo trees. We ordered rounds of the most outrageous cocktails, having no idea what was in them, all our kids would have proud (or maybe not after round 2). Everywhere we go we peel back layers of this amazing and interesting country. It turns out the pub is owned by the temple next door and even the blue table cloths have meaning. Looking into the temple – a blue house on the outside with a large interior white room, housing only a black doll, dressed in white, sitting on a chair. Wish I knew more, other than she must depict one of the Saints.

The amazing Anna and her husband made us a delicious feast for dinner. Legume soup, local fish with shrimp and barbecue chicken with salad and veg, finished off with a light flan. We listened to salsa and chatted to Anna about her life in Cuba.

Trinidad is a step back in history, to the 18 and 19 Centuries, reminiscent of South America. Small one and occasionally two story, colourfully painted houses face directly onto the narrow cobbled streets. There are no glass windows, only bars called mamparas (giving us South Africans a giggle), in bygone days they were made of turned wood and a lot are still in evidence but the rest have metal bars. This is not to keep the mamparas out but to let the air flow through the houses in this, at times unbearably hot climate. Looking in, the houses are neat and clean, filled with antique furniture and rocking chairs are common place.

Our day started with a brisk walk to Playor Mayor and a climb up the bell tower for a spectacular view of the town. We then had a tour of the ‘War Museum’ dedicated to the Castro Struggle. I had no idea that Fidel had escaped 650 assassination attempts. Robs, I thought of you and felt so guilty we had not brought you with us, you would have loved the history.

Revived Revived by a round of conchancharas at around 10:30, we took a walk to the pottery House, which has been in the family for 7 generations and were treated to a display of the potters at work. From there it was a grueling trek in the midday heat to a waiting taxi. We passed a church, which was in ruins and no attempt was being made to restore it, as apparently this was Gods will, however the local children were using it as a playground.

Our drive took us through farmlands to visit the historic-natural landscape, Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of lost sugar mills due to the decline of sugar production in the area). We climbed up some rickety wooden stairs to the top of another ancient tower in the area, it was around 120m high. Well worth the climb once we saw the view of the area.

On our return to town we had a late lunch at Guitarra Mia Restaurant, the best food so far and we have eaten in some pretty decent restaurants. We got lost again on the way home. For dinner we went to an Indian inspired restaurant around the corner. All we ever seem to do is eat. Wayne and Jean then went up to the square to watch a local band and salsa dancing. Gray and I went home (without getting lost). Gray’s hip (which is in desperate need of a replacement) had given up after all our walking on the uneven cobbled streets.

Our drive out of Havana took us through what looked like poorer areas of dismal apartments but no tin shacks or squatters. Soon we were passing through agricultural areas with huge state owned sugar cane farms. Here the road narrowed and it was a slow, harrowing drive passing tractors and farm vehicles.

It was a 3 hour trip to Cienfuegos, another beautifully restored town, as it is a UNESCO world heritage site. The buildings around the town square have a neoclassical French feel. We wondered around the square park area with its fountains and a big band stand. We then went into the Palacio de Valle Building, an impressively restored three story mansion, with a tower. We spent time on the roof taking pics and climbing to the top of the tower and taking in the breath taking views of the town and harbor.

This is a harbor town predominantly for oil imports, which Cuba then sells onto other Caribbean Islands for a handsome profit – Communism at its best. We then wandered through the town, here was the first evidence of shops ‘as we know them’. It is also an arty area and they are proud of their statue of Benny Moreno in the main road. After an extremely hot walk along the waterfront back to our taxi we had a pleasant 2 hour scenic drive into Trinidad, with views of the Sierra del Escambray, Cuba’s second largest mountain range, on the left the Caribbean Sea on the right.

We arrived at La Jorre Padron, our home stay for the next 3 nights, where we met Anna, our hostess, a delightful young lady, who thankfully spoke English and gave us tips about the town. The accommodation is basic, very clean clean and most importantly the rooms are air conditioned.

In the early evening, the heavens opened as we were setting off to the town centre, the Playor Mayor. So we caught tricycle taxis, this turned out to be the scariest experience of the trip so far, a scrawny young chap cycling uphill on wet cobbled stones with around 250kg of Mel & Panda on the back. One cycle forward and three slips back and sideways. Imagine telling the kids we had been injured because our tricycle had toppled over.

Five minutes later the rain had stopped and we ambled around the square, admiring the large Church and surroundings. From there we found La Cancanchara Bar, where we drank the local drink after which the bar is named. Our first two sips were pure Havana Rum. Then we discovered the stick was for stirring the cocktail and once mixed the rum, honey, lime & lemon drink on ice was rather delicious.

Jean got her second proposal in two days, after dancing to the local band with the town Don Juan. Looks like Wayne needs to up his game.

We found a great little restaurant, called Real, for dinner, the lobster is highly recommended. We got horribly lost on the way home, trying to negotiate the myriad of stone streets and painted houses.

The drive from Habana to Viñales took just over two hours. It was a pretty drive, big green trees, palm trees and lakes, interspersed with farmlands of rice, maize and cattle. We saw water buffalo in some of the wetland areas.

Our first stop was at Rancho Las Barringonas. There was a beautiful pink hotel and a view to die for. The green, fertile valley was dotted with bulbous limestone cliffs that look like giant haystacks above tobacco plantations and natural vegetation. This part of the Sierra de los Organos mountain range is the perfect setting for a cold pina colada, so that’s what we did, sipped delicious cocktails, while taking in the spectacular view.

We then headed down into the valley to Benito Camejo Nodarse’s farm. Him and his family own one of the private farms in Cuba. It is less than 25 acres and on it they farm mainly tobacco but also coffee, sugar and fruit. 90% of their tobacco crop is taken by the government, they however have a thriving sideline business in tourism. They showed us how to make Cuban cigars, gave us espressos and rum to drink and naturally we bought their cigars and coffee beans.

We then visited caves in the area. Our first bit of entertainment was when a local creole native grabbed Jean, she yelled (we laughed) and proceeded with some sort of ceremony, I sure they are now married. Then his mate put this massive cane rat on her head, she yelled, we laughed, then took turns with this cute rodent crawling over us.

Then off to the caves, after negotiating our way through narrow tunnels and around stalagmites and stalactites we came upon an underground river, where we were taken on a boat ride to an underground waterfall. It was one of those long, Victoria Falls type falls (obviously much smaller) but loud underground and a first for us.

The boat exited through a slit of a cave exit into the sunlight. We were then treated to a creole lunch in an open air restaurant.

We visited Niñales town, it was well maintained and clean. We bought curios at the local market before embarking on our long drive home. Jean was in serious need of fruit, so we stopped at a farm stall, where we bought mangoes, pineapple and bananas and that was dinner. The fruit here is tasty, fresh and delicious.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of Cuba, yet what we found today, and I’m sure in the days to come, was totally unexpected. I feel there is a life cycle to this island and it is nearing the end of the cocoon phase with the butterfly about to emerge. So this is an important time to experience this country. Trapped behind the old facades of the buildings may be beautiful homes, where the owners can afford to make it so.

Cuba appears to be emerging out of its communist time warp, which in many ways was more economic, than socio-cultural. We saw evidence of churches and cathedrals that were in no way damaged, in fact they have been well preserved. The people are spiritual, they call themselves atheists but have an Afrocuban belief, where they worship Saints – it appears to be a combination of Catholicism and African folklore, as this was a large slave trading area back in the day.

Politically, the names of Raul and Fidel Castro and Guevara are at the forefront of all historical and political conversations. Free schooling, medical, housing, no taxes and cheap essential amenities are order of the day but since privatisation became legal in 2010, 400 000 of the 2 million people own private concerns and obviously they pay taxes to the state, in Havana. The average state paid salary is the same for all, from doctors to taxi drivers, and is around $50 per month. It is no wonder there is a huge culture of bartering and black market trade going on. From our observation, it is predominately the younger generation that are seeking out capitalistic opportunities, although they don’t admit to it.

State Housing is a concept we had to get our capitalist heads around. The state is responsible for maintaining the facades, hence lots of nice areas look tatty and dirty, the insides are the responsibility of the people living there. They are usually occupied by 3 generations and have been in the family for a couple of generations. People rarely move or have a desire to move and if they do, it will be a swop with another family.

This morning Olgieta and her husband (their daughter is the owner of our apartment) arrived with a typical Cuban breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs and croquettes and deliciously brewed coffee.

Enrique and Michael picked us up at 9am. We drove past the old fort and went on a walking tour of Old Havana, visting the historic plazas. One would have been forgiven for thinking you were in one of the historic towns in Europe – Italy, Spain or Portugal. This area has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site and thankfully lots of restoration has been, and is still being done, to the magnificent buildings in these grandiose squares with their cobbled streets. It tells the story of a bygone era of great opulence.

We visited the governors and deputy governors houses, OMG so much for Communism. We went into this beautiful old cathedral and museums and art galleries. Entrance to all these places is free, you could spend weeks exploring beautiful Old Havana. No vehicles are permitted in the area, so a gentle stroll down the streets and alleyways are order of the day. Down one of the alleys we spotted a flag of Nelson Mandela on one of the of the buildings. It turned out to be the African Museum and they were commentating the 100 year anniversary of Madiba’s birth. This was a special and poignant place for us.

oAfter a great lunch at Dona Eutimia Restaurant, with two street musicians as entertainment, we headed off to Central Park. Most of the buildings have been restored and cleaned but those that have not are a stark contrast and one has to be immensely greatful to UNESCO for ensuring the survival of historical areas, not only here but all around the world. The most beautiful building I think I have ever seen was the Alicia Alonso Theatre in this square. It hosts shows and ballet companies from around the world. Next to this building they are in the process of cleaning the dome to the Capital Hill building, a replica of the one in Washington, except for one feature, this building is 5cm taller (don’t tell Trump).

This ‘affluent’ centre is teaming with the beautiful old cars and it was from here we were picked up by Didong in his red and white convertible ’58 Chev Bel Air. I was so excited about this ride, pity it was so dam hot.

We drove through Revolution Square, the Plaza de la Revolucion, the Diplomatic Areas, Vedado and Miramar, where you find big houses and embassies, and stopped at a rain forest park. The trees were huge and the vegetation green and lush, unfortunately the river was dirty and smelly. We drove past the big Colon Cemetry and stopped in the most fascinating area. A time warp haven of artistry, where an artist named Fusta, has spent the last 25 years, tiling and mosaicing houses and walls, even bus stops in his area. This area was bizarre and fascinating, well worth a visit, just glad he is not my neighbor.

We arrived home hot and tired after a long day. It had started to rain, so we made a bee line for the closest little restaurant a block away from us for a quick meal, not our best in Cuba.

We went to bed with so much in our heads from the days incredible experiences.