Month: July 2001

Quito, Ecuador; Tue, 24 Jul 2001 19:09:55

what a difference to cuba…
adverts, internet, american food. i’m sitting in an internet cafe, head spinning from the height, thinking there’s little point in moving from this spot. i’m in ecuador for god’s sake and all i feel like doing in playing on the computer and munching on all this glorious food. oh – the food! no more bloody creole chicken and papas fritas for me for a while i think.

turned up last night on the plane from panama and what a welcome party. we pushed our way through these funny little people wearing hats and general weirdness to a taxi, got a bed and tried to get warm under the covers. it’s freezing compared to cuba. missing it already. the people are great – next time i go, i shall be fluent in spanish. we’re signing up for one-on-one spanish lessons for the next week. so, although i won’t be at all fluent, there’ll be something to build on.

our last night in havana was spent in somebody’s bedroom (i’ve got a feeling it was actually the owner’s bed most of the time) with no running water. the difference to here is incredible. we’ve got cable tv in our hostel!! backpacker central.

i’m surrounded by bars with signs in english. no peeling paint or crumbling masonry – just adverts and slogans galore. i think i’ll bathe in pure consumer pap for the next week or so.

Havana, Cuba; Sun, 22 Jul 2001 23:11:17

so our three weeks in fidel’s beautiful country are coming to a close and what better time can there be to send out a brief account of events so far?
we{ve dived in coral reefs, danced plenty of salsa, drunk our fair share of rum, acquired a taste for cigars, and generally done all the usual cuban shinanigens. though the people are the best thing about cuba. 3 weeks just ain’t long enough.

i wish i spoke better spanish and i wish i’d brought a load of t-shirts to give to the kids here.