Why Trinidad Cuba is a UNESCO site Trinidad is one of Cuba's UNESCO World Heritage sites recognized for its "Outstanding Universal Value" (a category where Blonde hopes to eventually gain recognition). Trinidad was founded in the early 16th century in honor of the Holy Trinity, back when Spanish Catholics were running things and Fidel Castro wasn't even the proverbial gleam … [Read more...]
Cuba’s Literacy Campaign of 1961
One of the educational/cultural activities included in Blonde’s People-to-People trip to Cuba was a visit to the Cuban Literacy Museum. This visit was far enough into the trip that Blonde’s brain (not a total oxymoron) was already skeptically assessing the suspiciously rosy presentations about Cuba’s accomplishments under Castro. As someone who has a hard enough time … [Read more...]
José Fuster – Cuban Artist and Good Neighbor!
Cuba has had more than its share of hard times over the last 50 years but José Fuster has proven that one man can make a perceptible difference by using his (considerable) talents to be a good neighbor. Born in Havana in 1946 Fuster chooses to live in the poor neighborhood of Jaimanitas on the northwestern edge of Havana. Poverty has a tendency to be drab but Fuster has … [Read more...]
What is it really like (for Americans) to travel to Cuba now?
What is it really like to travel to Cuba now? The internets are full of articles with headlines such as “CheapAir to start selling direct U.S.-Cuba flights on Wednesday”. If, as a U.S. citizen, you read only the headline and the first sentence you may think you are now free to book a vacation to Cuba. Finally you can go independently and do as you please when you arrive! This … [Read more...]
Is it time travel if you don’t know if you traveled in the time?
Huh? OK, that was an obtuse question for most people but for Blonde, it's a real question. Last Sunday Blonde spent 11 hours in the emergency department of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Why? Was she sick at her stomach? Did she have a high temperature? Had she broken her leg? Gone in to see if she actually has Tourette's? Ruptured her appendix? Was she having … [Read more...]
Turks and Caicos in the Picture the World photo project
The Departure Board has a project of compiling representative photos of all of the countries in the world. This is ours that we submitted for Turks and Caicos and it was accepted and posted today. This is an interesting project to follow. Here's the url: http://www.thedepartureboard.com/tag/picture-the-world-project Maybe you have a photo to enter for a place not yet … [Read more...]
Our entries for Traveldudes #PeoplePics contest
This young man - Leaky - was one of the helpers on a wonderful boat trip with Caicos Dream Tours from Grace Bay Beach to Half Moon Bay in Turks and Caicos. When we got near Half Moon Bay Leaky started to dive for conch shells to give to the people on the boat. It wasn't as if the conchs were everywhere - he dove and dove to find them. We are only used to seeing young men exert … [Read more...]
Can’t get no satisfaction? Try snorkeling!
[slideshow] No, that isn't what we mean! We know what you're thinking and you should be ashamed of yourself. Blonde and Brunette both learned to swim when we were young (during the Civil War) and have always loved water activities that don't require prowess or balance - think water skiing, kite surfing, serious kayaking (we do the go in circles kind) or scuba diving (there's … [Read more...]
This week’s Twitter #FriFotos Theme is Curves – turns out there are a lot of them!
[slideshow] … [Read more...]
The one who got away (and fast)
When Blonde got laid off from her job in corporate America she and Brunette celebrated by taking a severance package trip to Turks and Caicos. The company's demise had been slow and painful. Fortunately, some types of pain can be successfully erased by travel. Brunette is like a vulture looking at a limping chicken when she swoops down to snatch a travel bargain so we got a … [Read more...]