Looking for Rancheros and Jineteras in Camagüey

Camagüey's plazas: (top left) Plaza San Juan de Dios, (top right) Parque Agramonte, (bottom left) Plaza Carmen, and (bottom right) Plaza de los Trabajadores.

Camagüey, Cuba's third largest city, has retained its reputation as the quaintest and least known of Cuba’s big cities. Camagüey barely registers on the average tourist’s itinerary. This is perhaps because it is located right in the middle of Cuba, right in tierra adentro, a good nine hours from Havana in the west, and another eight hours from Santiago de Cuba in the east. It also happens to be far enough from the all-inclusive resorts of the cays of Jardines del Rey, such as Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. Read More ....

Summer of 2012: Off to the Land of Cervantes, and a Quick Respite in Samar

Top: Teeing off in Cuba's two extant golf courses, the scenic 18-hole Varadero Golf Course (left) and the challenging 9-hole Habana Golf Club (right). Center: Marching with anti-austerity protesters and joven comunistas at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Below: surfing at ABCD Beach in Calicoan, Eastern Samar, Philippines.

It was a summer experience like no other. From whacking golf balls in Cuba, to joining anti-austerity protests in Madrid and, finally testing the surf in my very own island of Samar. The Summer of 2012 was indeed like no other I have ever done before. The whole experience spanned three continents, whose common link is Spanish Colonialism. Read More ...

Whacking balls in Havana's Club de Golf

The dreaded Hole Number 1 in which I have lost an inordinately high number of wayward balls. (Source: eastep.photoshelter.com)

Ah the heat of summer beckons. It’s about time to get out of the rut. I finally had the temerity to sign up for a golf lesson at Havana's one and only golf course, the nine-hole Club de Golf de Habana, which I had been angling to do for the longest time. In my best imitation of reigning U.S. Masters champ and YouTube trickster Bubba Watson, I only spent, at most, half a day of lessons before deciding to learn my swing on my own, which is for the best, I think, as I did not seem to follow the instructions of my exasperated instructor, El Viejo Vega, to his immense consternation. Read More ...