Our Adventure to Cuba
November 23 – December 1, 2017
Karen, Linda, Adele, Dorothy, Kim and Michael had the opportunity of traveling to Cuba on the beautiful Viking Ocean Cruise. At the time, Cuba was only open for Americans to travel on an educational tour. Viking Ocean was able to arrange everything for us as a very cultural and historical tour that met all the criteria for our travels.
We boarded the ship in Miami and our 1st stop was Key West. Surprise, I had never been there before. Key West is a very hip area known for the home of Ernest Hemingway. It is located 98 miles away from Cuba. We enjoyed walking around the town, stopped for Key Lime Pie, visited a musical museum and just browsed around.
Off we sail to Cuba. Our ship will be our hotel while visiting Cienfuegos. Cuba is a big island, boasting a wide range of scenery, sights, and activities. Whether you plan to sample the rich coffee of Sierra Escambray, dance the night away in Havana, or even follow the footsteps of Che Guevara down the revolutionary trail, every traveler will be able to find their own slice of Cuba.
In Cienfuego we went to an old fort, shopped and walked around. We saw the Palacio de Valle a beautiful building with exceptional history.
The next day we traveled via bus across the country from Cienfuego to Havana, where we spent the night at a fabulous hotel. Unfortunately, we were so busy exploring that we did not get time to enjoy the hotel. Americans are not allowed to “vacation” in Cuba, we must be educating ourselves.
In Havana we visited a Cigar Factory, saw a wedding, viewed great architecture and a very different culture! The people were shy to Americans but extremely welcoming and helpful.
The top of the night was getting dressed to the nines to to take a caravan ride of all the fabulous old cars. They maintain these 1956 vehicle with parts from other cars. No new parts exist nor could they get any. Our ride around town took us to the wonderful Tropicana Review, You’ll find yourself humming Guantanamera on the ride home from this famous open-air nightclub show that presents a song-and-dance performance reminiscent of 1950s Cuba. We were back in the days of Ricky Recardo, remember him from ‘I love Lucy’. Just a fun experience.
The Viking Ocean is an amazing ship, smaller than the mega ship and quite enjoyable. The cabins are a nice size, the food venues extremely good with wonderful ship staff. I highly recommend this ship regardless where they may travel, the sailing will be enjoyed by any age. The entertainment was good, especially the lobby pianist.
All of us have a great experience traveling to this forgotten country, all due to politics. So glad we had the chance to see and feel this wonderful country and all it’s history.
