tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59218866030002327242024-03-14T17:56:14.501+09:00De viaje por el mundoOur trips in Japan and beyondAlvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.comBlogger541125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-52156756923575550092013-04-11T17:11:00.001+09:002013-04-11T17:14:01.264+09:00GroningenAfter two crazy months of work and travel and thus, blog inactivity, I am writing again from the Netherlands, which was the real birthplace of this blog already many years ago. In the meanwhile, we have been to Tainan in Southern Taiwan and around Chengdu, in Sichuan, China.<br />
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After more than 5 years without coming back to the Netherlands, I came for a conference in Groningen, in the North of the country.<br />
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Groningen is a nice student town with a compact and beautiful city center. Some buildings are truly gorgeous and the general feel of the city is pretty nice. Groningen can be reached from Schiphol Airport by train (just over 2h). For me, it was the first time to go that far North in spite of having lived in the country for two years.<br />
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Now, some photos to show you the city!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com1Groningen, The Netherlands53.219231 6.575370000000020853.1431755 6.4140085000000209 53.2952865 6.7367315000000207tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-53612953808189742142013-02-06T23:57:00.000+09:002013-02-06T23:59:21.500+09:00All the way to Cuba. Pasadena, CACuba is literally on the other side of the world with respect to Japan. Additionally, the USA embargo does not allow air companies to fly from the USA to Cuba. But most of the flights from Japan to the America are via the USA! To sum up, it really takes time and money to get to Cuba from Japan.<br />
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The easiest way and the most expensive is to fly via Toronto with Air Canada. That solution is simple and fast, but also really expensive... This Xmas, we went there in a more relaxed and cheaper way: Tokyo to LA, LA to Mexico City and Mexico City to Havana. We stopped 2 days in LA to visit friends and to go to Universal Studios Hollywood and 5 days in Mexico city. Doing this, the trip was much much cheaper and we got to see friends and visit other interesting places! <br />
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Just after our flight into LAX, we moved to the LA downtown area, to our hotel, where we would meet my friends Alejandro and Romelia, from my time in Caltech. After meeting them, we walked around Figueroa Street, the oldest part of LA and with a clear Mexican feel... Mexican feel according to Americans of course... and then, we moved to Pasadena, the city where I lived almost 2 years of my life, already 3 years ago.<br />
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In Pasadena, we went for a walk in Caltech, where I could recall many memories of my life in Southern California... It was nice to be back to my last university and walk around those buildings without the pressure you have when you are a student there!!! <br />
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For dinner, we went to a Peruvian restaurant to eat ceviche and we could also meet my friend and former housemate Bernardo and his girlfriend, Gogui.<br />
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Bernardo bought my American car when I moved to Japan, and he still keeps it in good condition. I could meet my old mate of so many battles... I traveled so much in the American West with him... good old memories! ;)<br />
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Thanks guys for making this stopover in Los Angeles so special!!!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0Pasadena, CA, USA34.1477849 -118.1445155000000133.9376174 -118.467239 34.357952399999995 -117.82179200000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-5718106803584370722013-02-05T23:52:00.000+09:002013-02-05T23:52:18.468+09:00Tokyo Station<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex1Dk1jF-ulE2GXRD2UNgLd3jhHGBxFHMwpKbC1BCqpw1AAOrL0UmMmg3nxiMh1Mf6xvKqADjBsdGPz6CYYz6Pr41cH5PCGP20oj06F6H3lLgRfBoIC3R5GTxr7XGUx1JThuag42p4RaQ/s1600/IMG_8711.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex1Dk1jF-ulE2GXRD2UNgLd3jhHGBxFHMwpKbC1BCqpw1AAOrL0UmMmg3nxiMh1Mf6xvKqADjBsdGPz6CYYz6Pr41cH5PCGP20oj06F6H3lLgRfBoIC3R5GTxr7XGUx1JThuag42p4RaQ/s640/IMG_8711.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
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Tokyo Station is one of the main stations in Tokyo. It is located just in front of the Imperial Palace and it is in the real center of Tokyo, in the middle of Ginza, Nihonbashi, Otemachi. The station was finished in 1914 and for some scholars, it was built to look after Amsterdam Central Station. In my opinion, they look pretty similar.<br />
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Until recently, the station facade was under renovation and could not be seen properly. This Sunday, before the Setsubun event and party I told you about yesterday, we went for lunch in Otemachi area and could see the station front from a nice view point. Apparently, the works finished recently, so we were pretty lucky to get this nice view over the station :)<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo Station, 1丁目-9 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan35.681382 139.7660839999999835.6555865 139.72574349999996 35.7071775 139.8064245tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-37193589952923757632013-02-04T23:41:00.000+09:002013-02-04T23:41:42.836+09:00Setsubun 節分 平成25年<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vKzN8Uk3Pc_MtTZge3qeDO0Eh8I3MKww5hfyoyGYjeEHMbqx38ID62KjyJGgX9aaA9j-zsS00zUsJfrVvLBjNE0E2V8rP6sW775UE21vJUwtamB5bDvrQBMYr1ETkPh1pC1P0NB_De7k/s1600/IMG_8727.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vKzN8Uk3Pc_MtTZge3qeDO0Eh8I3MKww5hfyoyGYjeEHMbqx38ID62KjyJGgX9aaA9j-zsS00zUsJfrVvLBjNE0E2V8rP6sW775UE21vJUwtamB5bDvrQBMYr1ETkPh1pC1P0NB_De7k/s640/IMG_8727.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
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Yesterday, it was 3rd February and that means the beginning of the Spring in Japanese tradition. 3 years ago, I already talked about <a href="http://kita1010.blogspot.jp/2010/02/setsubun.html" target="_blank">Setsubun 節分 in this blog</a> .<br />
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This year, we went to Nezu Jinja with our little son for the so-called mamemaki 豆まき. Some demons dance around doing nasty things and then, some people come with many presents (oranges, rice crackers, peanuts, snacks...) and throw them to the crowd as the demons flee. Some kids bring big bags to try to get as much stuff as possible!<br />
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At night, we had a party at home to celebrate setsubun. I wore a demon mask and my nephew, niece and son threw me lots of beans for me to leave as they sang: 鬼は外、福は内。 "Demons go away, Luck come in!"<br />
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Afterwards, we ate some large sushi rolls. For the first one, you must face South South East and eat the whole roll without speaking and thinking about your wishes. They will come true by doing that! ;)<br />
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Another traditional thing to do is to eat the same number of soy beans as your age. Fortunately, 30 beans is still manageable after a sushi feast!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com2Nezu Shrine, 1丁目-28-9 Nezu, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0031, Japan35.720233 139.7607379999999510.1981985 98.452143999999947 61.2422675 -178.93066800000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-72718158687922922252013-02-02T00:23:00.001+09:002013-02-02T00:30:37.350+09:00La Habana (III)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjluCRzd7T_0F8lO1cka372xs-Fc6Gh7k2AHhH8v4evt_4pWUIIU6QcPNjhLlJQPZ_wjpqpThlXdfUUAgVhOd1KPbIgNk6JDjN5_mz9unNhrtPC2krEmpU0SkEIYGJ-WNbuQIHukJH9qjN/s1600/IMG_8384.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjluCRzd7T_0F8lO1cka372xs-Fc6Gh7k2AHhH8v4evt_4pWUIIU6QcPNjhLlJQPZ_wjpqpThlXdfUUAgVhOd1KPbIgNk6JDjN5_mz9unNhrtPC2krEmpU0SkEIYGJ-WNbuQIHukJH9qjN/s640/IMG_8384.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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This is the final post describing our trip in Cuba. Our last day and a half in Havana. So expect lots of photos ;)<br />
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We came from <a href="http://kita1010.blogspot.jp/2013/02/santa-clara.html" target="_blank">Santa Clara</a> in a local taxi with lots of people and this time, we were just left in the local bus station, not a door to door service. Since the local bus station is near the Monumento a Jose Marti in Plaza de la Revolucion, we went there again to try to get to the top of the tower. However, we were late again and could not climb up there for the views...<br />
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Anyway, we could take a lot of photos with Marti and Plaza de la Revolucion...<br />
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Our hotel was next to Habana Vieja, and in our way there by taxi, I asked the taxi driver to stop for a little while at University of Havana, a city landmark and the most important university in the country.<br />
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We got to our casa particular one day before that we were expected and it was full. However, they could find us accommodation in the same building and the next day we just had to go upstairs. Yuuhi found a friend there ;)<br />
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The first night back in Havana, we could meet Seppo and Cynthia again! We had dinner in Los Nardos/Asturianitos just in front of El Capitolio...<br />
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... and afterwards, we went for some daiquiris in El Florida, one of Hemingway's favorite places. There is even a bronze statue of him in the bar! However, Yuuhi did not seem to like it much...<br />
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There are many different daiquiris in El Florida. However, we all took the signature drink, Papa Hemingway, which meant no sugar and lots of rum. The result was a pretty rough cocktail, pretty different from normal daiquiris and because of that, pretty interesting. I liked it :)<br />
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Some photos of all of us now!</div>
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... and again, Hemingway.<br />
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Back in our Casa Particular, I really could not ceased to be amazed at how high ceilings are in Havana! They are like 4 or 5 meters high!<br />
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he next morning, Seppo and Cynthia were out of the country. We decided to take it easy and walk in Havana at our pace. We started with the sea front Malecon, with great views of the city.<br />
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In the end of El Malecon, we found El Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta.<br />
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Afterwards, we walked towards Habana Vieja and visited the Museo de la Revolucion. On the way there, we found this building with Che, Cienfuegos and Fidel or Raul Castro's faces.<br />
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The Museo de la Revolucion is located in the former Presidential Palace and the Palace itself is well worth the visit.<br />
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The palace is really interesting and the museum is the ultimate place to understand how the revolution succeeded and what the next steps were in order to create a Communist country.<br />
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There were even some rooms just explaining about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilo_Cienfuegos" target="_blank">Camilo Cienfuegos</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara" target="_blank"> Che Guevara</a>.<br />
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.. and there was also an interesting corner called Rincon de los Cretinos... (assholes' corner)<br />
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Next to Museo de la Revolucion, there is a small memorial with lots of military stuff and the Granma, the yacht revolutionaries used to go from Mexico to Cuba at the beginning of revolution.</div>
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After that visit, we were back in beautiful Habana Vieja, with its pastel colored delightful crumbling houses. It is amazing how beautiful decrepit buildings can look like!!!<br />
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Lunch was in Obispo Street with lots of Cuban live music.<br />
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Then, time for more walking and shop visiting...<br />
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... before getting to Hotel Ambos Mundos, a hotel were Hemingway spent a lot of time while in Havana.<br />
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From there to Plaza de Armas and Castillo de la Real Fuerza, it takes just a few minutes walking and thus, there went we. By the way, the small figure on top of the tower in the photo sbelow in el Castillo de la Real Fuerza is called La Giraldilla and it is the symbol of Havana Club rum.<br />
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A short walk brought us to Plaza de San Francisco, the last of the four main plazas in Havana we visited. I liked it a lot...<br />
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... and from there, we ended up back in Plaza Vieja...<br />
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From there, we walked along San Ignacio street and buildings got really decrepit... it was the area far away from the touristic center and which does not benefit from UNESCO money... We ended up in some kind of market with paintings and art craft, the Antiguos Almacenes San Jose.<br />
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Coming back towards Capitolio, we found
the longest section of the original Spanish city walls still standing...<br />
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... the train station...<br />
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... and the house where Jose Marti was born.<br />
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At night, it was time for some more live music...<br />
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... before sleeping a little bit just before leaving the country after 10 very intense days!!!<br />
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Cuba was definitely an amazing experience and it was totally worth going to the other side of the world from Japan to visit this wonderful country. This country is amazing in terms of culture, music, sightseeing and people meeting. A totally recommended destination!Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-43446086105111201802013-02-01T21:34:00.004+09:002013-02-01T21:34:58.891+09:00Santa Clara<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Santa Clara is located one hour away from Cienfuegos on the main highway linking La Habana with El Oriente. Santa Clara is an energetic city with lots of university students. However, Santa Clara is mostly famous for its connection with Ernesto Che Guevara. El Che conquered Santa Clara from governmental forces in the last days of revolution and this victory brought about the collapse of the Batista's dictatorship. Later on, Che Guevara served as part of the Cuban government and continued fighting for revolution in many other places around the world before he was killed by American CIA in Bolivia. In the 90's, his body was found in a secret mass grave in Bolivia and sent to Cuba. Fidel Castro decided to create a mausoleum where his remainings can finally rest in peace. Santa Clara was the place for the mausoleum.<br />
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In short, most of people traveling to Santa Clara go there to see the place were the battle took place and Che Guevara's mausoleum.<br />
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In the exact place of the battle, there is the Monumento a la Batalla del Tren Blindado; a recreation of what happened in Santa Clara. Basically, a commando with around 20-30 people commanded by Guevara could take an armoured train with around 300 official reinforcement troops and supplies which was arriving at the city. As I was told by the people walking around the site, they put up the train tracks with a bulldozer and when the train came, it derailed. They had put some of the wooden parts of the tracks around and after the derailment, they set them in fire. The fire, the surprise derailment and the attack of the commando provided Guevara with a key victory. Currently, we can see the bulldozer they used, some of the train wagons and some memorials, museum...<br />
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Not far from the battle site, there is the regional Communist Party office. In front of it, there is a nice statue of Che holding a kid in his arms. Several locals told us to go there and see it, and they were very proud about Che having being a key person in the history of the city. The statue was actually very cool and realistic. <br />
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The other site of interest is Che Guevara's mausoleum. It also has a huge statue and several of his quotes and letters. On the other side there is another square with a memorial for revolutionaries and an eternal flame lit up. Just below Che Guevara's statue, there is a museum and his memorial with his remainings and those of the Cubans found in the mass grave in Bolivia. The memorial can only be visited in small groups and lines are very long... it took us one hour to get in...</div>
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Now it is time for some anecdote. After more than 1 week in Cuba, we were a little bit tired of Cuban food in restaurants, so we decided to try some Italian food. Next to the main park/square in Santa Clara, we saw a long line of people waiting to enter an Italian restaurant. I asked the people and everybody told me food there was very good and people came for celebrations. Well, after waiting for one whole hour, we got a table and could order. We ordered one pizza and one dish of spaghetti. The menu was surprising... really limited... it was something like Ham Pizza, Tuna Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Sausage Pizza. The same for spaghetti. The food came and when we tried it, we could not believe it! It was worse than terrible! Spaghetti were overcooked and the cook had just put a little bit of tasteless cheese, meat and tomato sauce on top. The pizza just was some normal sliced processed cheese on top of normal bread! Wow... and the wost of it all was that people were really enjoying their meals!!! That was kind of a cultural experience.<br />
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Finally, as I promised the other day, today I must talk about transportation between cities in Cuba. We used Viazul buses between La Habana and Viñales and between Trinidad and Cienfuegos. The first time, we went there with a reservation and everything was smooth and worked fine. The second time, the bus was full and we had no reservation, but after waiting for a while, when the bus came, we could get some seats and so did most of the people waiting. Between Viñales and La Habana, we used a private taxi shared with two other tourists, so we were 4 adults and 1 baby in the car and we paid the same price as the Viazul bus for a door to door service. We did exactly the same for the long trip between La Habana and Trinidad. Finally, in the last stages of our trip, we used local taxis with local people. Between Cienfuegos and Santa Clara, we paid the same price as with Viazul buses. The second time, between Santa Clara and La Habana, I was told to pay the same price as Cubans, around 40% cheaper than Viazul. The result is I had to negotiate for a very long time (more than 40 minutes...) and we lost a couple of taxis. They did not want to take foreigners for such a price! After a harsh, long negotiation, we got seats in one taxi. The surprise came when we saw how many people were in our car!!! There were 3 people in the front row (driver + 2 passengers) and 4 adults and 2 kids in the back row!!! Basically, it was impossible to fit in the seats and the almost four-hour drive to Havana was extremely uncomfortable. During that ride I understood that by paying extra, foreigners are buying several seats in the taxi. If we had paid the same as for the Viazul bus, one of the passengers behind would have needed a different taxi ;)<br />
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In conclusion, I think that the best way to move around between cities is to take shared taxis and to pay the same money as for the bus with the condition that you can get enough room in the taxi. Of course, to do this you will probably need a very good command of Spanish or a Spanish-speaking friend!<br />
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Finally, a traditional Cuban song about Che Guevara and Santa Clara. Enjoy your weekend!
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/po09lcDxXIA" width="640"></iframe>Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0Villa Clara, Cuba22.405950148725722 -79.963989257812522.171011648725724 -80.2867127578125 22.640888648725721 -79.6412657578125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-80176028854510679292013-01-31T23:20:00.001+09:002013-01-31T23:27:40.970+09:00Cienfuegos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After visiting Trinidad and around, it was time to go to nearby <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cienfuegos" target="_blank">Cienfuegos</a>, whose historical center is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. This city, in contrast to Trinidad, was founded in 1819 (that's more than 300 years after Trinidad!) and the founders were French immigrants. This is a key difference which is easily noticeable in the city center: architecture and city planning is influenced by French taste. Therefore, there are large buildings with domes and arches in long wide boulevards. And the city is planned as a perfect grid, very different from the old Spanish towns. The main street is called El Prado and in two photos you can quickly feel the difference with respect to Trinidad!</div>
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The main attractions in the city center are around Parque Jose Marti. This is the area protected by UNESCO and which really presents French influence.</div>
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<i>(The Capitol)</i></div>
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<i>(The Cathedral)</i></div>
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<i>(Jose Marti's statue in the middle of the Park)</i></div>
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<i>(Templete de la Musica)</i></div>
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<i>(A nice social club)</i></div>
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<i>(The only Arch of Triumph in Cuba)</i></div>
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<i>(Yuuhi playing in the park)</i></div>
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<i>(Some museum?)</i></div>
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<i>(Teatro Tomas Terry)</i></div>
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Tomas Terry Theater is one of the most famous landmarks in the city and the interior can be visited. The interior looks really vintage and has nice decoration and paintings in the stage and ceilings.<br />
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Cienfuegos turned out to be a very cheap city. Basically, there were many local shops everywhere where we could use local money (not the one for tourists). That makes things extremely cheap! For example, a nice dark espresso coffee costs less than 1 yen or euro cent! Or a small sandwich is less than 40 yen! There were also many revolutionary panels like this one with Che Guevara:<br />
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Connecting the Parque Jose Marti with El Prado, there is a nice pedestrian street with local shops. It was interesting to check what Cuban shops for Cuban look like. The main feeling was that the supply of items was really limited and that prices for electronics/furniture/etc was extremely expensive for the typical Cuban salary from 10 to 20 USD per month.<br />
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There is another area in the city, around 3 km from the city center, called Punta Gorda where there are nice mansions and beautiful buildings. However, we were pretty tired and decided to take it easy. We exchange the visit to that area for a nice big lunch ;) Probably it was better that way!!!Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-91230489081698456452013-01-30T12:10:00.002+09:002013-01-30T12:15:31.604+09:00Around Trinidad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are many places of interest around Trinidad. You can go for history to the UNESCO World Heritage Valle de los Ingenios (Sugar Mills Valley), or relax in the Caribbean Sea at Playa Ancon or go for nature to Topes de Collantes National Park. Our time was limited so we went for the first two options. Culture in the morning to start the year and then, relax time until sunset in the beach.<br />
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1st January in the morning was very relaxed in Trinidad and as a result, we were the only visitors going to Valle de los Ingenios by bus tour. That meant that we went by taxi with a private guide for us two! Not bad :)<br />
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The main site in El Valle is Manaca Iznaga state, a former state owned by the Iznaga family and which was the main sugar producing state in the area. Currently, we can still see the main tower, which was used to watch and control all of the sugar plantation, the main house where the Iznaga family lived, the slaves barracks and so other half-collapsed buildings.<br />
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The main house is now a restaurant and souvenir shop and it still keeps a nice colonial feel.<br />
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As in our visit to a rum factory in <a href="http://kita1010.blogspot.jp/2009/09/jamaica-and-vi-black-river.html" target="_blank">Jamaica</a>, we were explained how the sugar cane is treated. And we could get juice out of it using the small mill below. In Jamaica, Naoko volunteered to be one of the oxen which would turn the mill. Therefore, now it was my turn to try the mill ;) We were also offered to drink the sugar cane juice and to mix it with rum. The cocktail was pretty tasty!<br />
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However, the most interesting thing to do in Manaca Iznaga was to climb the watch tower and enjoy the magnificent views over the valley and the whole former plantation.<br />
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After Manaca Iznaga sugar cane plantation, it was time to go to Guachinango, a former ranch or "hacienda" in Cuban Spanish. The ranch has a train station with a nice iron bridge and we were lucky enough to see the slow old train going along it.<br />
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Once in the ranch, there were some people working in the nearby fields and Yuuhi was particularly interested in this donkey ;)<br />
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The ranch main house was again a very beautiful colorful colonial building turned into a restaurant.<br />
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After Guachinango, we came back to Trinidad and stopped by a pottery oven and shop which have been active for many generations. There were photos of famous Cuban and foreign people who had visited the place, including Fidel Castro.<br />
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There was also a nice old car from the very beginning of automotion! And they were working on the engine to get it moving some time in the future...<br />
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After culture, it was time to go to the beach. Playa Ancon is only 10 km away from Trinidad and is a good place to relax and enjoy the Caribbean and a good sunset.<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-82775931851766846432013-01-29T12:25:00.000+09:002013-01-29T12:25:55.616+09:00Trinidad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad,_Cuba" target="_blank">Trinidad, Cuba</a>. One of the oldest towns in Cuba and also one of the best preserved. A UNESCO World Heritage and a reminder of the wealth generated by sugar cane production in the Caribbean. A town of cobblestone streets and pastel colored colonial houses, where one in every three houses is a museum.</div>
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Trinidad is utterly gorgeous. Wherever you look, the combination of colors, colonial architecture, terracota roofs and the general Cuban feel make the atmosphere intoxicating.<br />
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Since the moment you set foot in Trinidad you notice two things:
1. The town is amazingly beautiful and worth the trouble to come all the way to Sancti Spiritus province
2. It is also a bit of a tourist trap, with all the prices in restaurants, shops, casas particulares... higher than in any other place in Cuba.
Point 2 is not nice, but Point 1 really compensates for it! If you get frustrated over paying a bit more, you can just look around, feel the atmosphere and relax.<br />
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Trinidad does not have clear highlights. There are a couple places where you can go to see beautiful views, a couple of museums which show the opulence of life in the town some centuries ago... but the main thing to do here, as in other places in Cuba, is just to walk around and observe and calmly sense the town vibe.<br />
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There is a central square with the main church and lots of museums and one of the best Casa de la Musica in Cuba with daily live performances. This is downtown proper. Around this plaza, everything looks beautiful thanks to UNESCO and tourism money. However, outside of the few blocks which compose the town center, the town is really run down. Another constant in Cuba. This is another reason why the city center acts like a magnet and brings you back before long.<br />
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We went to Trinidad for New Year's Eve. In our recent experience, New Year's Eve in the countryside of developing countries is something to be remembered. It is the time and place when and where traditions can be felt more intensely. For example, food. The typical Cuban food for New Year's Eve is roasted piglet. When we arrived in Trinidad, we saw many people in the streets putting wooden sticks literally through the piglets... it was quite a rough view and definitely an experience. Afterwards, the animals were roasted for many hours, slowly, in the streets. There were old guys turning the pigs from time to time and offering conversation to passers-by: they had to be sitting there the whole day! At night, all menus in Trinidad included this delicious meat.<br />
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Another interesting tradition was water throwing. The pass from one year to the next is celebrated with fireworks and a big party, as in many places. However, the peculiarity in Cuba is that people must throw water buckets to the streets to clean their houses and keep them free from bad influences, spirits and the like.<br />
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So if you are in Cuba for New Year's Eve, be careful if you see a door opening... they won't think twice before showering you! Actually, we saw groups of small children walking around in reckless attitude trying to get soaked.<br />
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In terms of logistics, Trinidad is 6 hours away from Havana by <a href="http://www.viazul.com/" target="_blank">Viazul bus</a>. Most of the trip is on a nice highway, but the last 100 km or so are on very local winding roads. In our case, we did not have a reservation for the bus so when we showed up there, the bus was full and there were no available seats on sale. We could wait until the bus departure to see if there were some actually empty seats, which is normal... However, after our pleasant taxi experience from Viñales to Havana, I decided to go out of the terminal and talk to the taxi drivers. After a long and hard negotiation, I got a taxi driver with a nice new car for the same price as the bus if I could find one more passenger. Of course, it just took one minute to convince one person among those waiting for empty seats in the Viazul bus. So in the end, it just took us 4 hours to get to Trinidad and it was much more comfortable! (I will talk more about the best the way to move in Cuba, in my opinion, when I talk about Santa Clara - promised!) <br />
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Just before closing time, shops were full of people, foreigners and locals alike, trying to get the last supplies for the upcoming party. Of course, we also stocked on soft drinks, snacks and a bottle of Havana Club. Rum in Cuba is cheap, very cheap... dirty cheap! For around 3 USD you can get a bottle of rum in tourist shops! so I really cannot imagine what is the price for locals in the largest supermarkets! <br />
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The night was falling onto the town...<br />
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... and roasters were finishing their jobs one more year...<br />
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In our Casa Particular (<a href="http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/cuba/trinidad/77292/" target="_blank">Hostal Rintintin</a>), we enjoyed a nice buffet dinner with some Italians. The buffet was nice, with lots of seafood, roasted pork and the usual Cuban food for tourists...<br />
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... it was a little bit pricy, but still cheaper than in any other place in town, and anyway, it was New Year's Eve!!! Yuuhi soon got asleep, so we got stuck in the hostel and could not go outside for a long time, but Lorenzo, the owner, babysitted him for around 30 minutes and we could go out and see what was going on in the streets. And back in the hostel, he invited us to some beers :)<br />
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The next day, the town was completely empty, recovering from the excesses of the previous night...<br />
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... and thanks to the fact that we had had to sleep early to take care of our son, we had all of the town for ourselves in the ealy morning!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com1Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba21.800308050972589 -79.9804687521.328215050972588 -80.62591575 22.27240105097259 -79.33502175tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-89646615033470558432013-01-27T08:53:00.000+09:002013-01-27T08:53:01.889+09:00La Habana (II)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So we were back in Havana! But this time, to the newer parts of Havana. And it definitely looked different that Habana Vieja. Wide streets in a grid pattern with trees and houses reminiscent of the 19th century. And big open spaces... Like Plaza de la Revolucion with the large Monumento a Jose Marti (one of the heroes of Cuban Independence from Spain)...<br />
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... and the famous buildings with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's faces.<br />
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We could even find amazingly cheap restaurants for locals in which soup and one dish of rice and a burger/sausage/egg was only 5 Cuban pesos or less than 5 euro cents or 5 yen!!! Beer was also different! Not the one for tourists but for locals. These beers are Mayabe and Cacique. Mayabe is the equivalent to Cristal and Cacique was the equivalent to Bucanero. Cacique was not a bad beer and I drank it always I could find it. </div>
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There were also many panels with revolutionary slogans (or propaganda depending on your views).
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Vedado also houses the most important graveyard in Havana, and Cuban graveyards are very beautiful and tourist destinations on their own! This one, Necropolis Cristobal Colon actually charged a hefty 5 CUC (=5 USD) for foreign nationals. But it was interesting to get in to see what a Cuban graveyard looks like. And it did not let us down. It was full of memorials and statues wherever we went.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZQu3rx4Er-5aVTehZu4v5BXXLf78r2DRiENHQt5fdUiePXHIEVGbSL_irtHWjhzMRtIyTuU4KOYXIMawozTvbi9KCF5Z5bc3T-j7TUorb27IA41dSjZYqovGlevbHB0SzmDI-n_306RM/s1600/IMG_7790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZQu3rx4Er-5aVTehZu4v5BXXLf78r2DRiENHQt5fdUiePXHIEVGbSL_irtHWjhzMRtIyTuU4KOYXIMawozTvbi9KCF5Z5bc3T-j7TUorb27IA41dSjZYqovGlevbHB0SzmDI-n_306RM/s640/IMG_7790.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Main entrance)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBPlaVVV71BJgHyIV-PxUBTamOCjBEcXq1by3ShZ6IBhSlPRFNdHiZBB8qkZylMY70XJB_xvjIlJOOmQYZtD9A33eZEe_qHuS_T1YJmCA487K02v8QGSFxNNDKjwqjQcH-8G6eexHqJ1d/s1600/IMG_7795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBPlaVVV71BJgHyIV-PxUBTamOCjBEcXq1by3ShZ6IBhSlPRFNdHiZBB8qkZylMY70XJB_xvjIlJOOmQYZtD9A33eZEe_qHuS_T1YJmCA487K02v8QGSFxNNDKjwqjQcH-8G6eexHqJ1d/s640/IMG_7795.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<i>(Tomb of the writer Alejo Carpentier)</i></div>
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<i>(Random street)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7qZ2ZpKWlmOnRBZMiQMobbzhb8z8EZasG9Qr8AnQM_kxIwxDJgue9JtrZRYCxNx9J-mv7Akn_WxuwqbCts__X3buK38m0JHaVUGGFV38QRNaF2XavoKpnsrAeFDT5zLKkmJRy5KGvgh2/s1600/IMG_7799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7qZ2ZpKWlmOnRBZMiQMobbzhb8z8EZasG9Qr8AnQM_kxIwxDJgue9JtrZRYCxNx9J-mv7Akn_WxuwqbCts__X3buK38m0JHaVUGGFV38QRNaF2XavoKpnsrAeFDT5zLKkmJRy5KGvgh2/s640/IMG_7799.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Random statues)</i></div>
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<i>(Random mausoleums)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjy8-IeTEcmN5VK1p6OtoQlZn04C829HdAhTrO8zdEZr2z0l9GSarpVCAfPTEMpDq_slfvo3P1zix1aJ2gBmxD5ljbPUbuuM4Jlb6z5CiyqCNo-WbACNEgpo0DE2BXgRIaOBScrt3H8Dxw/s1600/IMG_7804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjy8-IeTEcmN5VK1p6OtoQlZn04C829HdAhTrO8zdEZr2z0l9GSarpVCAfPTEMpDq_slfvo3P1zix1aJ2gBmxD5ljbPUbuuM4Jlb6z5CiyqCNo-WbACNEgpo0DE2BXgRIaOBScrt3H8Dxw/s640/IMG_7804.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Some weird looking memorial)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuKSZQVJheuWAEZU54OKF7xwrLn4XsX3pczpA-1zqqR-w8cWrWEfGi8ad6kBOz61fTVTkaLeeb6fUN2xJ9y3zC_r85KZjZFb1-118CJ7M6Lca5wv7FasUwJcxJwGuJLwCdu4OJE8B51G3/s1600/IMG_7806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuKSZQVJheuWAEZU54OKF7xwrLn4XsX3pczpA-1zqqR-w8cWrWEfGi8ad6kBOz61fTVTkaLeeb6fUN2xJ9y3zC_r85KZjZFb1-118CJ7M6Lca5wv7FasUwJcxJwGuJLwCdu4OJE8B51G3/s640/IMG_7806.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Memorial for the Revolutionary Armed Forces)</i></div>
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<i>(Memorial for the revolutionaries who died in the Granma landing)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbU39Y_UPRcMaz58cCyhTzOljCIkvc-AbNwwcf2jKStgDoGSZlGO2ubMQTX6zWHXmp1hN_xABJMfLnXz-FdFTaKn_oAwv_5KOwiEtuFXBShyphenhyphenozWA3JIS1st_Wic_SR2UvkFHcDS_X4rHS/s1600/IMG_7813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbU39Y_UPRcMaz58cCyhTzOljCIkvc-AbNwwcf2jKStgDoGSZlGO2ubMQTX6zWHXmp1hN_xABJMfLnXz-FdFTaKn_oAwv_5KOwiEtuFXBShyphenhyphenozWA3JIS1st_Wic_SR2UvkFHcDS_X4rHS/s640/IMG_7813.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Detail in the Memorial for the Dead in the Independence War. The legend translates as "Freedom is not asked, it is taken by the blade of a machete")</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARrdVo7VtaXKoVJYEBhLS0hoV4TGMUOb1gaqjJwHRfpKTFrZjSFwmQmu_oegBt6Y5ysjZpUZV6OM8VoeYnDQ-fceVxQYpCVGLBoCRB4U7V5CUAhSviHU6ZBYEkI9VNh9Y7Sn7wJvDk1Lg/s1600/IMG_7819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARrdVo7VtaXKoVJYEBhLS0hoV4TGMUOb1gaqjJwHRfpKTFrZjSFwmQmu_oegBt6Y5ysjZpUZV6OM8VoeYnDQ-fceVxQYpCVGLBoCRB4U7V5CUAhSviHU6ZBYEkI9VNh9Y7Sn7wJvDk1Lg/s640/IMG_7819.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(The main church were funeral are held. The only 8-sides church in Cuba)</i></div>
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After the walk in the Necropolis, we went to the stunning "Seccion de Intereses de Estados Unidos en Cuba", kind of the American Consulate. Apparently, the American administration under George Bush Jr. decided to display panels with counter-revolutionary slogans on this building. Fidel's reaction was to put tens of flags in front of the building so nothing could be seen and he built a huge plaza were revolutionary meeting are held regularly. Of course they also put some revolutionary slogans around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6tjGmBJv0GoTqL0KCAZhoiRMEGm4K359nDIAQdqCU48VayiaAFy0lI5miFVcitHrxH4B709B3LSP2o_l3UhS4MoEA2OyzTJ1tdWgsC9v897f8f9vP8t0X4BfzvFrsInCkh6UTQjRaMWw/s1600/IMG_7824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6tjGmBJv0GoTqL0KCAZhoiRMEGm4K359nDIAQdqCU48VayiaAFy0lI5miFVcitHrxH4B709B3LSP2o_l3UhS4MoEA2OyzTJ1tdWgsC9v897f8f9vP8t0X4BfzvFrsInCkh6UTQjRaMWw/s640/IMG_7824.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2C-Ia-DHHT7uzr3eOv4owSnSdJ4saQGeEPyfgptwk-vAmAj7es_BqdQDJBr_y-saFjYi56YVUAswZx3jHm-hTwCg11t-t6Otc0fgGUdbkkOONktCc6YaRVb9ZqLQTjg0y8uItHgxkl1x/s1600/IMG_7828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6QSJHGhcs8lCQAa5Wq-EkObRmS6Y6hYHMZck0G_qeIdZJFaYW98FUbHLEd4pq6JHMeJC4QNGNWoNzr4AdmNmL3Fz9lmzRbJgi3y9nmb_zg9ZK07ZZXkdXR5ImNJCRDBk58cmTz7yw5Pe/s1600/IMG_7836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6QSJHGhcs8lCQAa5Wq-EkObRmS6Y6hYHMZck0G_qeIdZJFaYW98FUbHLEd4pq6JHMeJC4QNGNWoNzr4AdmNmL3Fz9lmzRbJgi3y9nmb_zg9ZK07ZZXkdXR5ImNJCRDBk58cmTz7yw5Pe/s640/IMG_7836.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This place is at "El Malecon", the seafront boulevard. This boulevard is quite famous and it is more than 8 km long. The sea is always pretty rough and wave usually get over the walls and pour into the street above. That is pretty interesting and you have to be very alert not to get a bath!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkiOpyWINLeZ8k1CnnqwI2-PBVeQeFepDk4keCP6crK-xLhWqrTBVNrPq9zAW8fhG1Sa2J9XaNMKRpIi94opX5dKZhG6xaNd4vadAI7OCaVw9WPudYP0AuHpx4Ahtt300yoNvUvX55vTZ/s1600/IMG_7841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkiOpyWINLeZ8k1CnnqwI2-PBVeQeFepDk4keCP6crK-xLhWqrTBVNrPq9zAW8fhG1Sa2J9XaNMKRpIi94opX5dKZhG6xaNd4vadAI7OCaVw9WPudYP0AuHpx4Ahtt300yoNvUvX55vTZ/s640/IMG_7841.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the end of that plaza, there is a nice statue of Jose Marti holding a baby in his hands, so I could not restrained and I did the typical thing...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8dXh-wGbW6LZTyH4CvVK2wpdm7d56vPAALKg-yrfdfgxmQpazTnoCUyRnAgDdfmNNkFOSviPs9Fl7opJNkMmeDOqcqjKKAVHoFiRQSjLMi8mqCfpPtsAvRX5jPKUAUqyomeeT4i72Jro/s1600/IMG_7848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8dXh-wGbW6LZTyH4CvVK2wpdm7d56vPAALKg-yrfdfgxmQpazTnoCUyRnAgDdfmNNkFOSviPs9Fl7opJNkMmeDOqcqjKKAVHoFiRQSjLMi8mqCfpPtsAvRX5jPKUAUqyomeeT4i72Jro/s640/IMG_7848.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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In that area, there are many famous hotels and high rise buildings...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH98vC7uTVkMkaMiM_AtKN7PZLVqw61mnH2YL6rOTxYsBVTEtxZf_1UVNNMoqlebTxMgYCGtCpRQQBYAedJFkKG6Nr7ZDFFPCW9OmF6QzPDOYlrQ5I_z1r822grEbp8_ZhYmt3qHC7o2Gt/s1600/IMG_7850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH98vC7uTVkMkaMiM_AtKN7PZLVqw61mnH2YL6rOTxYsBVTEtxZf_1UVNNMoqlebTxMgYCGtCpRQQBYAedJFkKG6Nr7ZDFFPCW9OmF6QzPDOYlrQ5I_z1r822grEbp8_ZhYmt3qHC7o2Gt/s640/IMG_7850.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(Hotel Nacional) </i></div>
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<i>(The tallest building in Cuba is the tallest in the photo) </i></div>
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<i>(Hotel Habana Libre, taken by the revolutionary forces when the Revolution succeeded) </i></div>
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To go into the Hotel Nacional is like coming back in time 60 or 70 years. It feels like being in an old movie...
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... and the taxis waiting outside really match that feeling!<br />
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Around the hotel, it is the central area of Vedado, with crumbling previously gorgeous houses. Notice the tall building in the back of the first photo, this is El FOCSA, the tallest building in Cuba.<br />
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This was our glimpse into Vedado, the new part of Habana downtown. The next day it was time to move onto Trinidad to celebrate New Year's Eve in the countryside!Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-30532291480362865642013-01-25T20:37:00.000+09:002013-01-25T23:00:30.030+09:00Viñales (II)The second day in Viñales started with a surprise, the bus which goes around the valley was broken and there was no other public transportation. We were informed about this by taxi touts and confirmed it in the bus office... so we had to go by taxi. After some haggling, I got a taxi for 3 people and we would pay the same price as for the bus. The third person turned up to be a nice Russian fellow who was completely flexible and open-minded, which made sharing the taxi a really enjoyable experience.
The first stop was Palanque de los Cimarrones, a strange kurst formation on a huge mountain (or mogote). There are some caves around there, but we thought it would be difficult to go there with our son so we soon moved on to Cueva del Indio.<br />
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On the way there, we had the first problems with the taxi: the taxi driver's wife was visiting him for Xmas and he did not go to stay all day out with us. I could convince him to come back to Cueva del Indio in two hours' time, which gave us time to visit the cave and to hike in the nearby Rancho de San Vicente.<br />
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Cueva del Indio was not so large, but still interesting, as caves always are! In addition, it was very tourist-oriented, which made it easy to visit with our son. There is a larger cave in the valley, Cueva de Santo Tomas. But that one is supposed to be quite rough and some point, so we decided not to go there either with our son. The price to pay to be parents!!! ;)<br />
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The most interesting part of Cueva del Indio is the second part of the visit, which is done by boat. There is a river coming out of the cave and there is a small boat ride from the cave towards the exit. On the way out, the person in charge of the boat pointed out some "weird" rock formations which resemble other things: bananas, crocodiles, etc, etc...<br />
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This is the actual exit of Cueva del Indio:<br />
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Just in the exit, there were some tourist traps (souvenirs, overpriced restaurants...) and behind those, Rancho de San Vicente was waiting for some hiking opportunities. The landscape out there felt really tropical with jungle and palm trees all over.<br />
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At first, it was difficult to get oriented in Rancho de San Vicente, so we just kept on wandering around, until we found the trails we had been talked about.<br />
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The hikes in this area are not so special, but are ok to feel the rustic atmosphere: cattle, pigs, plantations, jungle, birds singing in it...<br />
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After Cueva del Indio, our taxi driver was different and some more problems arised. Basically, he just wanted to bring us to places quickly and come back to town really early. It took us 20 minutes to convince him that the plan we had agreed upon was not like that and he should honour that plan. Finally, it was fine and we could leasurely visit the places we wanted to visit and have a nice long lunch at a local paladar (privately owned restaurant).<br />
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The other interesting part of the Viñales Valley is around Mogote Dos Hermanas, and here is where the most beautiful karst mountain scenery is. The size of these mogotes is just amazing. Compare the size of the one below with respect to the house on the lower right corner to understand the proportions.<br />
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The main tourist attraction in here is the so-called Mural de la Prehistoria, a mural painted over a large wall in one of the mogotes. It was painted over several years around the 70s by some Diego Rivera followers. The result is shocking. You may like it or not, but it does not leave you indifferent. In my opinion, let's say I do not like it so much :P<br />
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After this part of the valley, it was time for the best views, from Hotel Los Jazmines. From up there, all the valley is visible and it is really beautiful.<br />
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The final stop was in another beautiful hotel-mirador, Hotel La Ermita. From there, we could see the town and the mogotes in the background.<br />
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Finally, we got back to town at around 16.30, just in time for some mojitos and chilling out before going back to our casa for a special dinner...<br />
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That night, we were meeting some great friends, Seppo and Cynthia, who were also traveling around Cuba! It was very nice to meet them after some years. Actually, the last time we had met them had been two years before, in our own wedding celebration in Almansa, Spain. During dinner, we got up to date with our lives and made plans to meet again in La Habana in the end of our trips, around one week later.<br />
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The next day, it was time to leave Viñales. The next stop was Trinidad, but it was more than 7 hours away by bus, so we decided to go back to La Habana to break the trip in two parts and make it more agreable for Yuuhi and for us. Shopping in town, we got a shared taxi with two Argentineans for the same price as the bus. So same price, faster and door-to-door service! The car was a pretty cool old American car from the 50s. However, the sound system was Pioneer, the driving wheel was from a Hyundai and the engine was Toyota! A good vehicle to come back to La Habana, where we planned to visit Vedado, the new city center developed during the American-influence era.<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-31535292012367077002013-01-24T12:46:00.000+09:002013-01-24T12:46:27.609+09:00Viñales (I)After our accidented trip to Viñales, it was well past lunch time when we got there. First, we were greated by Boris, the son of our Casa Particular owner, who gave us a ride to the Casa. This Casa, called Boris y Mileidi and bookable from <a href="http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/cuba/vinales/80623/">www.hostelbookers.com</a>, was probably the best of our whole stay in Cuba. The owners were helpful and provided lots of advise. Breakfast and dinner were tasty. The room was large and with two double nets with mosquito nets. And we even got free coffee, welcome juice and free laundry! And I could talk a lot with the family about Cuba in general, which was personally rewarding.
Anyway, on the way to the house, we could see Viñales was really a charming little town with only a few paved roads and a clear rural feel.<br />
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We had lunch in <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.jp/Restaurant_Review-g616288-d2248059-Reviews-La_Casa_de_Don_Tomas-Vinales_Pinar_del_Rio_Province_Cuba.html">Casa de Don Tomas</a>, a beautiful restaurant with ok food, and something called "Delicias de Don Tomas" which was different from the standard Cuban food for tourists (chicken, pork, fish, shrimps or lobter ;-).<br />
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After lunch and walking around town, we went for a horse-riding tour of the nearby valley. It was my first time on a horse and it turned up to be pretty interesting to ride one, and a bit scary at some point! Naoko brought Yuuhi on his back and I guess that was even scarier though!<br />
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Just outside the town, there were many tobacco plantations (plants on the left in the photo below) for which Viñales is famous. Viñales is the main producer of black tobacco in Cuba and all the big cigar companies get it from this area. A horse-riding tour of the countryside gives you the opportunity to see the plantations...<br />
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... and the "secaderos", the houses where tobacco is dried up after being harvested, from nearby.<br />
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It is also a nice opportunity to see what the countryside looks like, with it red rich land and palm trees, corn, tobacco and lots of oxen, pigs...<br />
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And the famous "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogote" target="_blank">mogotes</a>", the name for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karst" target="_blank">karst</a> mountains in this area, in the background.<br />
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Because of the <a href="http://kita1010.blogspot.jp/2013/01/from-la-habana-to-vinales.html" target="_blank">bus problem in the morning</a>, we did not have much time for the horse ride (a couple hours), so we could only go to visit a tobacco farmer's house...<br />
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In there, we were explained how tobacco is proccessed to prepare it for cigars and how cigars are rolled and with what leaves. The farmer also explained how the different brands of Cuban cigars (Cohibas, Partagas, Montecristo...) use different parts of the tobacco plant. While listening to him, we were of course drinking some rum and mojitos, which made the conversation more entertaining and time flow faster than we felt! ;)<br />
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He rolled a cigar for us which we could smoke there. It was my first cigar and I was surprised by the good taste in my mouth... nothing to do with bad-smell disgusting cigarettes :P Of course, the setting provided a good opportunity for interesting photos!<br />
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We bought some cigars, as souvenirs for our friends and maybe also for us, and there was no time for nothing else! It was getting very dark!<br />
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At night, back in the town, Mileydi had prepared a gorgeous dinner (chicken and lobster) which we enjoyed with some Cuban beer (Cristal and Bucanero) and cocktails (only 1.5 CUC per cocktail! = 1.5 US dollar!). Cristal beer is too light in my opinion, so we did not like it much. However, Bucanero was kind of dark and tasty. Quite a good beer! However, rum was the best thing to drink in Cuba!!!<br />
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Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-62937972313301284712013-01-23T23:01:00.002+09:002013-01-23T23:01:55.084+09:00From La Habana to ViñalesIf you check on-line or in guidebooks, to move from city to city in Cuba there are several possibilities:<br />
- a train which basically goes from Havana to Santiago de Cuba with intermediate stops and takes forever...<br />
- two bus companies: Astro (for locals) and Viazul (for foreigners and wealthy locals)<br />
This Xmas, Astro was forbidden for foreigners and nobody could provide an explanation why. Simply, foreigners could not use Astro buses any more... Viazul was still available and it offered even internet reservations. If you google about that and check some info, you will see that people are pretty reluctant about that reservation system. Basically, Viazul takes your money but does not provide a seat in the bus until you go to the station. And some people could not ride in the bus they had a reservation for because it was full! Well, there are lots of nightmarish stories on-line.<br />
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After briefly staying in Havana, we were moving to Viñales in Pinar del Rio, the extreme countryside. There is no train, so the solution to get there was Viazul. I actually made a reservation on-line, paid for the tickets and we showed up in the station 40 minutes before the bus departure. And everything went smoothly! No problems at all, and our bus was actually full.<br />
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The bus departed from Havana in time and used a nice highway towards Pinar del Rio. We briefly stopped after 1 hour or so in Las Terrazas, a nice stopover.<br />
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The problems occurred one hour into our trip... suddenly, the bus stopped and we were told some piece near the engine was broken! Our bus could not continue. And this was Viazul, the reliable company!!! Many people jumped out of the bus and tried to stop taxis, trucks or anything going towards Viñales. Of course, those drivers tried to make outrageous business out of desperate foreigners!<br />
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I went to talk to the driver and basically, he told me they had no idea how long the repair would take. He told me that they had the replacement piece and they had called for tools to replace it from a nearby town.<br />
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This experience was very interesting to see more into the Cuban psyche. As we were waiting for those tools, the driver and his assistants were trying to change the piece by hand. Then, an Astro bus came and some other assistants stayed with us and also tried to fix the engine. Then, some other random people came to offer help. After 30 minutes, there were around 6 people looking at the engine and offering opinions about how to fix it. After around 50 minutes, the tools came with a guy in a tractor who came out of the middle of nowhere! As expectable, he brought a lot of tools, but not the size required for our engine! A couple phone calls and more waiting. After more than 1h20 minutes, the right tool came. When the tool arrived, then, it turned up nobody could really fix the engine and everybody was trying to do something different!!! Finally, one Italian tourist took over and fixed the whole thing in 5 minutes!!! It had taken almost 2 hours to fix it and by a tourist riding on the bus!!! Surreal...<br />
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After that, the ride was smooth and we arrived at Viñales, a UNESCO World Heritage site.<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-6835305296405025522013-01-22T23:29:00.001+09:002013-01-22T23:35:47.484+09:00La Habana (I)La Habana, Cuba. For a long time it had been one of the places where I wanted to go the most in the world. And finally, there I was. One of the first cities built by the Spaniards in the Americas and our last colony... then, it got associated with casinos and mafia during Batista's dictatorship and American influence... and, finally, it got independence from any foreign influence, got communist and suffered a terrible embargo which has been painfully enforced up to date. Wow, quite a convulse history for such a beautiful city and such charming people.<br />
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Because of the above mentioned embargo, the city is in ruins. Basically, any American company or company somehow linked to America cannot do any trade with Cuba. This makes very hard for Cuba to import anything from their neighbors, as everybody prefers to trade with the US. The result is the economy is precarious and some areas of Havana are crumbling due to the lack of funds to repair the collapsing buildings. This is specially clear in Centro Habana, the area between Habana Vieja and Vedado, the newer central area. All of Old Havana is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage. And UNESCO injects quite some money, basic to keep the best colonial ensemble in the Americas in an acceptable condition.<br />
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La Habana is really an amazing city. The former splendor of buildings can still be felt just walking around the main streets between Habana Vieja and Centro. The first glances at the National Theatre, the Capitol or many other anonymous buildings are quite unforgettable. As it is walking around the crumbling streets next to these architectural jewels...<br />
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Habana Vieja's life is intense, with music coming out of every open doors. Restaurants for tourists with life music are the perfect places for listening to traditional Cuban music, Son. Improvised parties in balconies are the best places to listen to modern music, basically reggaeton. And of course, any music is listened to with a cocktail in your hand, a mojito, daiquiri, cuba libre, pina colada... and in some cases, with a good cigar in your other hand!<br />
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The colonial area is amazing. Plaza de Armas, for example, is one of the most amazing examples of traditional Spanish architecture in the Americas. Old huge houses, palaces and even a fortress dot this Plaza, one of the main four in Habana Vieja.<br />
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The main attraction here is just walking around, getting lost in narrow streets and finding your way after a while. And stopping in some bar from time to time to listen to music and drink a mojito.<br />
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One of the most famous places for mojitos is La Bodeguita del Medio, a bar favored by Ernest Hemingway and by many other people. Mojitos here are prepared a la Hemingway: a lot of rum and not much sugar, which make them specially hard, but also tasty.<br />
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The place is full of graffiti and pictures of famous people, including famous Americans even if it is forbidden for them to travel to Cuba. </div>
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It is also common for famous people to take a picture behind the bar, with the barman and holding the La Bodeguita del Medio logo. Of course, my son was also requested to take the famous photo and this is the result. He is simple amazing! ;)<br />
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He actually became the star of the place while we were there...<br />
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Back in to the streets, wandering aimlessly, you can always find the interesting places, such as the cathedral.<br />
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... or Plaza Vieja...<br />
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... and then, get lost again before coming back to your Casa Particular to sleep...<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-70666003417080040802013-01-15T23:29:00.000+09:002013-01-15T23:29:12.586+09:00Back from Cuba and Mexico CityThe end of the year holiday is quite over, but I am still recovering from the consequences of a long trip. This year, our trip was to Cuba (10 days) with a 5-day stopover in Ciudad de Mexico and 2 days in Los Angeles, CA. It was pretty intense and we could meet several friends along the way. In LA, I met my friends from Caltech Alejandro and Bernardo. In Mexico City, we had Xmas lunch with Jacques and Rosita, our friend Cynthia's family. And in Cuba, we could meet Seppo and Cynthia in Vi<span class="st">ñales and La Habana. In short, we visited cool places and met some good friends.</span><br />
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<span class="st">This is the itinerary in Cuba: La Habana - </span>Vi<span class="st">ñales - Trinidad - Cienfuegos - Santa Clara</span><span class="st"><em></em></span><br />
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These are some random photos I just chose randomly. They were taken in La Habana, Vi<span class="st">ñales and Trinidad, respectively. More photos and stories soon! :-)</span><br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-48910099810079507772012-12-18T12:45:00.003+09:002012-12-18T12:45:43.769+09:00Bahrain (3). The South<br />
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Our third day in Bahrain was going to be our final one and we wanted to go South, into the desert, to see some interesting and a little bit out of the beaten path places. <br />
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We started driving South and still in Manama, we stopped to see the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamis_Mosque" target="_blank">Souq Al-Khamis Mosque</a>, which is supposed to be the first mosque ever built in Bahrain, from 692 AD. Unfortunately, we could not get into the mosque, because it was closed at that time, but we could still have a glimpse on the beautifully old minarets. We could also have a look inside from some cracks in the fence/wall.<br />
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The next stop was the burial mounds in A'ali. This is a UNESCO World Heritage and spand a vast area around this city. There are so many burial mounds... it is an intriguing view, considering those are tombs and there are still dead people in there!<br />
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Further South, we went to the Riffa Fort, a nice fortress on top of a hill overlooking a large desert area. Next to the brownish fort, there was a white old mosque with very interesting architecture. Really simple and functional.<br />
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<i>(The main photo of Riffa Fort got somehow lost... I will post it when I am back home, so please come back for the update! Sorry for the inconvenience... bla bla bla...)</i><br />
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Riffa was full of Bahrain flags and posters supporting the authorities. I wonder if the authorities are using those to gain supporters or if they are trully supported by the people in this town! Riffa is completely out of the tourist areas (if there is something like that in Bahrain!) and local people were really curious about us. We had lunch in an extremely cheap local restaurant and they were very surprised and delighted we had chosen their restaurant.<br />
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After lunch, it was time to get lost in the desert, in the far South, and the first stop was the Oil Museum. Yes, there is such a museum in Bahrain! Bahrain does not have large oil reserves. They have actually specialized in refineries. This makes it possible for them to take advantage of having oil rich neighbors! However, they have some oil fields and the museum explains the history behind them with many details. The man in charge of the museum was a very nice guy and even invited us to stay in his place the next time we go to Bahrain!<br />
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The museum is next to the first oil well in the island. This is what it looks like. The photo is not the best, but the desert at 2pm is not the best place to take photos...<br />
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The landscape around and South of the museum is pretty similar: lots of oil fields! We had never seen any, so it was pretty interesting!<br />
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In the middle of the desert and the oil fields, there is a rarity, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Life,_Bahrain" target="_blank">Tree of Life</a>: a nice tree which is the the absolute middle of the desert, where there is zero water. And the tree seems to be thriving! The tree itself is not so spectacular, but it is definitely interesting to find it in the middle of the scorching desert. <br />
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It is also interesting to see the reaction of people at seeing such a tree: everybody tried to climb the tree! It was weird to see parents climbing the tree while their children looks at them and took their photos. Therefore, people watching was a highlight in here.<br />
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The Tree of Life is really in the middle of nowhere and indications are non-existant. Lonely Planet or <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Bahrain" target="_blank">wikitravel</a> have some indications how to get here. However, as the previous day in Sar, I think it is possible to not find it even after looking for it for a long time. Traveling in Bahrain by yourself can be a little bit frustrating sometimes. Of course, we did not find the tree immediately and we drove around for a while. We even got in the middle of some illegal car fights... two cars faced each other, accelarated and before crashing they started spinning... and chances were they crashed anyway. They used very old cars and just destroyed them this way. There was even a crowd watching "the event". They were actually using the main road. Stupidly, I somehow got caught in the middle of it and had to cross the battle field twice... I got really scared the second time... I think the guy in front of me considered I was challenging him and he started spinning as I approached. Not the best situation when on a rental car and with your wife and your baby son!!!<br />
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After that scary situation, we could find the tree and eat ice cream to relax and then, we went to the beach (<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Al+Jazair+Public+Beach,+Southern+Governorate,+Bahrain&hl=en&ll=26.051848,50.545349&spn=0.991934,1.234589&sll=26.008196,50.480289&sspn=0.124039,0.154324&oq=Al-Jazair+Public+beach&hq=Al+Jazair+Public+Beach,&hnear=Southern+Governorate,+Bahrain&t=m&z=10" target="_blank">Al-Jazayer beach</a>) to see the sunset over the sea. Overall, an interesting day.<br />
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This post ends the series of posts about Bahrain. We visited Bahrain last December (Dec '11) as a side trip between UAE and Oman, which were our main Xmas destinations. Overall, Bahrain was an interesting place and it was very different from the other two countries. It also feels poorer than EAU, which makes it more authentic. Sites to visit are not amazing, but they are enjoyable and worth going. And we could talk to lots of Saudi people without going to the almost out-of-limits Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is a recommended destination for 2-4 days if you have some time to spare once you are in UAE.<br />
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In summary, these are the places we visited in Bahrain.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="480" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214382595359619489452.0004d1183851517b60baa&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=26.056783,50.548096&spn=0.592178,0.878906&z=10&output=embed" width="640"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214382595359619489452.0004d1183851517b60baa&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=26.056783,50.548096&spn=0.592178,0.878906&z=10&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Al Jazair Public Beach</a> in a larger map</small><br />
<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-1712581099209714352012-12-17T13:29:00.001+09:002012-12-17T13:35:44.716+09:00Bahrain (2). The North of the islandAfter visiting Manama in our first day in Bahrain, we decided to rent a car and see more of the island country on our own wheels. I could bargain really hard and get a very good deal for a 2day rent from a local dealer: 18 dinar or less than 4500 yen for a nice car.<br />
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After getting the car, we set off towards Qala'at Al-Bahrain, which is maybe the most interesting sightseeing spot in the country. It is an archeological site whose history spans almost 5000 years. The first constructions date back to around 3000 BC and the last one was a fort built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The place also has nice views of Manama skyline in the horizon and a nice history museum with artifacts found in the area.<br />
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The different ruins belonging to very different ages are next to each other and interesting contrasts can be seen: a centuries-old mosque structure, together with a 16th-century Portuguese fort and a modern city skyline in the background.<br />
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The fortress is actually pretty empty, but has many chambers we can get in and turns out to be an interesting place to wander around.<br />
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The second visit of the day was about archeology too. We continued driving towards the NorthWest and went to the Barbar temple, a pretty destroyed temple which was built around 2000-3000 BC. Only a few structures are left. Compared to the previous site, this one was a little bit of a disappointment, althought the archeological value may be also high...<br />
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More to the NorthWest, in the town called Sar, we came in touch with what political uprisings in Bahrain in the last year had been about. We were driving along the road and suddenly, the road was partially blocked with broken furniture. I did as the car before me did and dodged the blockage to find a really broken road with big fires on both sides and lots of people. As I drove along, there were some guys with covered faces putting up another road blockage on the other side of the road. It looked like protests were going to start at any moment, so we were lucky enough not to be caught in the middle. After passing that point, we could hear lots of police cars, etc... Just in time.<br />
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We had gone to Sar in search of one of the most particular burial sites in the island, some honeycomb chambers. Bahrain is famous in archeology because there are thousands of burial mounds. However, this kind of tombs are pretty unique in this area. Even though I asked locals and tried hard, it was impossible to find them. We did not have much time left for the day, so we just decided to give up on them and go to the next place we wanted to visit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Fahd_Causeway" target="_blank">King Fahd Causeway</a>.<br />
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King Fahd Causeway is a road in the middle of the sea which links Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by means of many long bridges. It is a toll road and foreigners without a Saudi visa can go as far as the border, which is around half way in the road. The border area is a small island with some restaurants, customs and immigration offices and a high observation tower, which is the main tourist drag. From the tower, we can see the road getting lost in the horizon and the crowds trying to come back to Saudi. <br />
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Another interesting thing to do on the way to the middle of the sea is to watch people's behavior as they come back to Saudi Arabia! Saudi Arabia is an ultraconsevative muslim country and Bahrain is a very open-minded one. Alcohol, prostitution, etc are legal in Bahrain. Many Saudis come to Bahrain just to taste the forbidden fruits. However, when they come back home, they have to be careful not to bring along any proof of the weekend they have just enjoyed... the result is there are many cars stopped on the sides of the highway whose passengers are throwing bottles of beer, magazines, etc into the sea. Not the best way to treat the sea and keep it clean, by the way.<br />
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Sorry for all the light reflections in the previous photos... Actually, the tower glasses were kind of dirty and in addition, they are tilted in the perfect angle to make it impossible for photographers to take decent photos... ;)<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-57580044185624616692012-12-13T23:06:00.001+09:002012-12-13T23:06:24.205+09:00Bahrain (1). Manama and Muharraq<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zku2aSWm8dY/UMnVDaL2pgI/AAAAAAAAKF0/wdMFM5X5UWQ/s1600/IMG_2265.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zku2aSWm8dY/UMnVDaL2pgI/AAAAAAAAKF0/wdMFM5X5UWQ/s640/IMG_2265.JPG" width="426" /></a> <br />
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- To the Al-Fatih Mosque, please.<br />
- OK, let's go.<br />
- Can you please start the taxi meter?<br />
- No, we do not need meter.<br />
I open the taxi door...<br />
- If you do not start the meter, we use a different taxi.<br />
- OK, OK, as you want...<br />
The taxi driver starts the meter and automatically changes lanes to turn away from our destination.<br />
- Hey, I think the mosque is towards the right, and you are going towards the left?<br />
- This, my country, you don't know this country...<br />
- It can be your country, but the mosque is still on the right...<br />
Naochan starts getting angry and is going to say something. I stop her before she puts more fire into an already heated conversation.<br />
- Naochan, do not worry, let's let him do his job and then, we will see.<br />
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After a deliberately long drive to a far away location, the taxi driver goes all around the mosque to the back gate, while I uselessly complain about that. Before he stops, I open the door with the car still moving and ask him strongly to stop. He stops. Now, time for the price. The meter reads 2.8 dinar and suddenly, it becomes 3 (670 yen). It is quite cheap compared to Tokyo, but still, I feel pissed off and do not want to get ripped off by the first taxi driver I use in this country. I ask Naoko to go out of the taxi, the negotiation starts... I tell him that I am not going to pay 3 dinar for the ride and that I think 2 dinar is a just price. I am actually considering paying 2.5, just a little bit less than what he is asking, but I know we will have to bargain, so I start with 2. He complains bitterly and says we are terrible tourists. I tell him he is a shame for his country, trying to cheat on tourists. I give him 2 dinars and put the other half back in my pocket. I am pretty pissed off at this point and I make him know. He asks for money and I tell him I have already payed and he should go. He insists and I mention the police. At that moment, he accelerates and goes away...<br />
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Wow, the first contact with Bahrain!!! It was quite a shock after some days in the United Arab Emirates. And it was nice! It really felt like we were actually traveling! ;) Bahrain was proving to be a somehow less tame place than the UAE!<br />
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Manama, the capital city is a vibrant city, which still retains some feeling of small town. It is not as big as Dubai, for example, and the downtown area with new buildings is much smaller. It still feels somehow authentic. Manama is also quite liberal and it is full of Saudis coming to the neighboring country to get what they will never get in their own country: chicks and booze. The result is the city can get quite rough late at night when these non-used-to-alcohol guys get drunk. But still, it is a pretty safe place for normal standards.<br />
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Muharraq, the old town, is in a small island next to Manama and has some of the nicest houses and wind towers we saw in our trip to the Arabian Peninsula last Christmas. The town is also clearly not rich, and even slightly poor, so prices in shops are pretty good and local food is on offer. This was also new compared to Dubai, the place we had visited before.<br />
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Muharraq also has a vibrant art scene and there are several places with modern arab art on display. And some nice restored houses showing how modern Arab houses look like. Pretty gorgeous, by the way.<br />
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The already mentioned Al-Fatih mosque was a nice surprise: beautiful mosque and helpful local guides which wanted to tell you about Islam from a moderate non-fanatic point of view, just informative. We learned more about Islam in this place than in the whole trip or in previous trips! The guide was really knowledgeable and his conversation and explanation about his religion was very interesting.<br />
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Not far from the mosque, there was another nice surprise, the National museum, with lots of explanations about the country's archeological sites (which are plenty!).<br />
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The downtown area has lots of shopping opportunities, with a nice souq and new shopping malls.<br />
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Our first day in Bahrain out of 3 was around Manama/Muharraq and was pretty pleasant. And we did not meet any other bad character such as that taxi driver. Actually, people in Bahrain were extremely nice, helpful and reasonable. They did not try to cheat on tourists and instead, treated you as an equal, as a local. That was a nice feeling!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-59676045801151232352012-12-11T23:02:00.000+09:002012-12-11T23:03:41.316+09:00Borobudur<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDkDQS9TBs0/UMQrTM4w3oI/AAAAAAAAJ_Q/ZJpt2nIxUeA/s1600/IMG_1164.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDkDQS9TBs0/UMQrTM4w3oI/AAAAAAAAJ_Q/ZJpt2nIxUeA/s640/IMG_1164.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
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These days, I have been talking too much about Japan considering I wanted to use this blog to talk about our trips around the world! Therefore, today I will come back to Java in Indonesia. Some weeks ago, I talked about <a href="http://kita1010.blogspot.jp/2012/10/in-japan-there-are-national-holidays-in.html">Prambanan</a>. Today, it is the turn for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur">Borobudur</a>, one of the great ancient sites in the world!<br />
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If I am not mistaken, Borobudur and Prambanan were built at the same time. At that time, there were two kingdoms in the area of the current Jogyakarta. One of them was Hinduist and the other one, Buddhist. Prambanan was built by the Hinduists and Borobudur by the Buddhists.<br />
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Borobudur can be described in one single world: amazing! It is a Buddhist temple located in a valley surrounded by volcanoes in Central Java. It is a huge temple with many floors and it represents the Buddhist image of the world. The closest you get to the top, the closest you are to enlightenment.<br />
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The lower floors have beautiful relieves showing teachings of the religion and also the life of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha">Siddhartha</a>. Then, the upper levels are built with a higher simplicity with Buddha statues and small <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa">stupas</a> to make a difference with respect to the previous levels. The temple is crowned with a simple stupa representing perfection.<br />
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The temple can be visited from Jogyakarta and most hotels there can
organize tours in the morning. However, to see the sunrise, something
Borobudur is famous for, you really need to stay around the temple. The
Sunrise Visit is actually managed by a hotel in the temple premises:
Manohara hotel. The price of one night in this hotel is a little
expensive compare to other hotels in Jogya. However, it is a really nice
hotel and the expensive ticket to the temple is included in the room
price, which actually makes the price really competitive. We decided to
stay there and enjoy the temple as much as possible and we did not
regret! The stay in Manohara and the visit to the temple in the early
morning were probably the highlights of our trip to Indonesia!Staying in
the hotel also allows you to have a second look at the temple later in
the day, so you can visit this amazing place twice. And you can also
see it at night with nice illumination! <br />
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The sunrise tour starts really early, at around 4.30 am. It takes a lot of effort to wake up at that time! you are given a torch and join the pack of tourists heading towards the temple entrance. At night, everything is pitch black. Entering the temple in absolutely darkness in the calmness of night and with everybody so sleepy that cannot make noise and break the atmosphere, is simply amazing. You feel you are getting into somewhere really special. And then, the Sun slowly starts making its way up, and the shadows and shapes of Buddhas and stupas start showing up in clear contrast to the sky being lit up with thousands of colors. <br />
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The mist and the volcanoes in every direction, wherever you look, contribute to the atmosphere.<br />
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And then, when you think the experience you are living is unforgettable, then, the Sun rises over the horizon and no more words or thoughts are necessary...<br />
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Borobudur, definitely one of the most impressive places I have ever visited!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-4743914423360092762012-12-07T21:39:00.003+09:002012-12-07T21:39:56.479+09:00Japan shakes againAnother big earthquake... but fortunately, at least in Tokyo, nothing to do with the one in March last year...
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="http://feed.tenki.jp/feed/blog/script/paste/earthquake/?id=20121207171858"></script>Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-25012805468435536142012-12-06T21:40:00.002+09:002012-12-06T21:40:55.976+09:00Xmas illumination in KeyakizakaIn Japan, there are two main religions coexisting together: Shintoism and Buddhism. However, most Japanese do not care much about them and just use them for the usual celebrations: weddings, baby blessings, funerals... Moreover, although Christians are really a minority in the country, Christmas is somehow celebrated. There are special western Xmas food in supermarkets, Xmas decoration in shopping malls and streets and Xmas illumination. In Japan, Xmas Eve is a night to go out with your partner and enjoy a nice romantic dinner. New Year's Eve is to be at home for dinner and then, visit a shrine just after midnight. It looks like Xmas Eve and New Years Eve are swapped!
These days, there are areas in Tokyo with beautiful Xmas illumination. Maybe one of the best is just behind Roppongi Hills, in Keyakizaka. Nicely illuminated trees and Tokyo Tower in the background.<br />
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This is the exact location of this place in case you pass by Tokyo around Xmas. It is just behind the famous shopping complex Roppongi Hills, near Roppongi, Hiroo, Azabu-juban and Nogizaka stations: </div>
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-70216019869913975412012-11-30T22:15:00.000+09:002012-11-30T22:15:31.523+09:00Wedding AnniversaryYesterday, it was the third anniversary of our wedding. It is amazing already three years have flown away... it feels like I got married just yesterday!<br />
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To celebrate such an occasion, I made a reservation in the same restaurant where we celebrated our wedding banquet: <a href="http://www.asakusa-imahan.co.jp/english/english.html" target="_blank">Asakusa Imahan Bekkan</a>, next to the famous <a href="http://www.senso-ji.jp/" target="_blank">Sensoji 浅草寺</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asakusa" target="_blank">Asakusa 浅草</a>, the heart of Tokyo's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamanote_and_Shitamachi" target="_blank">Shitamachi 下町</a>. We had a nice <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki" target="_blank">sukiyaki</a> dinner with gorgeous Japanese beef in a beautiful tatami private room!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-83900597938519934142012-11-24T21:59:00.001+09:002012-11-26T15:08:22.436+09:00Color changing leaves in Gunma 群馬県で紅葉This weekend we are in Gunma-ken, watching color changing leaves and visiting several spa towns. We are visiting Ikaho onsen, Kusatsu onsen and Shima onsen and areas around them! Good food, relaxed time and beautiful scenery!<br />
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UzaLdW3claebYtts0bpGhtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X20kqAZ_As0/ULDFXQ2BsAI/AAAAAAAAJ7A/GXwe3cuZcV0/s640/IMG_6238.JPG" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:center">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/117502359295921733036/DeViajePorElMundo05?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">De viaje por el mundo</a></td></tr></table>Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-597989185940150432012-11-22T23:12:00.000+09:002012-11-22T23:39:47.475+09:00Toeicho 東栄町Last weekend, we went with some friends (part of JLA) ;) to Aichi-ken. When you talk about Aichi-ken, everybody thinks about Nagoya, but actually, we went to the border area between Aichi and Shizuoka, and Nagoya was pretty far away. The objective of our trip was to meet a friend who has just been mother and to meet her child too.<br />
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On Saturday, it was raining all day pretty heavily, but still we managed to do some sightseeing and see some color changing leaves (kouyou 紅葉) in Yuya onsen 湯谷温泉.<br />
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We got to our friend's house pretty early and we could enjoy a nice time with her and her family.<br />
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Her mother also prepared some of the local delicacies...<br />
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...including rice with bugs, which was actually delicious!!!<br />
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The house was really cool, with a large orchard and gardens.<br />
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After visiting her, we went to the place where we would spend the night, Star Forest. The place was really cool. It is like a little astronomical observatory in the middle of the mountains. They even have a planetarium and a 60-cm telescope to watch the beautiful sky in these isolated mountains. Unfortunately, because of the rain, we could not use the telescope and we could just go for the planetarium. We stayed in some pretty bungalows...<br />
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and had a nice nabe dinner after the planetarium session.<br />
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On Sunday, the weather was perfect, with blue skies, and we could enjoy our time in Aichi much more. In the morning, we went to a local festival (maybe the town did not even have 1000 inhabitants!!!) which consisted of some guys dressed up as demons and dancing to the songs the crowd was singing. </div>
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Later on the day, we went to a famous color changing leaves spot, Assuke 足助, in Toyota (yes, the original place of the largest car marker in the world). The next photos show you how beautiful that place is in autumn. No further descriptions needed... :) Enjoy the weekend!<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921886603000232724.post-80702365300101225912012-11-16T22:28:00.000+09:002012-11-16T22:28:19.415+09:00Mt Fuji from NAOJ 天文台から富士山Today, weather was great in Tokyo and Fujisan could be seen clearly from the city.
According to one friend at work, Miyachi-san, the roof in our building is one of the best places to see the famous mountain! So today I asked him to show me if the view was so great, and it was!
I took the lab camera and took some photos. These are some of them.<br />
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<br />Alvarohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471502839740180519noreply@blogger.com0