Havana

An interesting combination of very warm and welcoming people, beautiful old buildings and cars, Soviet-style monuments and oversized avenues without any traffic. While all the stylish old cars are American, all the modern buses and police cars are Chinese...
The Chinese cars are a good link back to upcoming HK / Beijing visits. What a great trip it was!

Havana, Cuba

Water

As in many countries, tab water is non-potable in Cuba. While this typically leads to a daily routine of water sourcing, this turns out to be a challenge in Cuba. Of all the supermarkets we visited, only one had water, all others had no water but at least 10 different types of rum…

The highlight was when we were once carrying a small water bottle with us and entered a supermarket trying to buy a big bottle. After learning that they do not sell water we left the shop when the cashier asked us very curiously, where did you buy that water?

Water seems to be something very special here.

Vinales

Vinales is a small village in the rural western part of Cuba where tobacco for the well-known cigars is grown. The impressive countryside made it famous and it is wonderful to get lost on the little tracks and talk to the locals riding their horses and smoking their home-grown tobacco. The “shock” comes when you return to the little village of Vinales. The main road is full of restaurants catering for the hords of tourists – somehow unreal.
A good alternative is to get supplies of tobacco and Havana club 7 and enjoy the evening on the rocking chairs in front of the casa particular.

Vinales, Cuba

Cuba

Famous for many things and a very popular tourist destination, Cuba has it all. Interesting to see how the people adopted to the regulations and limitations by establishing sophisticated parallel markets. Even more interesting to see how Cuba will open up in the coming years.
11'000'000 people
GDP / capita (nom/PPP) 7'000 / 19'000 USD

Cayman

A small strip of land south of Cuba, officially part of the UK but it feels more like the US. While it was undeveloped without electricity until 50 years ago, it is now banking hub, beach destination and stop over for Canadians and Americans heading to Cuba.

Impressions from Jamaica

Sure there is a hype around Bob Marley and there is the omnipresent Marihuana but there is much more. Did you know that they have a province called Portland where you have Boston bay, a wonderful area far away from crowded Montego bay and Ocho Rios?
Then there are the famous Blue Mountains, which can be crossed in Rally style… And there is obviously spicy jerk meat and Red Stripe beer.

Jamaica

Credit card

Traveling with a credit card simplifies a lot and most countries nowadays accept credit cards in one form or the other, also Jamaica. The other night we had this dinner at the hotel and wanted to use our credit card to pay. We were first told to return to our room as the boss is currently out and only he can operate the credit card terminal. A bit later the boss himself indeed knocked on our door with the credit card terminal in his hands. My first thought was, wow, in room payment, that’s great. But he only came to explain that the signal is poor up here and we should go down. Down I went with him where he was still not satisfied. Let’s try the parking lot. Also there apparently no signal. He proposed to drive to the next town as the connection there is apparently better. It was about 22.00 when we left the hotel in his car driving to Port Antonio. On a parking lot he opened the window in the roof of the car and held the terminal out of it – finally it worked…

Renting a car

Every time I rent a car in the US I am impressed. Within minutes you have your car (if it does not say go straight to lot A25, your car is waiting for you) and the return process is even faster.
Renting a car in Jamaica is a slightly different experience. It took over an hour for a simple 2 day car rental. Things were typed into a calculator and separately into a computer, hand notes were taken, copies of the cover pages of our passports (the red outside with the white cross on it...) were made etc. In the process she could not read my hand writing and took the time to show me how some letters and numbers should be written…
In the end we got a document which said 3 days instead of 2 and none of the key facts were covered. She explained that it had to be done like that but everything will be ok.

Arriving in Kingston

Any book you read warns you about the high murder rate in Kingston. Most books also clarify that this only applies to some western suburbs and is typically drug, gang or politics related, not targeting foreigners. Following the advice, we booked a hotel in new Kingston in the north, far away from all of this. In the taxi from the airport to the hotel we chatted with the driver and also spoke about crime. He said “no problem, that was in the past when we had political tension but today it’s all good. Especially the area you go to is perfectly safe”. We felt pretty good till we reached our hotel. The first road was blocked by the police as was the second. We then tried to walk to the hotel but where stopped by the police. “There is a crime scene and investigation is ongoing”. Well, a bit a weird welcome after all we read and heard about Kingston.
We never got the official story but were told it was an accident involving a police scooter where the driver of the car fled and the police shot in the air.

Jamaica

It was once Spanish and named Santiago before the English took over in 1655. In 1962 Jamaica gained independence. Today Jamaica is very diverse with touristy beaches in the north, a considerable cruise ship port in Ocho Rios, relaxed blue mountains in the east and the capital.
Given its size, there is suriprisingly little coverage of Jamaica internationally, except when Usain Bolt is in action.
2'900'000 people + roughly as many living outside the country
GDP / capita (nom/PPP) 5'600 / 9'200 USD

Banking on the Bahamas

Guess there are worse places to work at ...

 

Contrasts on the Bahamas

Contrasts is probably the best one word summary of the Bahamas. With over 700 islands and many more cays, it is a large and very distributed country with a lot of diversity. Even just within the city of Nassau, there are huge contrasts. You have the harbor area, where up to 6 (!) massive cruise ships come in at the same time, flooding town with souvenir hunting tourists (6 boats x 4000 people = 24’000 temporary guests).
Then you have paradise island, where the massive Atlantis hotel offers it all and the Yachts are bigger than any boat ever seen on a Swiss lake (not a good comparison but they are really big). Last but not least you have the residential areas, where you have to be careful where to go as crime is a challenge.

Bahamas

As on many islands, Columbus was here first but the English colonized the Island(s) until independence in 1973. Today it feels like being colonized by the US… Besides the US fast food offering, the majority of visitors are American and the US dollar can be used anywhere. The economy is built on tourism (60% of GDP, 50% of jobs) followed by financial services.
320’000 people spread over large area
GDP / capita (nom/PPP) 23’000 / 31’000 USD

Shape your body

Not gaining weight is difficult wherever you go but especially in the US as servings are made for families if not armies. The good thing is that there is an easy solution to it. Enjoy your full size breakfast at IHOP, Denny’s and the like and stop at 7 Eleven on your way to work to buy a “weight loss” pill...

 

Need a credit card?

Americans love credit cards and radio advertisement are full of how to get another card even if you are in dept and how to manage credit card dept. If you tried it all to get a card and it didn't work, you can still go to 7 Eleven and buy a credit card...

 

Do you want to feel young?

In an earlier post I suggested an option to feel young (fly in a very old plane). Another option is to either play Tennis or Golf in Florida. We tried both and totally destroyed the average age in both cases...

When in Rome do as the Romans do

On a trip thru the Caribbean you can’t miss THE traditional sport here, ice hockey. Nothing is better than watching the two traditional ice hockey states Florida and California playing each other…

 

Dangerous places

I have been traveling quite a bit and many times people asked me, why do you always go to these dangerous countries where it is difficult to travel. Why don’t you go to the US, rent a car, enjoy easy traveling and do some shopping?
Brief background - on all my trips to the “dangerous countries”, I have never been attacked and nothing was ever stolen from me (touch wood this won't change).
On this trip we built in some days in Florida, following the often recommended travel pattern with US, rental car, shopping etc.
So here we are the first night in Fort Lauderdale in a nice hotel. About 3am we both wake up as there is noise outside our door and a flash light all over our window. Upon opening the blinds to check what’s going on, a police men does a big jump away from the window. Once both the police men and we recovered from the shock, we open the door and talk to him. He explains that there was a break in attempt to our room and security called the police. This is why he was taking finger prints on our door. After our talk he left, leaving the black powder and the tapes he put on our door in place. That much about dangerous and safe places…

Florida

Only one of 50 states but it still has a significantly larger population than all other places we have visited together on our trip with about 20Mio people. It was nice to drive a car on the large highways, see the sugar cane fields and all the oranges growing, experience a Falcon 9 (SpaceX) rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral and check out a few of the dozens of outlets.

And the Oscar goes to ...

We found this great online deal for a hotel in Santo Domingo. It said it would be a 5 star hotel but given the price, we couldn’t believe it. Upon arrival at the bus station in Santo Domingo we took a “taxi” (a very old car, almost falling apart without any taxi sign) to the hotel. It felt a bit strange getting out of this old car in shorts and flip flops carrying our backpacks as everybody was dressed up and there was TV in the lobby. It turned out to be a 5 star hotel indeed and they were hosting the “Oscar” award show for the Dominican Republic that night…

Whale watching, Samana (Dom Rep)

Many locations offer whale watching but it often ends with a disappointment. Here it was the opposite. Seeing Humback Whales close up, jumping out of the water, surfacing as family or simply cruising along these elegant fishes was impressive.

Whale watching, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, Samana & Las Terrenas (Dom Rep)

Wonderful beaches, friendly people, delicious food, beautiful cities and nature and well developed infrastructure. The Dominican Republic was a pleasure to visit!

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

First indepence from Spain was in 1821 but Haiti immediately walked in until 1844. Later Spain took over again until 1863 and last but not least the US came in until 1924. The country still has its challenges but it seems to be on a good track.
10’000’000 people
GDP / capita (nom / PPP) 5’800 / 12’800 USD

Traveling 2.0

Remember going to internet coffees paying 2USD for 15min, sharing a computer? First log in to your mail. While it loaded your inbox checking the news in a seperate browser (not tab). By the time all mails were visible 15 minutes were over...

Phones, tablets, laptops, electronic guide books and omnipresent WiFi simplify travel a lot compared to just a few years back. Flights and hotels can be booked anytime anywhere, maps are easily available and news as well as mails are always with you. On the other hand the connectivity brings along the risk of spending too much time online and the good old book, even if it an eBook, remains untouched…

Willelmstad, Curacao

The former capital of the Netherlands Antilles and now the capital of Curacao is a pretty little town with beautifully painted houses. The beauty attracts massive cruise ships, leading to thousands of tourists strolling thru this tiny little city.

Curacao, Netherlands

Curacao

To be honest it was my first domestic flight within the Netherlands and it was a special one from St Marteen to Willhelmstad, Curacao. I already mentioned the plane (DC9…) in an earlier post. We all had seat numbers but the flight attendant gave us seats here and there untill the plane was full. The crew spoke Spanish and upon arrival we had to fill in an immigration form. Am not quite sure what the connection between Spanish and the Netherlands is (the airline is based in Curacao, NL) and am not used to fill in immigration forms on domestic flights. Anyways, we made it.
Coming back to Spanish. For the first time on our trip we could feel the South American influence in Curacao, took quite a while!

Last but not least Curacao brings up memories from long gone times. Wasn’t there a drink called Blue Curacao? It indeed comes from Curacao. As the climate and poor soil did not allow growing the sweet Valencia oranges, Laharas (bitter oranges) were planted here. The dried peel is used for Curacao liqueur. Interesting enough, the liqueur is colorless but thanks to E133 (Brilliant Blue FCF) it is known to be blue.
150'000 people
GDP / capita (nom / PPP) 36'800 / 22'600 USD

 

Who is older, plane or passenger?

Boarding a plane which has all logos covered with paint leaves mixed feelings. When you then see that it is a DC9, which was last built in 1982, you have two options. You either take it as a compliment that you are still very young yourself or you can have strong confidence in the plane as it has has already done many flights…

 

Plane spotting

St Marteen airport is famous for having the runway close to the beach. Hard to believe but it is indeed very close. Incoming planes are impressive, especially the KLM 747. Some people try standing behind the planes when taking off, which typically ends with most personal belongings in the water and a few people falling over…

St Marteen (NL) and St Martin (FR)

Sint Marteen / Saint Martin

There are plenty of interesting islands in the Caribbean but one of the most special ones is Sint Marteen / Saint Martin. As most others, it is a very small island. In contrast to all others (except Hispaniola which is very big), it consists of two countries, France (Saint Martin) in the north and Netherlands (Sint Marteen) in the south. Not only two different countries on a 20 by 20 km island but obviously different languages and currencies. The best is that they even have different electrical grids, 250V / 50Hz and 110V / 60 Hz... At least there are no border controls (and were no long before Schengen)

Air fares and stop overs in Europe

Understanding air fares is difficult wherever you go. Typically it is annoying to get the cheapest flights with multiple and long stop overs. Being on holidays and curious to see new islands, we took advantage of the airline pricing strategies. The cheapest flight from St Kitts & Nevis to the Dominican Republic was with two 20h stop overs in St Marteen and Curacao, perfectly timed to have a day each in "Europe".

Contrasts

Hotels in St Kitts & Nevis start in the 400-500 USD per day and easily reach four digits. People were a bit surprised when we picked up our backpacks at the airport and walked into town…

Today we went into the area where the locals live and decided to get a hair cut, which was a great experience. Fully run by people from the Dominican Republic, we got our hair (and facial hair) trimmed within minutes. I am pretty sure he started his career in sheep shearing…

Credit terms

Different countries have different credit terms… - that's how it works in Nevis

Airport or bus stop?

Traveling in this region widens your horizon in many ways. One new thing I learned is the definition of an airport. Here an island with a few thousand people can easily have an "airport" with two daily flights and cows grazing just outside the runway.

"Army" of Nevis

Only 12‘000 people live on the tiny volcano island of Nevis but apparently they are afraid of an invasion or the like…

St Kitts & Nevis

The Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis is the smallest sovereign state of the Americas (population & area). Two tiny little islands were governed as different states for long time and tensions remain today with smaller Nevis feeling neglected. In 1983 they gained independence from the British and today it is all about tourism.
51’000 people
GDP / capita (nom / PPP) 14’000 / 21’000 USD

Antigua and Barbuda

The Spanish did not colonize Antigua as the Caribs were aggressive and there was not fresh water on the island. The English took over to run sugar plantations. In 1981 the country became independent but the Elizabeth II remains the Queen of Antigua and Barbuda. The twin islands rely on tourism as main source of income - it is not all that difficult to understand why tourists come here...
91’000 people
GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 13’400 / 18’000 USD

 

Caribbean 101

Different names are often used for the islands, which can be confusing
- Greater and lesser Antilles
Greater Antilles – the big 4, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
Lesser Antilles – the others. The lesser Antilles are split up into the Leeward  Islands (east of Puerto Rico down to Dominica) and the Windward Islands (from Dominica down to the north of Trinidad and Tobago)
- West Indies, countries in the Caribbean basin. Sometimes Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana are also included in the West Indies. They are split into the English, French and Dutch West Indies. The West Indies cricket team consists of players from 15 countries (islands), which won the Cricket ICC World Cup twice.

Rum

While most islands have their local beer, rum is the real thing here. It comes in many different shapes and forms, with or without spices, with or without juice, in better or very poor quality…

Dominica

Some people claim the island was named after them while others say Columbus named the island after the day he discovered it, Sunday. More certain is the fact that Dominica is totally different to the other islands here, both in history as well as today’s situation. Very hilly with few beaches and even less tourists, it is a contrast to the others. Instead of swimming, hiking is the thing to do here and the highlights are rivers, 365 of them apparently.
72’000 people

GDP/capita (nom / PPP) 7’000 / 14’000 US

 

Barbados

Home of Rihanna is pretty different to the other islands. While most islands are or of volcanic origin and therefore hilly, Barbados is of coral origin (about 90m corals) and therefore flat. In addition is it the most developed island and has a busy airport (4 flights from London within hours plus good US connections). Both the Spanish and the Portuguese were here but it eventually became a British colony until independence in 1966. Barbados ranks ahead of the US in the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2013.
277’000 people

GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 16’151 / 16’015 USD

 

Tour around Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is green and hilly as Saint Vincent but the visitors are completely different. While Saint Vincent receives a few cruise ships every month, bringing in large number of experienced people, St Lucia has direct flights from London and the US. Accordingly the crowds are younger. As all tourists are around one bay in the north, it is easy to get away and explore the island with the two famous pitons (steep mountains as well as a good beer named after them). In roughly 4 hours you can drive around the entire island.

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

One of the Windward Islands, Saint Lucia (named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse) had a turbulent colonial time. England and France each ruled seven times (!) before the British finally made the race until independence in 1979. Many places still have French names, which sound pretty good in English.
Banana was a major part of the economy in the past but recently tourism helped compensating the shrinking banana trade.
173’000 people
GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 7’700 / 12’900 USD

Bequia, SVG

One of the Grenadines with a wild east and a protected west coast. A paradise for sailing and relaxing. Tiny but beautiful!

Bequia, SVG

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)

French and British colonial history, the British deported a large amount of locals to Roatan (Honduras). La Soufriere volcano eruption killed over 2000 people in 1902 and hurricanes destroyed banana and coconut plants several times. Independence in 1979. In a 2009 referendum the country decided against replacing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Bananas are the main driver of the economy today but the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie shooting here gave more international attention, which could result in more tourists coming in future.
103’000 people
GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 6’300 / 11’700 USD

 

St. George and Grand Anse Beach, Grenada

Grenada is hard to beat! Grand Anse  Beach is one of the best beaches globally and St. George probably the prettiest capital in the Caribbean. Combined with wonderful temperatures, few tourists, excellent roti and mauby juice (no idea how the idea came up to make a juice of tree-bark. It tastes exactly as you imagine - at least you know why this drink didn’t make it to Europe… )

Grenada

LIAT

The major airline in the region is called LIAT. Locals say it stands for Leaves Island Any Time, warning us that they may leave earlier or later without notice. Indeed they were right. We booked a LIAT flight for 10.35am. At the airport we could not find our flight but our flight number at 09.45am. We first thought we missed our flight but then learned it was delayed to 11.05am. The best was that THE other passenger (we were only 3 to board) had the same ticket as we had but with 09.45am on it. So three passengers, two booked at 10.35, one at 09.45 but all on the same flight number and take off at 11.05.

On the upside they have a very handy seat arrangement – ideal for card games.

 

Chinese & cricket in Grenada

You might not be surprised that the Chinese are active in Grenada but did you know that Grenada hosted the cricket world cup in 2007?
Step by step. Grenada was hit by a serious hurricane in 2004. China supported the country to rebuild the national stadium. To show gratitude, Grenada planned to play the Chinese anthem during the cricket world cup opening ceremony. Unfortunately a mistake was made and the anthem of Taiwan was played, leaving some officials looking for a new job.

Grenada

Little Grenada, known as “spice island” due to the nutmeg production (provides 20% of the global supply) became independent in 1974. In 1983 a coup brought Grenada to attention of the cold war including an US invasion.
110’000 people in Grenada (+ roughly 100’000 in other Caribbean countries + roughly 100’000 in first world countries), mainly black African
GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 7’300 / 13’900 USD

Tobago

The smaller of the two islands can be reached by ferry or plane. For an incredible 24 USD (!) you can purchase a plane ticket on one of the very efficiently run flights. Tobago is much more relaxed with wonderful beaches and excellent food – bake & shark (fried bread with shark meat) as well as crab and dumpling (crab legs and kind of pancakes, no idea where the word dumpling comes from)

Tobago

Trinidad

Arriving in Port of Spain from Guyana feels like getting back to civilization. Trinidad and Tobago sounds like a little tropical island but is a very industrial and developed island. Besides the petrochemicals you have Nestle, Coca-Cola etc there with production facilities.
Port of Spain is a nice little town preparing for carnival in February, which is THE big thing here. Bands are practicing everywhere for the big celebration.
In the south of the country there is pitch lake, a lake of natural asphalt which is mined for industrial use. A very special sight, especially walking on it.

Trinidad

Trinidad & Tobago

The Spanish, British, French, Dutch – all were here. Independent since 1962, T&T is the third richest countries of the Americas behind US & CA today. It is the only Caribbean country with a primarily industrial economy, strongly relying on petroleum.
1’200’000 people on the two islands of Trinidad and Tobago
GDP/capita (nom/PPP)  21’933 / 31’264 USD

Kaiteur falls, Guyana

Deep inland of Guyana are the majestic Kaiteur falls. Seeing this impressive natural spectacle in the middle of the jungle is amazing but getting there is at least have the adventure!
At check in not the luggage but the passenger is weighted. Once in the plane it becomes obvious that it is not the maiden flight… Taxiing the airport shows you other planes, which must have had a hard landing.
Once airborne you fly over dense forest areas, only interrupted by the gold mines here and there until you reach a little deforested piece of land next to the waterfall where you touch down.

Kaiteur falls, Guyana

Georgetown, Guyana

Frankly speaking it is a bit difficult to describe Georgetown. There is kind of negative air in town. If you ask around for where to eat or where to go you typically don't get answers but warnings where all not to go in town. Here and there never, this part only during day time etc. This leaves a bit mixed feelings. In addition there are hardly and shops or restaurants, making it difficult to cater on anything else then the omnipresent fried chicken fast food.
Having said that, the city has plenty of beautiful old wooden buildings, many water channels, lovely horse carts on the road and last but not least, pepper pot - the traditional local meal consisting of beef in a sweet gravy with cinnamon (and yes, there is a restaurant serving it, it is called German's...)

Georgetown, Guyana

Guyana

Former Dutch & British colony, independent since 1966 – English speaking & left side driving

730’000 people (+500’000 leaving outside the country!), 44% Indian, 30% Black African

GDP/capita (nom/PPP)  3’500 / 7’900 USD

Growth / Inflation / Unempl. 3.6% / 12.3% / 11%

 

Paramaribo to Georgetown

Crossing over from Para to Georgetown is a simple combination of minibus, ferry and minibus again - about 8 hours in total. The only slightly distracting fact is that you have to leave Para at 4am to catch the ferry at 10am. On the upside, you reach Georgetown by lunch time.
During the 8 hours trip we had some time trying to understand the timing for this trip but nobody could explain why the ferry is only doing one of the 30minutes ride a day and why this one ride has to be at 10am.
Anyways, we made it despite insane driving skills of the driver on Guyana side.

Paramaribo to Georgetown

Knini Paati - Upper Suriname

Only accessible by boat on Suriname river are wonderful lodges in the middle of nature and far away from civilization. It feels a bit special to swim in the river only to see a Caiman a few houndred meters away later the same day...

Knini Paati, Suriname

Paramaribo, Suriname

Dozens of casinos, a lot of jewelry shops selling the locally mined gold, party buses rolling thru town, dolphins in the river, wonderful old buildings, one liter Parbo beer bottles and a drive thru McDonalds, which causes the biggest traffic jam in town.

Paramaribo, Suriname

Feels like The Netherlands

Today we "fietsed" to Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Chinese in Suriname

There is a very visible Chinese population in Suriname, which runs basically all supermarkets. They are typically pretty surprised to meet a Swiss who lives in China in Suriname...
A bit of mandarin can put amazing slimes on their faces.

Suriname

Former British & Dutch colony, independent since 1975 – Dutch speaking but left side driving

560’000 people, very mixed population

GDP/capita (nom/PPP) 8'500 / 12’400 USD, economy heavily relying on bauxite

Growth / Inflation 3.5% / 6.4

Famous people: Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids