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…
14 Aug
From my Havana trip last May – notes on an unpleasant experience with my “landlady” … : While the Casa “Mar” was fantastic, had I known that “fraternization” with the Cuban staff was “Verboten” I’d not have taken it. I am not in Cuba to avoid the locals, I like to speak Spanish and express Read more…
10 Aug
It was a nice change of pace to meet up with friends from my small German village in Havana and show them around. Klaus, Anne and Mona were in Varadero on vacation for 2 weeks and wanted to see Havana, smoke a cigar, see the cigar lounges and sights and take a ride on the Read more…
