28 Dec
A friend called it a Time Capsule. He could not be more precise in the description. Frozen in time, a time capsule, a monument to a past era. The Riviera Hotel at the Havana Malecon certainly is all that. And very quiet too, so you really have the impression you are intruding ( or awakening Read more…
21 Dec
Christian had left without being able to visit the Vatican as, due to some dumbass posting stupid comments on Facebook regarding the Talismanes release in London a week earlier, all visits there were cancelled and the saints had to pay for the sinners …. I never cease to be amazed by the stupidity of some Read more…
15 Dec
The second week started with more friends flying in, Jan & Lili brought much welcomed butter to Havana and joined Christian and me at our Casa bringing more life into it. After some last minute uncertainty and a lost flight even Anthony and Maegan made it, giving me a winning bet of 5 cookies against Read more…
14 Dec
It was unusually cool, windy and rainy this trip. I spent almost four weeks in Havana and never had it this cool. If that was cool to me, imagine how the Cubans were feeling … It was hitting the ground running as always. Only a day after I arrived my friend Christian from Belgium arrived Read more…
8 Oct
It was the annual VW Bus ride ( with a large flowerpot as an ashtray ) with Frank and Jos down to Switzerland and Portmann cigars. A few boxes had to be picked up and, honestly, we missed the friendship, hospitality and love that the whole Portmann family extends to all their customers and friends. Read more…
4 Oct
It was the end of the Hermantour, the year long celebration of Christian’s 50th birthday and he had invited the same large group of friends to have a fantastic weekend full of friendship, excellent food and good spirit. I left on Friday morning, smooth driving all the way into the Netherlands for a few cigars Read more…
26 Sep
Having experienced the large influx of US tourism to Cuba and particularly to Havana in the last few years myself, I asked a good US friend for his opinion of the consequences it has had – along with the increased influx of other tourists from Europe and elsewhere – trying to see Cuba “before the Read more…
