DAY 2 EKLECTRIC CUBA

 Dec 2011
DAY 2 ECLECTIC CUBA

 8:00 am Were up before sunrise and at our guide books fleshing out our itinerary for the next   few days. One week in Havana is barely enough to scratch the surface. Today some museums and the Hotel Nationale, tonight a Son show at the Havana Taberna 

(Buena Vista Social Club music A malecon walk will take us to the Hotel and then a taxi to the Museum of the Revolution  

  THINGS I LIKE ABOUT CUBA

- Consistent pricing set by government on most staples   

( including cigars )

- No signs or advertising billboards on street  (Commercialism knob turned way down )

- No garbage or dead puppies on side of road (like in Mexico )

- No Walmart people

Our first venture outside our hotel last evening was a stroll down some side streets

LOVED THE RUINED BUILDINGS AND UNEVEN SIDEWALKS

An eclectic blend of classical and 50’s architecture peppered but not crowded with Cubans dressed in colorful stylish clothes proudly walking down the streets ignoring the 2 tourists.

The building that looks abandoned has a dim light inside, some ones living there.

A giant tree root sticking out of the sidewalk, so what, step over it trees have rights too. A small curbside gathering of people singing and drinking rum,  You don’t need permission to party here. The blatant lack of commercialism here bestows an aura of purity and serenity which I have never encountered before. Humanity before materialism.

We found a few small shops located on the side of our hotel ( just small signs above the doors for identification )  30 pesos  about 35 dollars  got us a 7 year old bottle of rum, 4 beers,       2 decent bottles of wine and some water and fruit juices. The hotel mini-bar in our room was the greediest entity that we had encountered yet in Cuba and we would not be shopping there any more. Outrageously inexpensive premium cigars are becoming part of our kit and cigars shops easy to find. The throat lozenges we brought along on this trip would be life savers.

A sense of bittersweet melancholy has already descended on me as I realize that just by doing the tourist gig you start to spoil the magic of this paradise. I can see the proud Cuban people already showing signs of jaded lust for the materialism that tourists flaunt against a culture where egalitarian values still trumps greed. Unfortunately I can see this place becoming more like Mexico as the onslaught of foreign visitor erode the fragile social structure of this country.Ironically it is a totalitarian government that has protected the people from the cancer of unchecked materialism while withholding many basic human rights we take for granted. I told the waiter at a restaurant “ We love your country “ After looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening he replied “ Try living here “  

DAY 1 MELIA COHIBA, HAVANA

Dec 2011
8 AM Our first morning in Cuba, I’m looking out of a wide window from our room on the 11’th floor of the Melia Cohiba Hotel. The view encompasses the ocean, the malecon and many old rustic buildings surrounding our hotel. The absence of billboards and signs makes a strong first impression on me. Beautiful old cars, many repainted with tropical colors including pinks and bright oranges add to this surrealistic montage that is my first glimpse of Havana

 

.An eagle or a vulture circles overhead, a large swimming pool

lies below and to the right sits the Riviera Hotel a notorious mobster hotel built in the 50’sportrayed in the Godfather movie, as the location where the dons of the Mafia meet on an ocean side patio to divide up the spoils of Cuba with the dictator Batista. Castro and the revolution would have something to say about that. Cuda’s finished doing her make-up and its time for breakfast  I’am starving after turning down the airline’s excuse for food yesterday. I’m hungrier than a Cuban tree rat ( Yes they do exist

 3 pm Were back in our meticulously cleaned room after an epic feast, and some poolside time Breakfast included freshly baked croissants, smoked salmon from Chile, gourmet cheeses from Italy and Spanish chorizo. A full gourmet all you can eat buffet and I did eat all I could. Numerous visits to the smoked salmon plate and they just kept piling it on. The service was over the top as plates would disappear immediately from the table if a waiter noticed the slightest disinterest in its contents. Cappuccinos and fresh squeezed juices arrived continuously. I didn’t know it yet but this was just a warm-up for the food bacchanalia awaiting us in Cayo Coco one week from now. 

Last night we arrived at at our hotel lobby at about 10pm, after a transfer glitch at the airport. Sunway vacations had not included transfers from the airport to our hotel but kindly gave us a complimentary taxi to our hotel after a little dickering ( read the fine print in your itinerary before traveling) After checking in to our room and finishing our welcome cocktails in the lobby bar, compliments of the desk manager, we walked towards some live music coming from one of the bar lounges and we got our first taste of of Cuban bliss which we had waited so long for. I can’t remember the last time I was emotionally moved by a live performance of extremely talented musicians. This Cuban jazz quartet that we had the honor and high privilege to experience was red hot. I mean move over Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins…I mean a front man moving seamlessly between trumpet, sax and clarinet. A young kid all over the drums and a solid lead and bass guitar back-up. It doesn’t get any better than this. Sitting in this small bar surrounded by cigar smoke and sipping 7 year old Havana Club rum I was overcome by tears of happiness.These guys played their hearts out taking turns doing solo’s and each giving accolades to the other band members after playing. An appreciative mix of locals and tourists offered loud applause after each set. Excuse me, this is culture, this is life, real nourishment, not the fucking sterile pablum we are fed from our big screen TV’s. This was only the beginning of our Cuban music adventure and it only got better.

We had arrived in Cuba after leaving behind the drab gulag of a dreary west coast winter, and after only one day in Havana all the pieces were coming together why we had always wanted to travel here. So many new impressions,our senses overloaded, we reveled in the anticipation of the pleasures ahead of us. 

  

MAY 8 2010 S…….. H…….FOOD AND WINE BENEFIT

It is 7 pm and the event is already packed with throngs of people lining up to pick up tickets. We wouldn't own this one and resigned ourselves to the herd . I broke out of the obedient line-up and posted myself at the ticket table to receive the tickets. The security was non existent at the entranceWe could have crashed this sucker. The start time was supposed to be 7pm but this didn't apply to"insiders" who were already grazing and tipping wine glasses.I was far from being in fine form like I usually am forThese kind of functions, due to the late start. The place was packed like sardines.The greedy organizersDidn't understand what the phrase sold out means. We started our tour. Lots of food and wine, and shoving. I especially didn't like the old bitch tapping me repeatedly in the lower back. Breast encounters with young buxum participants were less irritating . We slowly made our way around the tables, drawing the inevitable inquiries about our  appy wine plates. "Where did  you get those?" asked numerous participants.  These were our tools of the trade which separated us from the neophytes and allowed us to efficiently shuffle appetizers and our wine glass, while commoners fumbled with their paper plates.  The BoatHouse had a good trio of crab cake ,seared ahi and smoked salmon roll. It pairedWell with a  New Zealand savignon blanc. ( I really love the fruity nose and complexity of New Zealand whites} An upstart five corners restaurant offered melt in your mouth rare prime rib with anise au jus.I paired this with a huuuuge petit syrah from Chile which the table rep assured me was the best red of the show. I don't know about that. I was really impressed with a B.C. pinot noir which pushed the envelope of what is possible with the pinot noir grape in our Province, Though at $35.00 a bottle It is pricey compared to what you could get out of Chile or even Oregon at that price point.Everybody was dressed to the 10's even the mongloid children for who this event was for. Some wereEmpting garbarge recepticles while others were snapping pictures with expensive digital cameras.Were they training to be papparatzi. I felt like  a celebrity as I posed for a picture  while downing a duck confit.The evening progressed   as  we  exploited the bounty of this gala event, and we started on our end gameWhich involved returning to our favourite food stops for yet more samplings ' I felt sheepish as we returned

To the  Boathouse for yet another "round the world " Cuda boldly approached the booth with our 2 appy plates was sure I had been banned from further depleting this table's resources and gleefully watched from the sidelines as more seafood jumped on my hungry  plate. Back to the Prime Rib stand for more succulent morselsDamn-it all the reds were starting to taste the same. You know its time to go when all the wines start to taste

The same.  Finally one more flight of our favourite reds before walking 2 blocks home to our awaiting bed

Good night

The $1000 Feast

Day 1
3pm.We checked into our Super 8 Motel next to the set for Trailer Park Boys. This one of the scariest 

trailer parks I've ever seen. Some of these ugly suckers would make our old bruised 5'th wheel look like a class a motor home Can't wait to see some of the trailer critters come of their cages.Cuda is on her new I-pad planning a pub crawl itinerary for this afternoon.Shark is recovering from the excesses of the previous night waiting for the caffeine to kick in.Shark will also not be smiling too much for the next 3 days due to a front capped tooth deciding to break off just before the trip, My mouth is a friggin money pit.Were off to a Victoria walk-about and some oysters I think.
DAY 2
5am.Early morning habits stick with you even on holidays.A big day of wine tasting ahead for us in the Cowichan Valley.But first a review of day 1
Yesterday our walk-about in Victoria started at the Executive Hotel Bar and Seafood Ceasar cocktails. This place has always been a favorite of ours when visiting Victoria and we remembered the prawn double Caesar hang-over killers we indulged in on many past trips before heading back on the ferry, They were even better  this time with a mussel hanging onto the glass next to the prawns and spicy beans. A second wind launched us into the  downtown core. Victoria is a great walking city,full of eklectric shops squeezed into old buildings and alleys. A blend of crusty locals, well healed tourists, spiced up with some derilict youth and destitute bums made a tasty stew of humanity. We found our first cigar shop  off the main tourist beat and were rewarded with some reasonably priced Cuban Upmann petit coronas and Mexican El Torito robustos.  Walking down to the tourist area we noticed a new street culture of sidewalk mural artists which seemed to have replaced the hordes of homeless youth and puppies that dominated the streets in past times.An interesting toy and hobby shop invited us in.There was a lot on neat shit, including remote helicopters with video cameras.a mischievous looking redheaded girl invited us to try out an odd looking "toy" with hand grips and 
electronic looking appendages. That looks like it hurts I joked. "Only if you loose"she softly responded .After explaining this device tested your reaction time having you press a button when the light color changes we agreed to try it out. I didn't appreciate the taser shock I got after loosing to Cuda by a fraction of a second, The punishing electrical zap actually fucking hurt.(though only for a milli-second)I think the sadistic little wench  turned up the voltage dial just for me. Ha Ha Ha
The highlight of our Victoria walk-about was
The Oyster and it's Buck a Shuck  happy hour specials.We were seated at the busy bar next to ice mounds covered with assorted mollusks. A wave of oyster lust overtook us as we greedily eyed the Little Wings in front of us.

 We ordered vodka martinis and quickly reduced the oyster population by 2 dozen before the happy hour ended and the prices per oyster shot back up to 3 bucks 
We turned our attention to sacks of mussels and clams next to the small stove to the right of the ice mounds.We had been enjoying the line cooks performing for us and turning out their bar appies like mini Iron Chefs.(Anthony Bourdain would  love this Place) Their sambuca cream and bacon  drenched mussels and clams were a no brainer. We accompanied our shellfish dual with a crisp fruity New Zealand Savignon Blanc ( Oyster Bay of course )Happy Happy Happy as Emeril would say
The waitress was very cute ( like my sweety) 
The service was very good
The tip was very large.
The Oyster Bar At
Pescadores in Victoria achieved the the gourmet holy trinity of great food, fantastic ambiance and superb service. We were "Winning "
A pit stop at Big Bad John's Hill-billy Bar at the Strathcona Hotel, and 2 of the most expensive shots of bar vodka that I've ever had completed our Pub crawl.The old hag barkeep failed to impress us with her crappy attitude and rude service." I need $17" she blurted out at us as she tossed the bill at our table.Cuda was not amused and snatched up the change from the $20 we gave "Swampy" the bartender.It was time to go back to our motel we had a big day ahead of us.
DAY 3
10:20 am Today we a hanging out waiting for the Main Event At 1pm. The Feast of Fields. This will be our 3rd Feast on the island and our expectations are high.Our room was suffering from trip fatique and needed attention
Yesterday was a full day of wineries, driving and starving.Cuda had decided that this was to be a "no picnic" trip and didn't bring a cooler for road snacks.We were in for a wine tasting marathon from 11am-4pm without lunch.We started our day off with a visit to the Duncan Farmer's Market. A cool wet morning was mellowed by strong coffee and hot tea.There were lots of overflowing vegetable stands but not as many food and craft stands as we expected.We bought some chantrelle mushrooms and beef jerky
an headed to our first winery Averell Creek. After purchasing some tasting tickets we enjoyed a flight of excellent reds, and left with a Foch and a bottle
of Bordeaux style mixed varietals.Off to 22 Oaks for free tastings of very mediocre wines and then on to our old favourites Goddwyn Brownell and Zanata. Things had changed. First at Goddwyn Brownell, everything was tired starting with the unkept vineyards and gardens as we drove in. This place used to remind us of a Tuscan Villa , now it  looked.... Neglected  As we approached the tasting area the owner wine-maker remembering us from previous visits came out and shook my hand and embraced Cuda like a long lost friend. Perhaps we reminded him of better times or he was hoping to feed off our energy.Overpriced tastings and uninspiring tapas offerrings added to our disappointment.A real crappy chardonnay ( the only free pour ) verged on plunk grade.His $5 pours
didn't hold a candle to the spectacular reds we had tasted here a few years ago. The owner had gotten old and tired, His cowboy field hand had gotten old and crippled( now walking with a limp ) and the winery dog looked like it was on its last legs . The golden age of this winery was over like an old wine with an amber disk past its prime and on the slippery road of decline. Oh well nothing stays the same. On to Zanata Wineries and a much anticipated lunch at the Bistro.
I really hate bolting out of a restaurant.The embarrassment, the indignation , the frustration of too many things gone wrong:, and finally the hasty exit." I'am sorry we want our bill we are leaving"
I curtly announced to the obviously overwhelmed waitress taking care of another party inside.
" I'am sorry" she blurted out, "I just had a table of 14, your foods on its way" "No" I said "we are leaving" and went back to our patio table. The bearded waiter who had previously ignored our pleas for service marched out to our table and confronted us with another blast of rudeness."
"So your out of here " he snarled. " No " I retorted
"We asked for the bill because of the poor service"
Not accepting the reality of another dissatisfied customer he continued with"Well here at Zanata we have a casual dining atmosphere" fighting a growing wave of nasty thoughts I ended our dialogue with 
"Bring us the bill" Earlier on in this painful dining experience we had the audacity to ask the bearded fuck for a bread plate after we had been sitting for 20 minutes watching him serve other patrons around us  ( bread plates included ), patrons that had arrived after us.He laughed at us and walked away
refusing to cover for the waitress who had obviously abandoned us. Our run-away waitress came back to our table and again tried to appease us (no comps offered )." No" I said " It's ok, it's not your fault but were leaving" She added a pathetic excuse to her list of offenses by trying to convince us that the bread comes with the main course after we seen otherwise. I shouldn't have felt sorry for her, the lying little bitch.The place was packed and the staff short. The waitress made sure she didn't jeopardize her tip with the table of 14. We were expendable.I understand. At least we left with some great wine from the tasting room, and someone got a free duck dinner.
Its now 11 am 2 hours to the Feast of Fields and the main event of our trip. I pray for a great culinary experience this afternoon. If I have another Zanata experience I might lose it.
Day 4
10:am Wined out and waiting at the ferry terminal to go home.An OK Feast of Fields yesterday
they don't seem to be as good as they were a few years ago.Not too many high end restaurants and losts of caterers and brew pubs.This event has drifted away from its roots as a vehicle to get urban

                 Tasty grilled Morels ( best treat of the Feast)

folk out the country to visit their cousin farmers and experience a true Feast of the Fields.There was no farm experience here at Marley Farms the venue of this years Feast , just a large wasp infested open field corralling a herd of wannabe food debutantes.Line ups at pizza and hot dog tents signaled that the caliber of attendees had gone south. This will be our last Feast of Fields.
Now lets add up the money. Ferries, motel, tickets,
restaurants,etc etc   Um...I see just over a thousand
hard earned smackeroos shelled out for this romp.It was fun but I think we could have gone to Mexico cheaper . Viva the $1000 Feast














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