Cuba, China, Friends, Karma and Covid-19 – A Tale Of Friendship And Humanity

6 Apr

In February last year in Havana with my Scottish mate John Bongo we had one of those pleasant and nice experiences that travellers have when venturing out of their comfort zone – which I and my friends always have as we do venture out. After a good dinner with friends at Destino we were ready Read more…

March 2020 – Cancelling Cuba – STAY AT HOME !!

19 Mar

Last November after returning from Cuba I booked my next HAV flight for 19th March – today. I’d be in Havana usually February for the Habanos Festival, but after 15 years I felt I don’t need another one – so I thought March would be quieter. After returning from Hong Kong last December, the news Read more…

Keeping It Simple – Cuba November 2019

5 Dec

The more I travel to Cuba the more I concentrate on things, places, friends and experiences that are important to me now that I’ve seen enough to evaluate what is and is not of interest. There’s a saying in Spanish : A veces perdiendo se gana …. As a good friend was not able to Read more…

Meeting The Great Roller Maritza Acuña Again

29 Sep

I  have known Maritza now for 15 years and have met her frequently in Havana at the H.Upmann factory where she leads the 60 best Category 9 rollers of that factory. In fact she gave us in the Portmann group a class in rolling cigars at that factory back in 2007 … I have met Read more…

Havana May 2019 – Hole In The Wall – Bistro La Fourchette

10 Jun

This is a recently opened small Bistro located on the corner of 1st Ave and 24th St. in Miramar. It is run by Enrique Suarez, the chef and owner at Tocamadera, a superb small Paladar also located in Miramar. That alone guarantees fresh, organic natural market cuisine. The concept as he explained it is that Read more…

Cuba May 2019 – Visiting the Farms Or Back To The Roots

9 Jun

The cover picture of this report means a lot to me. It is from February 2010 and we had just arrived at Pancho Cuba’s tobacco farm an hour after a torrential rainstorm and strong wind gusts had destroyed most of the Tapado or covered wrapper harvest crop. The guajiros were desperate, the harvest was basically Read more…

Havana May 2019 – Less Of The Same

8 Jun

I had promised myself not to fly to Havana in the summer again ( which has not started yet ) and it was as predicted : hot, humid and rainy. But I was to meet my good buddies Charlie and Jody so it was worth the pain. Pain which was reduced tremendously by flying up Read more…