FotoFriday: The Streets of Oxford is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Rooftops in Havana is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Vineyards in Traverse City is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

This is Cuba.

Cuba is such an amazing country and a large tourist destination for most of the world, but logistically a bit difficult for Americans because of the trade embargo placed on the country in the early 1960′s. You cannot fly to or from Cuba from the United States. However, our neighboring countries have no problem accommodating us. The cheapest option is to fly to Cancun, Mexico and catch a short connector flight over to Havana. Once you’re in the airport in Cancun, you can purchase a Cuban visa for $25 while you wait in line. In case you’re worried about getting in trouble because of a stamp in your passport, Cuba doesn’t do that. They only stamp the visa, which you leave when you exit the country. Anyways, on with the adventures.

After spending my first night in Havana, I met up with my friends Maria and Veronika and we caught a bus up to Viñales. Viñales is a small town, but very lively and colorful. It is also where 70% of the tobacco in Cuba is grown. This was my first experience (of many) having Cuban cigars. The 3 of us went horseback riding with a guide through the tobacco fields. The mountainous scenery surrounding Viñales is gorgeous.

After horseback riding for a few hours, our guide asked us if we wanted to visit a cave. This sounded like a cool idea and a good way to get out of the sun for a little while. Inside the cave were lots of stalactites and stalagmites and also, after going 250 meters into the cave, there was a giant natural swimming pool. Using the guide’s light, we went swimming and exploring deeper into the cave.

On our next stop, it was time for a well-deserved ‘Coco Loco’. This is a fresh coconut filled with Cuban rum, honey, and cinnamon and it’s great! Cuba has some of, if not the best, rum in the world. I made sure to try out several different varieties throughout the trip. Havana Club is the largest and most popular brand of rum, and for good reason. It’s smooth, delicious, and cheap. The 7-year aged Havana Club was only $7 a bottle!

The band Allaagema performing live in Trinidad

Another thing you’ll notice walking down the street in Cuba is that you always feel the rhythm of salsa. It seems that at any moment a crowd of people could turn around and start dancing. The rhythm is like the lifeblood of the Cuban people. Even in smaller towns, every night you can find a Casa de la Musica or other nightclub with people showing off their best salsa moves. I’m far from the best dancer in the world, but I was able to pick up a few moves throughout the trip. Once you get accustomed to hanging out with friends, dancing, and drinking mojitos every night, it’s a tough habit to break!

Stay tuned because I have a lot more stories to share in the coming weeks.     

The Forbidden Land: Adventures in Cuba – Part 1 is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Monastery in Belem is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

First, I’ll start out with the madness of my 2nd annual TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference in Toronto. I had a blast at last year’s event in Colorado. It’s great to meet and hang out with other people travel addicts like me, plus there are a ton of cool events planned for the week. I’m already signed up for craft beer and distillery district tours as part of the PreBEX festivities.

From there, I’m planning to head out to the west coast of the U.S. I’m still trying to decide if I want to do a cross-country road trip or fly out and rent a car once I’m there. I’ve never been out there, so it would be cool to stop at some of the sites along the way like Yellowstone National Park, Lake Tahoe, and Mt. Rushmore. I’m thinking of beginning the trip in San Diego, then going through Orange County, L.A., up scenic Highway 1 through Big Sur and up to the Bay area, finding as many delicious local restaurants as I can along the way. If you have any good recommendations, please send them my way.

After exploring San Francisco and Napa wine country, I’m going up to Portland, Oregon for World Domination Summit. This event, hosted by the extraordinary Chris Guillebeau, promises to have a lot of great speakers and fun events. Plus, I keep hearing that Portland is the craft beer capital of the U.S., so I’m pretty excited for that as well. As part of WDS, I’ll be participating in a world record attempt called the World Float. What this entails is attempting to create the world’s longest floating human chain. In you’re going to be in or around the Portland area in early July, try to make it out for this.

Once I’ve attended what should be 2 spectacular conferences, attempted to be part of a world record, taken a lot of photos, and probably found a lot of mischief along the way, I’ll continue up to Seattle and hopefully to Vancouver. I’ve heard a lot of cool things about both of these cities and can’t wait to explore.

I would greatly appreciate any and all recommendations for cool things to do and see, good places to eat, and fun adventures to take part in along the west coast. As always, I’ll keep you posted along the way!

Summer Travel Update is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Strolling Down the Malecón is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Overlooking Old Havana is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

FotoFriday: Waterfalls of El Nicho is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug

The Little Jamaica neighborhood of Toronto is an interesting place. Although the city has many cultural neighborhoods, this has a different vibe than the others I’ve visited.

The first thing you’ll notice is that while walking down the street, there are a ton of little shops. Just about everything is made from hemp and eco-friendly, from purses and belts to clothes and backpacks to whatever else you could possibly want from hemp.

Next, you’ll notice all the “modern” artwork on the street. For example, this nicely painted car turned into a forest.

And one more, just for kicks. This one of the recently opened Electric Theatre, with the big blue eyes of an extra terrestrial staring down on you as you wander by.

It’s quite an interesting neighborhood and worth checking out next time you find yourself in Toronto.

Little Jamaica, Mon is a post from: Nick's Travel Bug