Cuba & Costa Rica Blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- Last blog post on Costa Rica and Cuba
- First-ever group motorcycle tours of Cuba successful
- Cuba’s Mariel port readying for Panama Canal expansion
- Musings on wildlife encounters on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
- Cuba’s Steam Trains puffing their last gasp
- My top five thrilling activities in Costa Rica
- Cuba’s fun February festivals include Harleys, Books, Cigars
- Five top volcano viewing experiences in Costa Rica
- New road along Costa Rica / Nicaraguan border mired
- Cuba’s Hotel Campoamor at Cojímar to be restored?
- Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez honored in new book
- Christmas challenge for Costa Rica’s sexually abused girls
- Costa Rica opens Chinatown in downtown San José
- David Soul films Hemingway’s car restoration in Cuba
- National Geographic Expeditions receives license for Cuba tours
It's all change at Havana's cigar factories
Are Cuban cigars really rolled on the thighs of dusky maidens? I'd like to think so, but alas, such is not the case, as you'll soon discover on a tour of Havana's cigar factories. If you haven't visited one of these factories in a while, you'll find the scene dramatically changed.
Only two of Havana's six cigar factories now welcome visitors on a regular basis, and only on group tours. Strange as it may seem, you must now pre-purchase your tickets from the Hotel Saratoga or Hotel Habana Libre Tryp for visits to Fábrica Partagás (Calle Industria #502, e/ Dragones y Barcelona, Habana Vieja, tel. 07/862-0086 or 878-4368), on the west side of the Capitolio; and the out-of-the-way Fábrica Corona (20 de Mayo #520, e/ Marta Abreu y Línea, Cerro, tel. 07/873-0131). Both are open Mon.-Fri. 9-11 a.m. and noon-3 p.m, and charge CUC10 for 45-minute guided group tours.
No cameras are permitted. more >>
Havana's top paladar draws Hollywood's finest
Two of my favorite paladares (private restaurants)–Le Chansonnier and Hurón Azul–in Havana were recently closed down by Cuban authorities, leaving barely 30 remaining throughout the city. Of these, only half a dozen are worth crossing town for. And outshining all others by a wide margin is La Guarida (Concordia #418, e/ Gervasio y Escobar, Centro Habana, tel. 07/862-4940 or 264-4940; daily noon-4 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight).
On the third floor of a once glamorous, now dilapidated, 18th-century townhouse-turned-crowded ciudadela (tenement), its setting is as remarkable as the restaurant itself. Don't be put off by the near-derelict staircase, lent an operatic stage-set air by hanging laundry and the headless marble bust at the base of the stairs. more >>
Sure, Costa Rica has bugs... but see their beauty!
Insects make up about half of the estimated 500,000 to one million plant and animal species in Costa Rica. The critters are everywhere, buzzing through the air and crawling underfoot. Sure, it's no fun to be bitten by mosquitoes or chiggers. But the world of insects is beautiful too.
To appreciate bugs, head to Monteverde, where one my favorite exhibits in all Costa Rica puts on a spectacular show. more >>
Seeking a Costa Rican high? Trek Chirripó
Just as Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Everest "because it was there," Cerro Chirripó (Costa Rica's highest mountain; 3,819 m) lures the intrepid who seek the satisfaction of reaching the summit. It's a hike, or trek, not a "climb" and any hale and hearty traveler can do it. more >>
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