The 1000 Day Holiday

I was pondering how to get out of Cuba, the cheapest airline is Cubana. Cubas national airline.

Online reviews suggested taking Mexicana as they have proper planes, and a decent saftey record. But Cubana won on price. I didn´t bother to check if it was on the EU banned list.

While exploring Habana I did come across this billboard. Yes that is a Cubana plane going down in flames.

Once I had bought my ticket, I discovered I was flying on something called a Yak 42. A quality russian airplane. So what if its called a Yak.. They’re pretty hardy animals.

Once on board, I was sitting beside a russian. The male cabin attendant was russian, part time onboard mechanic as well? And the panel above my head summed it up.

During takeoff the aircon system started misting up the cabin, some people started freaking out as it enveloped them.

After all that humdrum, it turns out I got to Guatemala safe and sound. And decided to read a little about the old Yak42…

Wikipedia states

The Yak-42 was built at Smolensk, and it entered service with Aeroflot in late 1980. Almost 100 had been delivered by 1993.

Shortly after the type’s introduction into commercial service, a number of accidents caused by vibrations in the tail section of the aircraft forced a suspension of the type’s operations. After the necessary modifications were made, the Yak-42 re-entered service in the Soviet Union circa 1985.

The type was never exported as new, only after the political transition of the former Soviet Union, a few Yak-42s were leased out to carriers in Africa, Cuba, Pakistan and in former Yugoslavia.

as of August 2007 133 out of 300 Yakovlev Yak-42 aircraft remain in airline service.

I dont want to know what happened to the other 167 of the Yaks…

I ended up in Cuba on a whim, and I’m pretty happy I did.

I managed to spot Raul Castro. But couldn’t find Fidel in Vinegar anywhere.

I learned not to ask for chili sauce as the first response I got was “This is not Mexico” in Spanish.

Food wise, Cuba gets a bad rap. Salt is pretty much the only “spice”. I only once found mustard and pickles in a small ham sandwich street shop. That guy is going to be rich!

The answer is to eat mainly on the streets, and take your own chili sauce.

Eat as much street pizza, ice cream and lobster as possible.

• $1 for 40 Scoops of Ice cream (5 scoops for 3 pesos, 25 pesos to a dollar)
• $1 for 25 soft serve ice creams.
• $0.20 for a standard street cheese pizza
• $0.28 for a street pizza w Ham
• $0.80 for the premium Street pizza that put me into food coma.
• $8 for Lamb shanks that were amazing
• $8 for a meal including a whole lobster tail.
• $15 for a lobster tail, w a pianist accompanying us for our finale dinner.

In 16 Days, I would estimate I ate 8 litres of ice cream, 18 – 20 pizzas a couple of cute little lambs and a few  super tasty lobsters.

There’s something cool about the illegal taxis, they often sound like diesel trucks, often including the black smoke out the back. But when they deliver you in style. So cool.

As for the fashion in Cuba. It must say D&G in shiny letters, and be as skin tight as possible.

Cuba really has a great city life. Because there is only Government tour agencies, and they’re in the hotels, the entire city is actually lived in. (unlike Antigua, Guatemala). Grannies sitting on the steps, kids playing bottle-top baseball in the streets. Oldies dozing in the plazas, domino games getting serious on the money. Its funky!

While I was sailing to Cuba I managed to pop my eardrum.

I was also reading Bill Bryson’s “Short History of Nearly Everything.”

Which stated that ‘one can blow tobacco smoke out of the ear in question, which is a social accomplishment’

Travel is all about learning new things. Including cool party tricks…

One week spent on a 40m classic 1900′s sailing ship, cruising the waters of the Caribbean from Colombia to Cuba sounded pretty damn good to me! Being a classic ship, I assumed it wouldn´t have a swimming pool. So I brought one along.

most of the passengers were puking the first few days, the ship getting rocked around quite a bit in the first night due to a storm, even ripped 4 of the sails.

I gave up fishing after 4 days of nothing.

But then the fun started. We anchored and went swimming, snorkeling and rope swings off the mast…

Video of the Rope Swing off the mast into the Caribbean

Unfortunately I popped my eardrum doing said rope swing. Maybe no more attempted back flips for me.

We finally managed to catch some Tuna, Dorado and Spanish Mackerel. Tasty. All in all a groovy week aboard the Steel Rat.