Yup.  This trip was awesome.  Great times spent with friends old and new.  With me and Chris N / “ChanceSchmerr” travelling together as the only two schmucks from Canuckistan (although we did end up meeting up with some others down there, like Jason and Amir and a number of others), it was a different style of trip for me once again.  With us staying as part of 12 FOH travelers in two side-by-side mega “casa particulars” (and wisely within spitting distance of both Cira Garcia hospital, and La Casa De La Musica – so we could have fun, and then go for medical shots afterwards, LOL), it was a crazy romp of Canadians, Aussies, and the like.  Plus, with the overall FOH group there for the week also meeting up with some joint-event items with Gino’s AmiCigar group from Italy and other European countries, it definitely was a united-nations-of-glee week to be had.

Most nights, I stayed up WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY past my bedtime with Glen / Aussie Motörhead-Lemmy / Shrektopus; as his fellow Aussie traveler Stan said, Glen was my “date” most nights / early mornings, and I’ve apparently earned a “black belt” title for the night-time long-haul as a nightclub/bar wingman of sorts.  LOL.  Awesome.

Usual nights occurred of staying up until 6:30 to 8 am, getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep, and then going at it again.  One morning got me a glorious 5 hrs of sleep, and another netted a to-be-unheard-of-in-Cuba-for-me 6-1/2 hrs of sleep.  Stellar.  Needless to say, my fat, rounding-the-corner-towards-40-years-old body crashed hard once back in Canada after about 9 days of craziness.  Upon getting home last Sunday (after 24 hrs of partying, followed directly with 24 hrs of overall travelling, with only 2 hrs of sleep between it all), my bedtime was 8pm, and I didn’t wake up until 10:30 am the next morning.  Add to that the hangover remnants / detox trauma didn’t fully subside for another 3 days or so, and my wife the nurse was ALLLLLLLL too glad to point out I wasn’t 20 anymore.

Ahhhhh, but therein is the rub.  Down in Havana, you can FEEL like 20 if you want to and have the spirit to enjoy the moment.

Lots to come shortly.  I’ll try to get a cigar-shop general round-up post going later on tonight or tomorrow, and then may have to delay further for a bit (just got tasked with an overseas thing that I’m leaving for tomorrow, which may tie me up until Dec 15th or so).  But will get stuff going here as soon as I can.

Cheers all.

Well, although this is much delayed, I’m still having fond memories of that week, which only seems like a weekend or two ago.

Some of the more memorable…

Café Laurent.  Although others have had a few issues there in the last year or two, all my visits lately have been great.  Classic mojitos, and epically good and fresh seafood.

2.  The back terrace at the Hotel Nacional.  This place is a must-do, always, forever and ever, amen.

3.  Azucar.  Rob Ayala and a couple of the Aussies found this spot during the 2014 trip.  A fairly new and hip little spot, it all has a “sugar”-themed zeal to it.  Drink garnishes are made to look like lollypops and candy, with an amazing décor style, and a wickedly awesome view of Plaza Vieja and Café Bohemios (the “beer market”).  And…EXCELLENT flan to be found here.

4.  The courtyard at the Conde de Villanueva hostel.  Such a nice, out of the way spot.  Pretty much right in between Plaza de Armas and Plaza Vieja.  The peacocks there LOVE the mint from mojitos.  Find your way upstairs to the LCDH and get something good from Reynaldo, then go into the courtyard, order cappucinos and mojitos from the bar staff there, and just relax in a tranquil setting.  A little slice of heaven.

5.  La Terraza / Prado 309.  This spot is always a must-do.  That said, prices are skyrocketing there in recent years.  The first year I hit this restaurant, in 2011 or so, it was $11 CUC for the leg of lamb dinner, and $12 CUC for the mixed grill.  I noticed that the prices were creeping up before (it was $18 / $22 CUC for both as above, when I visited in Nov 2014), but this time it was $26 / $36 CUC for both as above, or right around that mark.  Also, the portions appear to be shrinking slightly – gone are the days when that leg of lamb was damn near as big as my own calf, and came on a giant butcher’s block.

That said – it’s still some of the best food around, and damn savoury.  The flan here is amazing, as is the grilled octopus appetizer – which was OUT and unavailable during this visit (a TRAVESTY!!!)  The mojitos and fresh blended daiquiris here are awesome as well.

6.  El Cocinero.  This spot is quickly becoming the en-vogue destination in the city.  Tourists with quality guides, foreigners in the know, and Cubans with financial means are all finding this unique restaurant / bar / art gallery.

Housed in an old peanut-oil factory, this twin-feature spot is a sure hit.  El Cocinero is the multi-level restaurant and bar, with the rooftop sporting the best views and atmosphere, and it being an appetite-inducing walk up the spiralled-staircase old chimney to get there.  Next door is the Fabrica de Arte, the old warehouse and further factory portion of the old peanut-oil factory, and it houses a jazz bar, art gallery, performance studio, nightclub, and is very chic and all-in-one.

But, El Cocinero – there was a chill 80’s smooth-jazz vibe, extremely inexpensive food and drinks (which were very good quality), and an amazing setting.  We indulged in round after round of perfectly delicious blended daiquiris, crocetas de pescado for appetizers, grilled shrimp dinners, and more daiquiris paired with AMAZING coconut flan for dessert.

And for those interested in El Cocinero’s menu offerings and pricing…

7.  Anywhere.  You wouldn’t be experiencing the food and drinks of Havana if you didn’t somewhat stray-off somewhere along your travels.  Be it churros from a street vendor along Obispo and wherever, from super-fuerte pina coladas while at a market, to local rums and coffees at a friend’s casa, there’s always more that this island has to offer without looking too hard.  Yum.

Cheers all.

As usual, when we all met up in Havana last November, the enjoyable conversations and time spent with one another was memorable.

We always find time to smoke “some” cigars, eat “a little” good food, have a “few” drinks, talk waaaaaaay too much about politics and the world’s problems, bitch and moan about anything and everything, stare at a few nice legs and asses, and have a grand olde fuckin’ time doing it.

This past November was generally more of the same.  The benefit is – the added past experiences and past bonds only make the additional time spent together that much more memorable and enjoyable.

From good times at the Nacional…

…to various spots around the city…

…it was another wonderful trip.

Hell, even though it was a “cigar trip”, Nino even talked Erin and I into taking in an afternoon at Tarara Beach for a bit of tranquilo fun in the sun and sand.  Well worth the trip out of town, too.

The restful times made up for the only-occasional-foray (on THIS trip) into Havana’s nightlife too…

Here’s to many, many more!

Cheers all.

My last visit to see the grand ladies and gents at the Lung Kong Society in Havana, Cuba, back during my Feb/Mar 2015 trip, was nice.  But this one was a bit more special for me, as it was the first time my wife was able to attend, meet the kind folk there, get a chance to talk with Graciela (the director / board chair / binding personality), and see why I and some of the other Toronto, Montreal, and other Canadian FOH cigar folk continue to support this worthwhile cause.  With many warm hugs and handshakes, its wonderful to return time and again to friendly smiles.

Upon arrival, we were walked through some of the changes in the past few months as well – the restaurant was to be a self-sustaining venture for them to assist with their feeding program for the elderly Chinese, however, it had turned out to be a failure.  They found, upon opening it earlier in the year, that people (be it tourists or locals) would simply not come there.  It was explained that people thought it was in too shanty and broken down of an area, and that they wouldn’t want to be seen going there.  Unfortunate, but such as it was.

Therefore, a new renovation was/is taking place.  They are still going with a means that allows them to be self-sustaining, but under a somewhat better plan apparently – a traditional bakery.  With the assistance of a gentleman (forgive me – I forgot to write his name down) who was a former baker for a resort in Cayo I believe it was, they are converting the restaurant into a bakery.  Then, while still trying to woo the local crowd in, they can still have the baked goods delivered to local shops, groceries, and smaller restaurants that they’ve already been initializing arrangements with.  Fingers crossed for some better ventures.

We also were granted a treat of a few of the ladies singing for us – former opera singers, professionally trained, from back in China.  I believe they were featured on one of the videos from posting before, here and on Nino’s Flying Cigar blog, but I can’t find the video currently.  Also, Erin worked her wonders at making a dirty old man like “Uncle Nino” flustered, especially after he mixed up the use of “incense” and “incest”, LOL.  (With all the various languages he speaks, and in translating things back and forth for us all, he mistook the use of a word, when trying to explain to Erin that we’d be going up to the shrine upstairs to light some incense.)  But, Erin put her good personality to kind use as well, in using her RN / nursing skills to some use in giving some recommendations for the staff also.

Speaking of shrine, once again we were honoured to be allowed to attend this sacred room of the Sociedad, and even with some partaking in using some bamboo sticks to communicate with the oracle at the shrine, with the numbered sticks coordinating with a book outlining the good or bad fortunes that lays ahead for the person drawing the sticks.  However, it turned out to be a skill testing venture for some to only have one single stick fall out of the bamboo, rather than inadvertently shaking out a small village’s worth…

And last but not least, what’s a visit to Lung Kong without a visit to their shrine, and therefore, what’s a visit to the Socidad Lung Kong’s shrine without stepping out onto their balcony overlooking Rue Dragones.  While many people may find the area grungy or ghetto-like (and it currently is a bit dirty due to the street construction going on), I love it.  It has character, and it gives ME some – reminds me to be thankful for what we have, to give what we can and where we can, and to take pleasure in the little joys (like everyone’s underwear laundry flapping away in the breeze, LOL).

For me, it’s just another unique view on a city and a country with so many different facets and connotations within the undercurrents of the politics.

Cheers all.

Again, I know I’m two months delayed in getting these posts up on here, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t be more timely with that, especially if any of the tidbits below could potentially help out some fellow Havana travellers.  Please check out my previous on “Havana Trip, Nov 2015: General Follow-Up…”

But, as has become a bit of my usual while down in Havana, I’ve come to make some daily notes on my iPhone to track what I’ve smoked and where I’ve ate at, as well as to note down a bit of a listing for follow-up items solely on cigars – cigar talk, stock at stores, etc.  I’ve been asked before for a bit more detail on the status of some stores and whatnot, and I’ve placed it both on the Friends Of Habanos forum, as well as on here, and it’s seemed to help out a few people, so I figured I’d continue to expand on that.

Also, good friend Frank had also posted some of this on an FOH thread that he used to relay info while I was down there, but there’s a bit more elaboration here with that stuff.

So, without further ado…

Regarding cigar stock at stores specifically, for those I was able to hit up…

• No Diplomaticos Excellencias 2015 RE Cuba anywhere.  I saw one box during the entire week only, at the welcome-cocktail evening at the LCDH at Habana Libre, and it was already spoken for…er…up for “raffle”.  But nothing of these available ANYWHERE that week.
• With that on the Dip RE’s, talk during the first few days at multiple shops from multiple managers was that there was a Venezuelan government delegation in town, and they had requested 1000 boxes, so the word was that the Cuban V.P. had tootled around town just at the tail end of the week before and gobbled up everything they could.  Grabbed everything available basically from Cubatabacco shipment going out to shops on the Thurs / Fri right before we got there.  Awesome.  Not.
• Habana Libre:  hawking lots of their special stuff – noticed crates and crates of the “record player” humidors still, and other specialty stuff.  Lots of nice looking RASS, tons of Cohiba Maduro 5 stuff, and lots of regular Monte and RyJ stuff, a fair bit of Boli stuff too.  RyJ Cedros de Luxe LCDH release only found in volume at Habana Libre’s LCDH.  Cohiba Esplendidos found aplenty here (funny “XXO” lots-o-love code).
• Club Habana:  Jorgito again is struggling to get enough tobacco, especially wrapper leaf, for orders for his Monsdales and newer robusto largos custom cigars.  As usual, I ordered a few months in advance – he says he’s almost week-to-week caught up now, but getting good wrapper leaf is still causing a bit of an issue.  As normal, the humidor in this shop had lots of boxes of damn near everything, had the important / available newer stuff.  The little cabinet off to the corner, which usually holds some aged treats, is getting less restock items for in there lately, and was only about a 1/4 full.
• Hotel Nacional:  the LCDH here had decent amounts of some of the newer stock.  Again, tons of current release Cohiba and RyJ stuff.  Only a few lonely cabs.  Some nice boxes of Monte Especials still there.
• Melia Cohiba:  this spot used to have quite a bit of some aged gems hiding here and there.  No more.  All current stuff, and seems to be fairly sparsely filled at that – lots of empty shelf space here.
• Partagas LCDH:  LOL.  I got bitched out by Sadie and La China here.  There was a TON of American tourists there, checking the place out and whatnot (lucky they found it beyond all the rubble – TONS of excavations and construction going on on the streets outside, around the Capitolio and such.  Anyways, amidst the commotion, with me and some others coming back and forth from the VIP Room, I came out to get some drinks – and I paid for them.  I always pay for them, if I’m grabbing them, and besides, I didn’t really know the lady running the bar that day (a newer face, I think?)  Well, she came back to the VIP Room later, embarrassed, saying she wasn’t supposed to charge me for the drinks, and then Sadie came back there to give me shit about it too, followed by La China (though my Spanish is piss poor, I think that’s what was going on).  Anyhow, they made me feel like family…by aptly giving me hell.  LOL.
• the new RA El’s were somewhat thin on the ground.  John and I found 3 different box codes, spreading over a 3 month window of production, only found available at the Habana Libre shop during those first few days.  The RAE code turned out to be stellar, and when we went back to buy, there were a couple of Asian fellas walking out with what was left.  We found nothing else all week until we went into the shop at the Saratoga Hotel on the last day, and bought all 6 boxes that they had.
• shops hawking a new “Petit Robusto” pack from H S.A., similar to the Robusto and Piramides Seleccion releases from a few years back.  Yeah, ’cause those have sold SOOOOOOO well, Habanos!!!  Same sort of packaging for these – wooden split-opening box, $108 CUC for 10 sticks (2 of each of the same “big 5” brands).  Whew.
• Only RA EL’s that we found, John and I scooped up.  Nothing else relatively to be found of RA ELs, Dip REs, other LCDH releases, special shit, etc.  All scooped up by big vendors – Reeza alone went through like a hurricane (was even at the Habana Libre cocktail night).  Rumours of Nakamura in and out of town within a 48 hr window, but didn’t see him personally.
• Repeatedly hit up LCDHs at Club Habana, Commodoro, Melia Habana, 5 y 16, Melia Cohiba, Nacional, Habana Libre, Partagas, Parque Central, El Museo del Ron, Conde de Villanueva, and a few other unnamed locales.  LOADS of RyJ nearly everything, tons of Monte for lasting years and years, loads of Hoyo just about everything, Partagas across the gamut (Lusi’s and Culebras coming out the wazoo).
• Now….Cohiba.  Since we ARE into Cohiba-year now, after all!!!!  Nearly all of the above mentioned shops had Cohiba everything – all the Siglo line was found basically, lots and lots of robustos, IVs and VIs especially, with all Jul-Aug 2015 date coded and onwards.  So, Cohiba looks geared up again.  Did not see a single box of Cohiba Lanceros though – not a single, solitary box.
• Tons of Punch Punch and Punch Double Coronas especially noted.  Excellent looking Sir Winnie’s around, most with 2014 date codes and some especially gorgeous early-2015 date codes (if I recall/noted correctly on that item).
• Loads of other Ramon Allones stuff (aside from LEs), with oodles of Gigantes about, and RASS and RASSC a plenty.
• Quai d’Orsay only found sparingly, only Coronas.
• Next to no La Gloria Cubana, only a few boxes here and there of Medaille d’Or No. 4’s.
• Epi’s EVERYWHERE.
• H. Upmann 2015 LE’s were being unboxed aplenty at the Varadero airport’s cigar shack.  Didn’t see them anywhere else during the week (aside from sticks being in Habana Libre’s special humidors for an upcharge).
• LCDH at Melia Habana:  definite continued improvement in the humidor here – dried out, tobacco-beetle glue traps still around but with a bit more covertness, no musty / moldy stuff there currently.  Really nice cigar selection continuing – some nice RA and Trinidad stuff, wonderful Partagas stock, and still more epic looking boxes of Sir Winnies there.  A continued vein of great looking 25- and 50-cabs.  Yolanda super busy entertaining guests, but also putting on a session in doing her custom rolls, of which there were lots available.

And, regarding some of the various cigar talk and discussions that took place over the week…

• the Encuentros Partagas opening dinner night was going up and up in price while we were there.  With it previously being only $100 CUC for a ticket, this past November’s event already had raised a few eyebrows by announcing it as $115 CUC for a ticket in the promotional material sent out earlier in the fall.  Well, upon arrival in Havana, most were surprised to see that the price was moved from $115 CUC to $120.  With the CAD dollar exchange sitting at 1.4005 to buy CUCs, that put tickets at $165 basically, for a shit meal, and “up to” maybe 10 cigars (which all turned out to be regular production, “extra banded” smokes – no customs from La China even).  So, while many of us were planning on attending, many said fuck that, and didn’t go, aside from the industry-/business-types who generally “needed” to go.  Typical Tabacuba / H S.A. thought process though – “Well, people are choosing not to go, because we’re including less stuff and have jacked up the price, so…let’s just jack up the price more, to recoup it from those that have to come?!?!!”  LOL.
• Reynaldo’s shop at the Conde de Villanueva – smoky as ever.  And the peacocks, with their young growing up, are back to chasing the chickens around, and jumping up in unsuspecting elderly tourists’ laps to eat the mint sprigs out of their mojitos.
• wrapper leaf still a bit of an issue.  It’s getting better, but the really really nice stuff is still somewhat sparse to find apparently.

More to come on this trip soon.

Cheers all.

So, tailing a couple of posts I’ve put on here, I’ve needed to get some updating done.  Especially concerning my most recent trip down to Havana, Cuba, from this past November.

Namely, it was a different kind of trip for me.  Instead of a usual “guys’ trip” down to Havana for a week of cigars and fun, and contrary to what my wife usually wants/picks as an all-inclusive trip to Varadero or somewhere else with a beach, I invited her for one of our cigar weeks, and she gladly accepted.  It was a different experience for us both – she only did a day-trip once into Havana, heavily structured by the guides, and with her heavily pregnant too.  So, she didn’t care all that much for it, aside from seeing the unique architecture.  However, for this trip, I was able (with the assistance of Nino, Rob Fox, Punch Joe, and a couple of others) to show her “our view” of Cuba, meaning the cigar crowd, and our comings and goings and our various favourite spots.  She loved the peacocks at Conde de Villanueva, the various unique restaurants and bars we all go to, and the overall vibrancy and uniqueness of the city.

For me, it was a change, as I was playing host for my spouse, and wasn’t indulging in my usual 10am to 5am debauchery of waaaaaaay too much rum, cigars, cappuccinos, and decadent food.  Not that that was a bad thing, mind you.  I think most nights we were in bed by about midnight or earlier, slept in a bunch, relaxed and saw the city at our leisure, and had a grand time.  Again, a different kind of trip for me…and I loved it nonetheless.

We were also lucky in that we had John Reiner and his girlfriend Laura joining us.  John’s a pretty good guy, and I’ve travelled with him down to Havana before, and is around on FOH and Cigar Federation.  With the ladies getting along quite well, we all had quite a fun time.

Erin got to meet “Uncle” Nino, Rob Fox, Andy Ryan, Punch Joe, got to see Amir and Caroline again, got to meet Jorgito and Reynaldo.  She got to eat at some great spots, relax on the back terrace at the Nacional, got to take in the sights and smells at El Cocinero (along with me, as it was my first time there too), and numerous other things.  She got to see the difference between hotels and casas.  She got to take in “our” Cuba.  And it was a blast for all of us.

It wasn’t without a few issues though, namely Laura and I each coming down with a bit of food sickness at different times.  C’est la vie.

And there’s also the fact that we stayed at the Habana Libre.  Meh.  It was all we were able to grab, due to booking too late in the year and our usual spot at the Hotel Nacional being all sold out.  But, after getting in late, and in the midst of some thunderstorms hitting Havana and the area around it, our rooms was shit – little ants around, dissolved furniture (due to a faulty air-con unit and extremely high moisture leaking into the room), a leaky toilet, etc.  While we were switched into different rooms the next day (and relatively right across the hall from John and Laura, as we were initially on different floors), and the new rooms were decently better, this hotel doesn’t have the charm or character that the Nacional has.  We did get to see some of the newly renovated rooms – if you’re a big businessman from China or Russia and have extra ducats to spend, these new, ultra chic rooms are amazing.  We heard they are following the remodel of what just got done at the Hotel Capri, of which Cigar Aficionado magazine recently said was an amazing remodel as well, so we may have to look at that in the future.

And the check-in and check-out process at the Habana Libre was a shitshow.  Not a proper Air Transat travel rep to be found.  Two hours of headache occupied on either end of the hotel stay, to try to ensure arrangements made.

Unfortunately, it is what it is.  Hotel Nacional is definitely still the favourite.

But what a week overall.

And, as always, I came back with a decent enough load as well…

Some have been smoked or given away since I got home from the trip, compared to what’s in the above picture, but here’s a basic rundown:

• four bundles of Monsdales customs, from Jorgito at Club Habana
• two bundles of Jorgito’s newer Robusto Largos customs too
• two bundles of Juanita’s piramides, from the Melia Habana
• two bundles of special lanceros from Reynaldo at Conde de Villanueva
• four boxes of the RA EL Club Allones
• four bottles of Legendario Elixir de Cuba
• some more of the last version of Cuban license plates, as well as a 1980’s series plate
• and a cool “chaveta” / cigar-length cutter (more to come on that one later).

Aside from that, here’s a few tidbits of general Cuba stuff that I thought I’d pass along.  My buddy Frank had also posted some of this on an FOH thread that he used to relay info while I was down there, but here’s some more elaboration of non-cigar-related stuff that we noted:

• In a first for me (and John, I believe), we were attempt-scammed by a cabbie.  At 10am one day, we hired a Cubataxi “official” taxi for the day until 6pm for $50 CUC – a VERY reasonable rate, almost shockingly so (was expecting $80 to $120 CUCs) and we reconfirmed it 3 different times, through very well-spoken English and our hotel’s valet assisting, and confirmed even that it was $25 CUC (for the CAB, not PER PERSON) for a 4 hr chunk.  However, upon drop off at the Libre at about 5:30pm, the driver FREAKED out when we gave him the $50 CUC plus a $10 CUC tip (and John was about to give him even more too), saying that we agreed to $25 CUC PER HOUR.  So, accordingly, I LOST MY EVERLOVING SHIT.  It turned into a real shit show too, with about 8 or 9 different cabbies walking over and trying to surround John and I (the ladies were upstairs, having been dropped up separately earlier).  Well, the same valet came over, tried to figure out what was going on, and then said that maybe WE didn’t hear so well, or maybe he didn’t translate so well.  Suddenly, another Cubataxi rep came over, and suddenly, “due to all the misunderstanding”, and since the driver “had to pay the business and the government too”, the price went down from $200 CUC to $160 CUC.  Then, with John getting a bit cornered, and pulling out his wallet to negotiate (no, no, NO!), someone said “we can call it a day at $120 CUC”.  So finally, I had enough, told them my room number upstairs, gave my name, getting the valet involved as well, and showed my ID’s…including my police ID, telling them my hearing and memory was just fucking fine, it needed to be AS A COP!!!!…and told them to call the cops themselves then.  Suddenly, they all shit themselves, the crowd started scattering, I grabbed an extra $5 CUC out of my pocket (in hindsight, shouldn’t have done that, but did it while telling them “this is for a pack of Kleenex if you wanna cry crocodile tears that I’M scamming YOU!”), threw $65 CUC flat into the guy’s cab on the front seat, finished with a “fuck you very much!”, and dragged John back into the hotel (he was getting into a bit of a mild scare with the crowd, and was digging into his wallet to pay them what they wanted, which is why I resorted to using my ID).  After that – nothing further.  I checked with the front desk and the hotel valet and even the Cubataxi rep after that – all is fine, sir, nothing further.  The driver’s involved sheepishly avoided us an hour later when we left for the Nacional and I gladly glared them down.  However, following days – no issues at all, and I gladly tipped the others who weren’t involved in it.  Unfortunate, but a first for me – and as shitty as it was, it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the week aside from that one small 1/2-hour window or so.
• We noted that the “money scam” is prevalent more (money exchange ladies at Cadeca’s, with their slight of hand and “disappearing” bills, or bill counters always being short, etc.).  Generally, the way it goes is like this – when getting money exchanged, you hand them 10 x $100 CAD bills, but if you turn away for a split second, they say, “Senor, there are only 9 here”, or when getting $1000 CUC, but they only give you $900 or $950 CUC, “blame” it on the machine, etc. – if you don’t double check and count in front of them, you’re screwed.  So anyways, John and I were both attempt scammed at the Cadeca at the Varadero airport’s departure area (always less of a line to hit that one on arrival), in that “the machine” shorted us a bill or two on our CUC amounts given, but I triple counted and caught her at it.  I was attempt scammed at the Cadeca at the Hotel Nacional even – that’s generally one of the safest ones.  Wasn’t a thing at the Melia Cohiba at all thought – appears to be only potential safe place left for “yumas”.
• That said, any of the smaller typical scams of bad math / excess charges on restaurant / bar bills were nonexistent.  Shockingly so.  I mean, even the steadfast Hotel Nacional bar on the back terrace racks up the additional drink charges once they think you’ve had enough and can’t remember if you had 7 rounds or 17.  But – not ONCE while we were down there the whole week, aside from a single drink at one small spot.  And it’s usually 3 out of 4 bills that have something messed up.
• With that – drink prices were way WAY down, but food prices were fairly up, almost double compared to a year before.
• A MUCH larger police presence felt on the street – literally, on major thoroughfares, it appeared to be a motorcycle or patrol car every 5 or 6 blocks.  We also noted many more “covert” surveillance cameras placed around, on streetlight posts and building corners.  I really didn’t think this was in response to European things going on (the Paris terrorist attacks had literally just happened).  But, the way these cops’ attention seemed to focus, it was like it was just a giant blanket of surveillance to see the interactions with so many Americans now coming to the island.  Kind of a “keep an eye on them and report back” sort of thing, on both the American tourists, and the Cubans interacting with them.
• With the higher police presence, we noticed that “non-official” / private taxis were having to be very careful at night.  Remember – if it’s nighttime in Cuba, it’s illegal for a citizen to have a foreigner in their vehicle, without having a VERY good explanation.  So, at night, any private taxis that we took had to take back streets and roundabout ways to get to the hotels and avoid any police check-points.
• TONS of the different kinds of coffees found around.  Only a few places though with small bags of Cubita beans, only Café Serrano large bags of ground at one spot, and no Turquino found anywhere.  No large Cubita cups found anywhere either – just the smaller espresso cups found here and there.
• Rums – mmmmmm, rum!  Loads of nearly every type, everywhere.  Loads of Legendario to be found (both the Elixir, and the Anejo rum).  Lots of the different aged Santiago, Havana Club, Mulata, etc.  Found TONS of that Isla del Tesoro Ron Anejo – more to come on that later.
• MASSIVE changes as it relates to cell phones and technology.  Easily 3 in 5 Cubans seen around the streets of Havana were all cell phone in hand, texting, many video messaging / Skyping / FaceTiming, etc.  HUGE increase in that.  Along the Malecon, on 7 Avenida between the Habana Libre and Hotel Nacional especially, it was a near constant with the numourous people on the streets waiting.
• Varadero airport had LOTS of whole bean and ground coffee of Café Serrano, Café Turquino, and Cubata.  Also, they had LOADS of all rum, including 4 different Legendario rums (white, gold, Anejo, and Elixir).
• Cuban customs were seizing and throwing out ALL lighters on departure flight check-ins, regardless of lighter type or make, if soft flame in pocket or in carry-on, etc.

More to come soon.

Cheers all.

Lord knows I meant to write this post first and foremost once I got back from Cuba in early March.  Alas, other things sidetracked me, and I misplaced some of the pictures I wanted to share here.  So, perhaps saving the best for last in my post-Havana-trip posts, here we are…

In Havana, the days are long, and the nights are longer.  Many Cuban and international friends (and those of us “yumas” that get to experience it) say that the city has two sides – daytime Havana, and the more risque nighttime variant.  Many people work all day, try to catch a catnap / sleep away the afternoon/evening, and then only get things going after about 10 or 11 pm or so.

So, after a long day of smoking cigars and drinking, we all pony up our energy for… a longer night of smoking cigars and drinking.  LOL.  Many hijinks are usually had.

Take for example the following…

I decided to try to take a half-decent photo of Andy Ryan, while we were out at a local hot spot.  However, Stuart Fox (whom I had not yet met in-person before this trip, but whom both our reputations preceded us due to [likely mostly untrue] stories passed along both ways by his brother Rob), decided to photo bomb Andy.  Drunkenly, we howled for ages after these pictures were taken…

Those pictures, and a short but wonderful evening, were had at El Sauce, and great outdoor dance club.  DJ’s, bands, and the local revellers made it a wonderful spot to go to, even though they kept us and the dogs (LOL, not kidding) penned up in the VIP area.  Great music mix, and the vibe was infectious.  And Michel doing his best “Johnny Depp” impersonation too!

I also had the opportunity to finally meet up in person, quite coincidentally, with Emil / “tropical doc”.  He was there on an authorized trip from the States, and though we’ve talked, traded cigars, and known each other for almost 5 years now, we’ve just never been able to meet up – until we were both in Havana, surprisingly!  It was great to meet him, and his energy and zest for delving into all that the island had to offer was able to be read on his face from a mile away.  Chatting with him since we’ve both returned home, he had an amazing trip, got to meet some amazing Cuban people, and said that all the delays and red tape were so incredibly worthwhile obviously…

Then there’s Nino. Oh, what can I say about Nino that hasn’t already been said. No…seriously. What can I say about Nino that hasn’t already been said??? LOL.

Times with him are always enjoyable – well, I better SAY they are, as he helps my sorry ass with my incomprehensible Spanglish, so he helps play tour guide and fixer too!!!  LOL.  Seriously though, he’s a host and gentleman to those that share the immense passion he has for the cigars, the island, the people, and his Cuban extended-family.  Always pointing out hot new spots, always there to enjoy a divinely rich dinner, or a mellow simple night with friends.  He had a few rough days at the end of Feb., same as I had back in November – such is the way when you’re guiding / organizing for a group – but we all found our groove again as the days moved on.

And likewise Simon, Seemon, my “little spoon” fellow Canadian.  Wished I got to spend more time this trip with my roommate from a previous trip, but I know we’ll all get more time with future Canadian group trips, and other local gatherings.

Also, through online forums and trades, to also get the chance to finally meet up with Gino / “Mr Japan” in person, as well as his son Stefano, was simply icing on the cake.  We all shared some great dinners, cigars, and drinks together.  I’m thankful for those times, truly.  Even IF Gino hit me for ordering a cappuccino at 10:30 pm at night to enjoy as an after-dinner coffee with another nice Monsdale.

Apparently, he informed me, it’s not “PROPER” for an Italian to have a cappuccino more than an hour-and-a-half after getting up, or past about 10:30 am or so.  Well, I took much glee in explaining to him that I’m Canadian, not Italian, and of Belgian-Dutch decent (he seemed shocked that everyone doesn’t revolve around Italy’s rules, LOL).  I informed him I don’t even drink cappuccino’s at home, save for occasionally at a particular Cuban restaurant in Toronto.  I also informed him that I was in CUBA, not Italia – in Cuba…they offer cappuccino, I order it, I drink it, anytime of the day.  And further, I informed him that it wasn’t “PROPER” for a man to hit a bigger man, especially when that first man was wearing yellow pants and carrying around a pink lighter!!!  LOL – it was all a running joke between our group all week, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Salut, Gino!!!!

Great times were again had with Yannick, after meeting him initially back in November.  He introduced me this trip to a friend of his and another fellow industry person, Nicky, and Nicky’s wife and her friends, and we all had fun times (mostly the girls did, when they, in Spanish, revelled in making fun of my bad Spanglish, and yet took interest in my Canadian accent).  Yannick, from Intertabak in Switzerland, was also wonderful in gifting some of the new RA Perfectos, and generally sharing in all the various good times.  A younger guy in the business, with many years under his belt already, but just chilling in an understated t-shirt and pants.  So fun to hang out with him, and his extended circle, including Nicky and his wife, and their friends.

Also through Nino and Yannick, we all had the pleasure to meet Victoria, a wonderful young lady.  A true German beauty, she had been down in Havana for a month before our arrival, as part of a 5-month learning experience that her father set up for her to learn the cigar business (Nino knows of her father’s small but wonderful shop in Germany well, he said).  Victoria was amazing – great English (like most Europeans) that thankfully made up for my abhorrent lack of Spanish.  She was a tanned beauty, who had eyes that made all of us star-struck a bit – her eyes reminded me of the mature-beyond-her-years beauty, innocence, and knowledge that were also apparent in the beautiful woman from Afghanistan that graced the cover from National Geographic magazine so many years ago.  Victoria “hung with the guys” quite well, took a keen interest in the overall experience, and seemed to be truly fascinated and gobbling up all that she could of the various cigar, tobacco, and Cuba knowledge that was offered to her.  So wonderful to see a keen interest in women of the cigar field.

And also…Gato Tuerto.  Can’t mention fun in Havana with friends without mentioning this place.  Always a fun time at the “one-eyed cat jazz club”, slash “Irish Embassy”, slash “Commonwealth Consulate”.

And of course, when drunkenly walking uphill back to the Nacional from Gato, you must not avoid the limbo tree…

I must say, I really enjoyed seeing Yiorgos again, and finally meeting Andy Ryan in person, as well as Stuart Fox.  I also was gifted, by way of meeting up with those three, in getting to know some of the Fox group’s staff (Bogusha and her fellow trouble-maker Gordana), as well as Albert from Stagnetto’s in Gibraltar/Spain, and also again seeing Captain Keith (a pilot for Emirates) and whom has been a friend to so many for so long (Nino and others can’t speak highly enough of him).  Others were also introduced to me through these various gents and ladies, and we all had wonderful times.

Stuart, at one point during the first day of meeting me, stated enthusiastically that he was really looking forward to hanging out together (or more perhaps me hanging out with their overall group), as he had heard such wonderful (and harrowing, LOL) tales of me. That my reputation preceded me, so to speak, good AND bad. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying great times in the past with his brother, Rob Fox, and also with Rob Ayala and other like-friended travellers, so it turns out that’s where some stories traversed from. But it was very welcoming and warming for him (and Andy and the others also) to be so open, so inviting, and so eager to just hang out and converse with me those first few days of my solo trip.

Little did he know…LOL.

But then, our last night of all hanging out together, Stuart (almost seeming like he was about to choke up, and Andy and Bogusha capitalizing on that and teasing him, LOL) actually said something very very touching to me.  He stated that even though it was only four days or so since he met me, it was like we had known each other for years, and just gelled.  That the kind words from his brother didn’t adequately prepare him for how great and enjoyable of a time we had together, and he was so glad to make another life-long friend (even a ghastly-pale Canadian one) in Cuba.  That he was truly thankful, and that we were now like family almost, further cementing the “brotherhood” feeling for him, and the magic that the island offers for us all.

It was a truly humbling and jaw dropping moment for me to hear what he said, how he put it, and the emotion he had behind it (granted – he was drunk, and had just inadvertently left a near-full bottle of booze at the Gato).

But he’s yet another person, “in the business”, who shows it’s not just about sales and solely business-relationships.  It’s about making solid friendships and enjoying the brotherhood that experiencing all that Cuban cigars, Havana, and Cuba itself has to offer, for those of us with a passion and zeal for it all.  It’s about the experience and overall enjoyment, not just the tangible dollars-and-cents business-related aspects.

I’m humbled, honored, and likewise blessed to have increased my circle of Cuban-international friends.

Cheers all.