Part 7- BRAZIL- Carnavale, Coconuts & Capoeira!

We arrived in Salvador yesterday and shamefully went to bed by 9pm on a Friday night during Carnavale. I know we are disappointing many people, but we promise to make it up tonight and the next night and the next. Afterall the Carnivale is on for 5 nights!! We spent the day wondering around Pelhourinho which was my personal favourite part of Salvadore. People were scattered through the cobble-stoned streets and squares and we could hear the sounds of afro-drums everywhere we went. It really is a carnavale all day long here. Tonight we will hang around the Barra area attending the carnivale circuuit near the beach. There are 3 different circuits and the party starts from about 1pm until 6am the next day.

More info about the carnavale to come. I did do some Capoeira (see photo above-that´s not me in it btw...lol) when asked by a Capoeria teacher who was more than happy to give me a lesson later. I think he will be waiting for my tonight but I can´t be bothered going all the way back to Perlhourinho. We met up with some friends from our Peru Amazon jungle tour. These gals are from South Africa and we will oarty with them tonight. Uff...all this partying can get so tiring. Everyone has warned us not to carry money in our pockets and not to wear jewellery, especially watches. We will heed their advice.

Rio was spectacular and I really wanted to stay there longer than 2 nights. It rained for a whole day. It´s been raining off and on in Brazil since we came. I think we have brought the Melb weather with us. But that doesn´t stop the Brazillians from partying on the streets.

Fortaleza was beautiful. We stayed in a 5 star hotel called Seara Praia Hotel overlooking the ocean for 3 nights. There were night markets right outside our hotel on the beach and we attended a fabulous folk dancing show at a place called Lupus Bier. The dancing styles were so varied and interesting. I was invited up on the stage along with many other audience menbers to try a form of Brazillian dancing that i had never seen. Don´t know what it´s called either. And the Capoeira has been amazing to watch. I could sit there watching for hours. We also went to the beach to laze about and have overdosed on coconut water...yum!

Anyway,

I better get going! Hope all is well. Ciao,

Jag.

Part 6-`OLA` from Paris- Varadero Cuba.

Ola! Above is our hotel Club Amigo which we stayed at for 2 nights in Varadero. And similar to the picture above, that was our backyard beach. Cuba has spoiled us. We call each other 'Paris', because that is whom we have become. We have come a long way from Chile, where we stayed happily in a tiny hostel room with no air con, tv or private ensuite, to complaining about having to pick up our drinks from the bar at the beach instead of having them served to us...lol.

We loved Varadero. People were much friendlier and easy to get along with. I also had my own reason for loving Varadero...*wink*

One night we went clubbing to a salsa club...ufff...again very intimidating- these people can MOVE!!! And after the live music stopped and the dj came on, something happened to Shyama. Well she was approached and pursued by a salsa teacher who made her get DOWN! It was a scene from Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. So far Shyama has been rather subdued, but after some attention from Mr 'Junior' (as he called himself), she was moving in ways i had forgotten she could move. she was pole dancing and he was the pole! She was getting down and dirty...meanwhile, when i tried to dance with her, Junior pushed me aside in the arms of some gay looking sleazy italian and insisted that he keep Shyama all to himself.

Well, nonetheless, the night was great and i danced my tush off slowly sneaking away from the gay looking sleazy italian-missing the presence of my beautiful eyed boy. Will explain.

Camma, you will be proud to know that I finally put my Spanish to some really good use. A beautiful Cuban boy working at the hotel caught my eye. The whole morning i spent contemplatng whether or not i should approach him. Even though i saw him having breakfast with 2 rather tall, slim and attractive women. Finally I decided to bite the bullet. I approached him. Mind you, earlier he was the one striking up a conversation with me about whether we wanted to book a restaurant for dinner. And where we were from, etc. Anyway, i digress. First I told him 'excuse me, I don't know spanish but i know how to say the important stuff. 'Eres un cuero'. I got a slightly confused reaction. Turns out, this phrase i learnt in Peru is only relevant to Peru and doesn't apply to cuba. it is supposed to mean 'you are a hottie'. Instead in cuba, it is interpreted as you are an interesting person. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Well, I persisted and said (mind you, thanks to the lonely planet phrasebook, I had been practicing this line our whole trip but never used it) 'tienes onos ochos precioso' - which means 'u have beautiful eyes'. And ladies, a cheesy line like that can work especially if you don't know the language. Overall- I got a very positive response and I asked him to take me dancing - he was a great dancer and met up with me in the evening in the hotel's entertainment area. Later not being able to come out with us to a club since (wait for it ladies)- he had no money. That's the problem with men in cuba- they are beautiful but penniless. Such a shame. I took as much advantage of him (his dancing skills only) while I could. Guys - a tip - no matter how handsome you are - if your breath stinks- you have no chance for a kiss. And unfortunately this cuban hunk's breath was not upto standard.

Marshie will be delighted to hear that I actually convinced Shyama to perform Saiyna with me in front of a very small audience at the hotel. The dj loved the indian music so much that he wanted to burn the cd. But since we couldn't see him again, i let him keep it. Now Bollywood tunes will be echoing in Cuba! Viva la Bollywood!

Now we are in Rio and I have to learn 'you have beautiful eyes' in Portuguese. Camma - any tips?

Missing you all!

Luv

Jag.

Part 5 continued- CUBA in Shyama's words

Hulloooooo to all...finally!

We have finally made it to CUBA (or Cuva as the locals say!)

I'll make this brief, as no doubt Jag's blog will contain the details.

Anyway...if you asked me yesterday what I thought of Cuba...I would tell you all...DON'T DO IT!!!! Jag and I were having such a shite time here...until yesterday....

Yesterday...we decided to throw all our plans of roughing it and staying at cheap places and Casas out the window. We could not get out of Havana fast enough...so in a record breaking split-second move...we just went in the first door of an agent and booked 2 nights in Varadero...so much for "not doing the touristy thing"! hehe.

Varadero is a beach resort...and we paid about $160 CUCs ($200USD) for two nights EACH...which is ALL INCLUSIVE... The travel agent kept saying this...ALL INCLUSIVE... and we thought: OK so she's talking about AC (I mean we are also battling a language barrier here), and TV and all that other stuff...but as it turns out...she was talking about much more important stuff...stuff closer to our hearts than even the TV and CABLE (that's a funny story...see below): FOOD, DRINKS and all amenities! If I was to invite a guest to the hotel...they would have to be tagged with a coloured wrist band or won't be allowed in. Rest assured ladies...we have no such guests in mind...but just an excercise in pro-active thinking on our part!.

Anyway....in the past 3 days in Cuba we have moved about 4 times (we had been planning to stay in one spot - if you were wondering)...not including all the CASAs we checked out and hotels we walked into (and walked STRAIGHT OUT OF). We even had our first scene...which I think Jag would say was MY first scene. We yelled and screamed at the people of the hotel...but sadly enough, after having thought about it...I don't think they understood a word we were saying. BUT they did know we were P.O.ed!

I also have a small suspicion, that at least for myself, the scene was caused mainly due to all the frustrations of Cuba...and we took it out on that one hotel. But they did have no water (in the entire hotel: The maid, who lived a block down the street, finally offered (in spanish - so we were struggling to understand her sign language) to carry a bucket of water from her place to us - we declined) .. The hotel didn't bother to inform us, kept hanging up on us when we called to find out about the water and then kept charging us different rates for internet usage for one day and more for the next!

Ok...just to inform you: Yesterday, what changed our minds about Cuba; we took a tour of Havana...and that's when things became clear to us. Why the people are the way they are here. Jag was getting very frustrated with the service, etc...but now we know that people here have no reason to care about anything. Everything they earn goes to the Govt...nothing to homes, they get paid about a tenth of what they give to Govt (cause they get paid in local pesos, about $260/wk ($1CUC=$0.89USD=$24pesos), but tourists can only use CUCs- we found that out the hard way: We have about $360 local pesos with nowhere to use it (no exchange place will touch them - but will gladly take commision and give them to you!!) - so we keep trying to give it away, even thought of throwing them off balconies!).

Cubans can't buy or sell anything including homes and cars etc. They pay a lease when they take ownership of a house...but once lease is paid off, and they cark it...the new relative/owner pays another lease. Most of the houses here are crumbling anyway but...people here are crammed about 11, 12 people in one tiny home. Apparently the bus service here can rival that of any in India...if a local misses a bus, you may have to wait up to 2 hours for next one...but they take it on the chin...no one complains! Everyone's on holiday - including the locals)

Everything here, tourist attractions etc are in buildings that were previously (pre-Castro) churches, American built buildings, houses (mansions), etc and now they are museums of the old 1900s etc or restarants (Cubans had no specific religion until about 7 years ago, when Catholicism came - and now it's a fashion to go to church or get married there). It's quite a quaint old city...once you understand what's going on...but when we first got here...the whole city looked like a ghetto...very unsafe etc...and we wanted to get the heck out of here!!!

What else? The trek was....UNBEARABLE for me...though Jag did very well (I thought I was going to die on the way to "Dead Woman's Pass" (half-way)- very appropriately named place, let me tell you). To make matters worse, I was sick...so I couldn't breathe due to the altitude and a blocked nose...then was chucking (Ria would be so proud!!!) for the entire 3rd day - but not due to alcohol!!! We did the trek in 2.5 days instead of 4 - and it didn't help that we were the only girls in the group of 10. 7 out of the 10 though were Aussies!

Show pics when I get back. BEAUTIFUL scenery etc...the jungle was also amazing.

Ok...I think this is long enough...the Cable TV story: one of the reasons for our continual movement in Cuba...divas that we are..is due to the lack of cable tv at some of these places...and Jag even volunteered this gem of info to the agent...who needless to say was a little shocked!

Alright...better go.

Sorry for the long email...I wanted to write it as a record for me as well!

Miss you all,
keep in touch!

Lots of love,
Shyama.

Part 5- The Cuban Trilogy- Cigars, Cofee and Rum.

Yes I have skipped part 4- but will fill you all in later regarding the Inca adventure. For now, I am in Cuba, at Hotel Seville, listening to live Cuban music in the background and trying not to choke on the pungent smell of strong cuban cigars. First impression of Cuba - a man at the airport (an airport official of some sort) standing infront of a NO SMOKING SIGN, smoking a cigarette. There you have it. Funnily enough, the three most popular items in Cuba are Cigars, coffee and rum (none of which I consume - but Dev - you would love it!).

Everyday is a Sunday in cuba. Somewhat like India. We are on vacation, but the problem is, so are the cubans. So the word "efficiency" or "customer service" is absent from the cuban dictionary. People stand in queues waiting for a bus that may come in 5 minutes or even 2 hours. "People watching" is the number one pass time. You will find locals sitting around literally doing nothing for hours. Cubans are not allowed to buy or sell property. Wages average about USD$10 per month. Generations live in one small apartment which the government has total control over. There is no such thing as ownership- not of tangibles and certainly not of responsibility. If your hotel runs out of water, deal with it. If it's on the menu, just don't expect it to be in the kitchen. Shyama ordered toast and butter at a popular place called Hotel Inglaterra today - the answer from the waiter was "no". No toast and butter today....hmmm. This was about the 4th time we have heard "no".

My first 2 days in Cuba- nightmare! We just wanted to get out! At the airport, the money exchange lady tried to rip me off by giving me less and when i insisted on a receipt, she said she lost it (in the span of 5 seconds...hmmm). The people were not helpful at the hotel and it was impossible to commuicate our disappointment in the services. The streets felt unsafe especially for women. Nonetheless, once we did a city tour (which I highly recommend) with a local who explained the workings of the Cuban culture - we began to appreciate Cuba for what it is. As the tour leader stated "don't try and understand Cuba, just accept it".

Ok- come tips:

Habana Libre is a fantastic 4 or 5 star hotel, after which everything failed in comparison. It's best not to go into a hotel off the street - better to go to a tourist bureau or agency to geta good deal on hotels. Otherwise we spent one night in a casa (local's home) which costs $25 USD per night. This is a great way to stay on a budget.

Cuban food for vegetarian's non-existent. But we have eaten at some great restaurants including El Barracon in Habana Libre and a meditteranean restaurant in Park Central Hotel.

Cuba has 2 currencies (go figure)- the CUC convertible cuban pesos and the local currency called Nacionales/pesos. Do NOT exchange your money into Nacionales. We thought we needed both currencies so we changed on USD$20 into Nacionales of 360. But we are finding it impossible to use this currency as it is worthless. We are trying to get rid of it in tips and giving it to beggars. Yesterday Shyama and I were about to throw all our Nacionales off a balcony of a nice Irish pub called O'Reilleys - but we had forgotten our Nacionales at home. The currency is worth nothing but the locals earn wages in Nacionales. I hope I have made my point. Also - DO NOT BRING the US Dollar or the Aussie Dollar. The commission on USD is upto 20%. It's best to bring Euros, which guess what? -Neither me or Shyama brought...lol.

My favourite thing about Cuba would be the music. It's everywhere! And all cuban's can dance! We saw an amazing band and fashion show on Saturday night at Habana libre 25th floor. And the dancing was incredible - Shyama and I were intimidated to get on the dance floor. The cuban people are beautiful people - both men and women. But it's always the ugly ones that whistle at you on the street. Hotel Nacionales had a spectacular Cabaret show which we saw. It was very colourful - but cabaret is not our style. Everyone says to check out Casa De La Musica, which we went to yesterday but it was closed. Instead we ended up at some bar where they had a cuban girl band and everyone dancing salsa. Music was pretty poor but we joined in the dancing.

After the painful Inca Trek- Shyama and I wanted to unwind - but we have been pretty stressed out so far in Cuba. We are going to a resort at Varadero for 2 nights to lay on the beach. Our initial plan was to go to the country side/ mountains in Vinales since everyone has recommended it. But after the spectucular Andes in Peru and the excruciating climbing - we have chosen the beach over mountains.

Here's another tip - Shyama and I didn't realise that breakfast was included as part of our stay at Habana Libre. On the second day we discovered an endless breakfast buffet unlike any other we have seen. You could choose your juices/shakes. there were atleast 50-80 items. It's on level 2 at Habana Libre. They don't check your room number so just walk in like you stay there and get yourself a free breakfast of a lifetime! make sure you try the guava shake....delicious!

For those who are writing in - thank you...please keep doing it. I will try and write back but it is too difficult since all the intructions are in spanish and I don't know what the icons mean.

Ciao!

Jag.