Holidays to Cuba (2018); Discovering Cuba From Havana in 8 Days

Day 1 and 2: You will spend 2 days in Havana where you will meet Cubans, their culture and their history! A first approach under the Caribbean sun between salsa and Mojito! Do not miss the museums and the essential walk on the famous malecón (seaside)!

Then, go to the center of the country to discover new cities and adventures!

Santa Clara, Cuba

Day 3: The admirers of Che Guevara, should not miss the city of Santa Clara, located 280 km from Havana. It was here that the young revolutionary managed to defeat part of Fulgencio Batista's army by seizing an armored train full of ammunition! The taking of the city was an important stage of the Cuban revolution, since it was on hearing the news that the President made the decision to flee his country!

 So go to the battle site, the cars were kept and turned into a museum. The city has also built a mausoleum in honor of Che where his body is buried! Must have!

Day 4: From Santa Clara you will go to Trinidad. This beautiful little colonial town will allow you to rest. You will walk through its cobbled streets and even enjoy the beach on the peninsula of Ancón, located a few kilometers from the city.

Day 5: Departure for Cienfuegos, city founded by French in the 19th Century. Its huge bay, the Bahía de Jagua is a great pride for the whole region. You can stroll to Parque de la Punta, a small park at the edge of a beautiful beach, continue to Castillo de Jagua (Castle) to finish at Punta Gorda which is the old aristocratic district of the city. The Caribbean style villas are impressive, beautiful and colorful ... while having a superb view of the sea! The most famous building is the Palacio del Valle, built in the 20th century by a wealthy businessman, today it is a hotel-restaurant.

Day 6: Visit El Nicho, located 50 km from Cienfuegos, in the Escambray massif. This protected natural park is an exceptional site. Beautiful waterfalls flow through tropical vegetation. This region is relatively uninhabited and you will cut you totally from the world! In the middle of nature, you will be able to bathe in transparent waters facing a dream scenery! An incredible place.

Day 7: Return to Havana.

Day 8: Departure from José Martí airport in Havana.

Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 3): The "Jailbreak Journalism"! The Advanture of Evangelina Cosio.

For nearly five centuries the Plaza de Armas has been one of the main social hubs of Havana. The oldest public square in the city (check out http://www.cubatravel.cu/en/destinations/havana-cuba). This was once the site for military parades when Spain controlled this Caribbean island. But the Spanish might faltered when it faced the bold scheme of one American newspaperman. Hell-bent on making a name for himself, so what was his audacious plan. How would it build an American publishing Empire. 1896, Havana the Cubans are in a heated battle for their independence from the rule of Spain. The prisons are filled with rebels. One unlikely imprisoned Cuban revolutionary is 19 year-old Evangelina Cosio y Cisneros. She's young petite girl; long hair and charismatic. She comes from what seems an upper caliber family whose father was a rebel. She's a political prisoner. But one man thinks he has the power to save her; New York publisher William Randolph Hearst. Hearst has a plan to use Evangelina story to get a leg up on his arch rival Joseph Pulitzer. There's a lot of machismo rivalry between Hearst and Pulitzer. He thinks that his readers are really good to identify with her and lock this up and it's gonna sell papers. Hurst believes if he can bust her out of jail, he could make her a heroine to his readers. It's this crazy out of control plan that Hearst going to break Evangelina at a prison like a real-life Prison Break!

Plaza de Armas, a place to visit at a holiday to Cuba, one of the main social hubs of Havana

The plucky publisher has just the man to execute his secret scheme. His best reporter Carl Decker, so Carl's not your ordinary journalist. He's this swashbuckling guy who lives for adventure and danger and just loves a challenge. Hearst neighs he's the perfect guy for this mission. Under the cover of darkness Decker will secret her out of prison and straight to a hiding place. Angeline is supposed to stay in a safe house until a passenger ship bound for New York arrives at night. So she can secretly get on he begins by smuggling a box of candies laced with narcotics into Evangelina cell. The night of the breakout Evangeline is gonna give them to her cellmate. So that they're knocked down a few nights later. Evangelina feeds the candy to her cell mates while Decker and his cohorts work at springing her free. So in the middle of the night, Decker and his guys find a building that's nearby the prison. They go up to the roof they shimmy across to the roof of the prison. They fall they're gonna die or severely hurt themselves. Evading the guards Decker makes his way to Evangelina cell, and gets to work using a file. They first try to solve the metal bars. Amazingly despite all the noise of sawing and pulling, the Spanish don't hear it Decker bundles of Evangelina out of the jail and straight to a safe house where they wait for the ship to escape the island. But there's a problem the ship is delayed, and the police are scouring the streets for Evangelina. 

Evangelina Cosio y Cisneros

William Randolph Hearst

The plan to leave Cuba under cover of darkness is now out of the question. She is like the most wanted woman in all of Cuba. Police chasing the city. He has to find a clandestine way for Evangelina to board a New York bound vessel in broad daylight. So how will he do it things are clearly not Comcast power plan. If they're caught, she could be killed. So they decide that they're going to disguise Evangelina as a boy. Because she's so small with a fake ID in hand and a cigarette dangling from her mouth they leave the safe house. People are looking for her and she's still not safe. She's timid, she's scared, she doesn't know what her future holds. Decker leads the disguised Evangelina towards the docks evading the authorities. Then walking in plain sight she gets onto the passenger ship finally free Evangelina pets for New York cursed wastes. No time he splashes across the headlines. Evangelina is safe and that his journalists had a hand in doing it it's called "jailbreak journalism"! 

The final product of jailbreak journalism! Evangelina Cosio y Cisneros at news paper - NewYork Journal  

Two days later on October 14th Evangelina arrives in New York City to great fanfare curse journalism really pays off all. The sensational headlines are selling millions and millions of papers. The esteemed newspaper magnate also succeeds in the circulation battle. Besting his archrival. 

Here is the short biography of William Randolph Hearst : 

Today the beautiful Spanish colonial architecture of Plaza de Armas stands as a reminder of a once formidable power, one tenacious tycoons will to conquer the American publishing world in the heart of downtown Havana. 

Don't miss the other parts of my blog series:

Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 1): Fidel & His Poisonous Love Morita

Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 2): Death of Ernest Hemingway; Was He a KGB spy?

Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 2): Death of Ernest Hemingway; Was He a KGB spy?

The previous Part (Part 1) : Fidel Castro & His Poisonous Love Morita

Morita's attempt is not the last assassination attempt that the CIA plots against the Cuban leader. In fact Castro alludes over 600 attempts on his life. Including one in which a wet suit is lined with a deadly bacteria. These efforts only work to emboldened the dictator. He rules Cuba for nearly half a century before stepping down and handing the reins to his brother Raul in 2008. Today the Havana Libre Hotel still stands as a monument to a time when a poisonous love affair almost changed history. Just 10 miles east of Havana is the beautiful village of San Francisco de Paola nestled among the quiet coves and rocky bays. 

Things to do in Cuba: visit the house of Ernest Hemingway, the writer of "Old Man in the Sea" 

That line the coast is an idyllic 15 acre property finca la vie here built in 1886. This striking property was the home and inspiration to one of the most enigmatic authors of the 20th century Ernest Hemingway for nearly two decades. The writer lived and worked here today his beloved boat his tower office. Even his original typewriter are preserved just as the famed author left them. But behind this writers paradise is a darker tale of espionage. The treachery and paranoia 1961 Ketchum Idaho just a year after leaving Cuba. The iconic American author Ernest Hemingway is found dead in his home. The cause of his demise a shotgun wound to his head. 

Thinking of Virgin Holidays to Cuba: Just 10 miles east of Havana is the beautiful village of San Francisco de Paola

The tragic event leaves the American public really once the news breaks about Hemingway's death. People are devastated they can't believe that this man larger than life itself has now died. It appears that Hemingway took his own life. But one question remains why in search of answers Hemingway's friends and family looked to a series of bizarre events that took place in Ketchum in the months leading up to the writers death. Before he died, Hemingway had told them he believed that in the previous year he was being followed. He looks at his mail he believes it's been tampered with he picks up his phone. He believes they're people listening to his conversations. He becomes somewhat paranoid according to his friends and family. Hemingway's behavior and also become increasingly strange. He starts driving at night with his lights turned off. He asked to use other people's phones as not to have his phone conversations taped. His relatives had taken the desperate step of sending Hemingway to a mental institution for treatment. But to no avail his paranoia continues. His delusions continue. He's starting to spiral down depression. It seems as if Hemingway's suicide was simply the result of the author slowly losing his mind. 

But not everyone buys this theory in 1983. Jeffrey Myers a literary scholar. Using the Freedom of Information Act obtains an FBI report that reveals shocking new clues about the author's life and death clues that lead back to the mysterious land of Cuba. Investigating the life and mysterious death of Ernest Hemingway, a scholar named Geoffrey Myers uncovers a clue that could change everything we know about the iconic author. It leads back to Hemingway's time on the island of Cuba. So what Myers discovers in this FBI report is really quite amazing. As it turns out J Edgar Hoover the head of the FBI had ordered that Hemingway be tracked. He was really concerned about his verse of politics about his points of view about his time in Cuba in 1939. Hemingway had moved from the U.S. to Cuba and taken up residence in this stunning home. Really feels at home in Cuba. He found that his political views were welcomed in Cuba, and really accepted there. It's here that Hemingway pens some of his best works such as the old man in the sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. But his time in Cuba also saw the famed writer embark on a very different career as a Russian spy. Anyways subversive politics were known to the Russians. 



Short biography of the famous writer that lives in Cuba: 

And so, he was shortly approached by the KGB. Hemingway was asked to collect valuable information on the US government for the Russian Secret Service. They even gave him a codename agent Argo. But when the FBI finds out about Hemingway's communist connections, they begin a surveillance operation following him around. Reading his mail and even tapping his phone. As Hemingway's career flourished, so too did his file. At the FBI during this time Jagger Hoover put together page after page of detail on Ernst Hemingway's every move. But according to the FBI reports Hemingway ended up being a poor resource for the KGB as it turns out Hemingway was a very failed spot. And in 1960, when Hemingway fled Cuba to return to the United States, the FBI continued to monitor him right up to the author's final days. With this piece of information in hand the mystery of Hemingway's death is solved. It seems that far from being paranoid, Hemingway was right. He was being watched by the FBI. That is likely what contributed to a suicide that ultimately pushes him over the edge. Today, visitors to Hemingway's house, hear a reminded of a renowned American who also served as a KGB spy. 

Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 1): Fidel & His Poisonous Love Morita

Cuba one of the largest and most mysterious islands in the world and around every turn are amazing stories shocking legends and secrets waiting to be revealed. A perilous plot against the greatest enemy of the United States. This is not the first attempt that the CIA has taken to assassinate Fidel Castro. A hero's desperate flight to freedom. He's got to hope that he's gonna live and survive. How he's gonna make it to the United States and a sacred miracle at the cemetery. It was a secret code Helia wake up Melia. I'm here. These are the mysteries of Cuba. 

Lots Of UK & US people prefers Cuba's cheap all-inclusive holidays; and here is its beautiful coasts.

Ninety miles off the coast of Florida. This Caribbean island is home to enchanting beaches fertile valleys. Just check out the famous Cuba travel site http://www.cubatravel.cu/en/ . And some of the most beautiful architecture on the planet. More than five decades of communist rule have preserved Cuba in a bygone era. Today it remains an enigma trapped in time. Nowhere is that more evident than in its capital city Havana. The antique autos the colonial architecture the romantic streets it's so easy to get lost in the allure of the city. But towering above the streets and alleyways is a far more modern structure. 

This is the Havana Libre hotel when Fidel Castro swept to power in 1959.

He made this hotel the temporary seat of the new Cuban government. But not everyone supported Castro and his revolutionaries. It was here that a sinister mission to eliminate the Cuban leader played out what daring plot to kill off the most powerful man in Cuba unfolded within these very walls. 1959 Havana revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has led a successful military campaign to take control of Cuba. Fidel Castro is this larger-than-life figure is the leader of the revolution. He's moved an entire country but Castro's communist ideas and links to Soviet Russia strike fear into the heart of Cuba's biggest neighbor the United States. As the socialist leanings sped up the u.s. saw a greater sense of urgency and not only discrediting him but assassinating him. He had already tried to give him an exploding cigar that could potentially kill there was a plot to put thallium salt in his shoes which would effectively make his beard fall out. But none of these schemes have worked. 

Here is mini biography of Fidel Castro :

So they come up with a new plan to take down the Communist leader. The CIA focuses on the one person who can penetrate his inner circle. Castro's jilted ex-lover German American Marita Lorenz who has returned to the US. She's scorned. She's hurt. The CIA realizes that she's vulnerable. They knew she was in love with him. They talked to her about how he was not only a dangerous person but he was also going to endanger the security of the United States of America.

When you lie on Cuba Beaches; just remember the moments of Morita & Fidel

They talked to her about how they needed her because of her intimate relationship with Fidel Castro to be part of their plot to assassinate him. Convinced that Castro presents a threat to the US, Marita accepts the deadly mission. The CIA knew that Fidel Castro was still held up in the penthouse of Havana Libre hotel. She is one of the few people on the planet that has access to Fidel. That can go to his penthouse room. They concoct this plan to give Marita his poison pills that she's going to take to Havana bring up to his penthouse apartment. Dissolve in water and kill him. She hides the pills in a vat of cold cream so he could get them through Cuban customs in January 1960. 

Morita arrives at the Havana Libre Hotel and charms her way past the guards to Fidel's penthouse. But the CIA has misjudged the would-be assassin face-to-face with him. She begins to have second thoughts of course. She's in the place where they shared so many intimate moments together. Marita's emotions get the better of her and her plan starts to unravel. Morita's her heart is racing she's trying to pull the cold cream off the pills. It's not working then Fidel walks in seeing the pills. He realizes that Marita has been sent to kill him. Pedo understands his power over people. He sees her she's trembling Castro reaches for his gun. Then he does something totally unexpected! 


He gives Morita his revolver. He says go ahead kill me take my life. This is Marita's chance. She drops the gun and falls into Fidel's arms. As fidel suspected she can't go through with it. Fidel forgives his former lover and allows her to flee back to the United States. Despite her failure to carry out the assassination, Morita remains involved with covert government organizations for nearly two decades.

This is the end of part 1. Just check out the next part :) ..

Go to Part 2 : The Death of Ernest Hemingway; Was He a KGB spy?