Christoforos Korakas

We just came back from DR with the best impressions and the feeling that in 7 days we managed to see just a tiny bit of it …

We booked with Thomas Cook an all inclusive package and stayed at the Grand Catalonia Dominicus in the Bayahibe area close to La Romana. This was the cheapest way to come there from Europe.

The resort was really nice and the beach just wonderful (the best we saw on the island) but it was a pity to spend more time in the resort with tourists instead of traveling the country and seeing the real thing …

So we rented a car and went off …

AVIS, HERTZ, EuropCar, National and the rest had exorbitant prices where we asked… (180 USD for a small Jeep) We finally rented a small Ford 4×4 from www.seaandsunrc.com located very close to the hotel in Dominicus for less than half the price others asked (50€/day).
Driving was not recommended (even strongly advised against in the hotel) but coming from Greece it looked quite ok with just a need for an open eye to avoid quite deep potholes in particular at night when cars would just flash their big lights on you to say hello.
(Just a funny thing that almost caused us an accident is that red light when there are any are placed after the crossing you are supposed to stop at. Being used to stop at the light i ended up stopping at the middle of the crossroad…)

Our main guide was our Roughguide of Dominican Republic and a good map …

We wanted to visit Punta Cana and Bavaro as it was a top 10 destination according to the guide… The only thing we saw were 10ths of kilometers of fence and walls … resorts the one next to the other with no obvious way to go on the beach from any where if you were not a resident of these resorts … we ended up at the village of El Cortesito in Bavaro the only non resort access to the coast … It was like a hurricane had hit very hard on the coast … with shops half wrecked boats brought ashore and palm trees uprooted half floating in the sea… Nevertheless tourists where walking on the shore and locals were joking and dancing on Merengue, and swimming in the wild waters … a very surreal scene …

Driving from Higuay to punta Macao we saw beautiful little villages or settlements along the road, constituted mainly of colorful wooden little houses.

Arrived in macao police forbid us to access the beach because of the very dangerous waves … They were really impressive … the full might of the Atlantic beating on the beach! We were very happy to stay on the Carribean side of the sea … in Bayahibe area!

During the night just a couple of these village wooden houses had electricity … the blackness and the people living in the dark was impressive…

People seemed to enjoy life despite the obvious poverty and lack of the essential … We never felt threatened nor looked badly even though even the cheap camera we had represented 3-4 months of salary for most of them.

The only thing we regretted was that we missed out on our trip to do the much famed Whale Watching in Silver Banks north of DR where over 10000 whales assemble from January to March each year in the mating season. The tours were departing from Samana city. To get there from Bayahibe we had to drive to Sabana Del Mar and then take a ferry to Samana. The issue is of course that the ferry mentionned in the guide is a plain passenger boat … not a car ferry. To drive to Samana was not an option either (8-10 hours each way). Leaving the car on Sabana del Mar and just taking the boat to Samana was not an option either as the tour was coming back after the last boat to go back had already left.

The most exciting overall was the GAGA ceremony and dance that we followed in a small settlement of sugarcane workers in Batey las Cejas close to Higuey till nightfall… It was an amazing experience hard to describe …
Flocks of people danced in a monotonous rhythm, criss crossing the settlement back and forth led by an old horse rider. Some where falling in trance while dancing and singing, people were dressed in all kinds of funny colors and clothes, many where playing percussions and blowing large metal keyless horns painted in pink …
There were actually 2 groups with their own leaders each dancing their own rhymes but the volume of singing and tension rose to almost fighting when they met face to face …

These ritual dances are said to have Voodoo roots…

Being the only Europeans or even white there, we left at night fall…

Overall I sure hope to go back and visit the rest of the country as well…

It is a pity that development seems to be limited into mega resorts, with lush and luxury and tons of food thrown away when most of the people in the country side seemed to lack the very essential …

The contrast is huge

I am sure that most of the tourists in DR are resort people never wondering off the resort if not on tours organized by the hotels leaving their money to foreign big business settled on the pristine beaches of the country with very little of this money going to other Dominicans than those actually working in the resorts …

The best place for snorkeling we saw was Catalina Island, (did the tour with Casa Daniel in Bayahibe, half the price we were offered in the Hotel)

We also did a Trip to Isla Saona, supposedly a part of the National Park del’ Este …
Nevertheless tourist installations on the Island leave a very serious mark on this beautiful Island, with garbage mountains being burned just behind the kiosks and Cantines put up for tourists …

Nevertheless it remains a place of great beauty worth being visited …

Will post pictures asap

_This is a short guide I compiled for a friend based on my own experience … hope this is of help. _

Tips for Cuba

Take with you

1) A good map of Cuba (as detailed as possible 500.000/1 is a minimum) as they are not easy to find in Cuba
2) A guide (Lonely planet, DK or Rough guide) as recent as possible
3) Cuban Music! Amazingly enough we had very hard time to find any “old” Cuban Music as they call it there … meaning Buena Vista Social Club type of Music … They sell every where modern type salsa …Music is important if you plan to travel by car (check to see that the car you rent is fitted with a CD player … otherwise an MP3 player plugged with an FM transmitter (about 30 USD in any IT shop) could do the trick as you can pick up the signal and listen your MP3 music from the radio on board
4) Take with you basic Meds , bug repellent and of course sun block cream (35+)
5) American express is forbidden in Cuba. Other cards work but dollars work better … make some at a bank in Havana. Money in Cuba is the Peso … they have the Peso Convertibile (1 peso= 1 dollar) and the peso Cubano (1.00 EUR = 41.2829 CUP) … but Tourists are not supposed to use it … US dollar works everywhere / Euros only in big hotels
6) A second suitcase to carry the stuff you are going to bring back!! See at the end…

Where to stay (if you want to see Cuba)

You should stay in Hotel Nacional for the first couple of nights there in Havana city (80/90 USD a night usually) … try a nice mojito or other cocktail late afternoon in the internal garden with the live (Cuban of course) music playing … The front desk is very helpful and can make reservations and suggestions … on about anything. Don’t miss also the Cigar shop of the Hotel where there is usually a very good torcero that rolls cigars to be sold on the spot … ask him to roll you a panatella and smoke it on the spot !! Spectacular taste … buy from him the cigars he rolls!!

For the rest of the journey through Cuba you can stop everywhere it pleases you … and just ask for a “casa particular” basically you stay at locals that have a room for guests … they provide the clean sheets, a bathroom and most of the times breakfast and even Lobster in the evening …

for casas particolares see
http://www.webhavana.com
http://www.particularcuba.com
http://www.casaparticularcuba.org

Its perfectly ok to see 3-4 places (casas) before you make you mind … and it is worth doing that in most of the cases … some guides also refer to good casa particolares, usually full though probably because they are in the guides.
Stay away from the Hotel Horizontes Chain … expensive and for tourists only … very bad service usually

All inclusive “don’t go out” type of resorts in Varadero and other places are not to be considered if you want to see Cuba …Staying at locals is much better, very safe and cheap (20$)

How to get around

There are trains and buses but it is rough … It is of course a good way to meet locals (haven’t done it my self).
The best way is to rent a car in la Havana (there is an agency next to the Hotel Nacional) The most reliable company with the largest service network in Cuba is Transtur … a plain vanilla Hyundai rents for about 50$ a day. Not a very good match to the fantastic old American cars you can see everywhere but was much cheaper to rent and more reliable, the later being very important for a long trip in Cuba…

Make sure you ask for a map of Cuba with all the Transtur service stations marked. We blew 2 tires so make sure there are good spare tires (2 is better) and a working hand crane and tools to change it. Locals will stop by and help out in need!
Try to bargain a bit, especially if you take it for many days. better reserve in advance as prices rise depending on car availability
With nice Cuban music and a stock of cigars … this is a road trip not to be forgotten!

Be careful driving in particular by night … there is no lighting on the road (even highways) and often locals still travel on the highway with buffalo or horse drawn carriage / wagon!!
There are so few cars in some places that locals just play baseball on it…

There are no sign posts on the road, so a good map is essential (a compass could be handy as well if you are adventurous). The best way I to ask locals … given that you speak some Spanish of course (English is spoken by few in Havana and other major cities)

Places to see

Havana is very beautiful… take some to stroll in the Malecon (sea front) the place de la cathedral and neighbouring areas (Havana Vieja) are very nice … Go in the afternoon In place de la Cathedral , grab a nice mojito and enjoy the live music played by Las Piscinas … if they are still performing there … a real bliss

Trinadad further in the south is amazing … you need to stay there a couple of days and go out at night in casa de la musica or casa de la trova

Santiago de Cuba must be fantastic as well but we didn’t manage to get there by car. One way would be to drive down there and come back by plane to Havana, and then go see a bit of the north as well (Pinar del Rio) .
There is a crocodile park the La Boca Crocodile-Breeding Center, in The Zapata Peninsula National Park… where you can taste crocodile mezze ;-)

What to eat

Lobster, Lobster , Lobster … so cheap you wont believe it (we paid 20 dollars I think) and gorgeous …
Cubans have an art for drinks … not so much for “haute cuisine” …
There are some very high class restaurants in la Havana, serving European style cuisine but I prefer eating lobster in small family owned restaurants…
Restaurants tend to close very early (9 – 9:30)

Night life

There is plenty in la Havana … some very chick and expensive some more popular … both are fun (avoid the casa de la musica in la Havana only … too noisy and expensive)
Otherwise most towns have music nights and cafes … you should ask for casa de la trova or casa de la musica … they also sometimes play live on the main square or dance places and people just drink and dance … this is where you get your free salsa lesson ;-)

Generally Cuba is very safe … some marriage proposals are to be expected but that’s about it … in Havana as in any big city things are a bit different but again very safe (much more than the average big European city) and police is everywhere, you will notice that once locals start talking to you and are driven off by some other Cuban guy …

There are few beggars in big cities … they usually ask you to buy them food from the supermarket for their kids then they sell it back to the supermarket …

Where to swim

I think Playa Larga (close to The Zapata Peninsula National Park ) was really nice … I would definitely stay away from Varadero and the such … nothing Cuban about them … the only people you get to know is other tourists like you but much older usually …

What to bring back

Of course Rum and Cigars! : the “Habana Club 15 Años Gran Reserva” very rare and very expensive outside Cuba… Cigars are sold on the street as originals for half price … it is better to buy I guess in the factory (Partagas is my favorite) or in hotels in cigar shops … Locals smoke local cigars … Usually a cigar sell for tourists at 2-5 Dollars a piece (Partagas) to much more of course depending where and what you buy … locals buy 26 cigars with a dollar!! (They are not to be compared of course in quality with those for tourists and export…)

Go to the open-air market and fairs (Havana, Trinidad etc) and buy papier-mâché toy cars, music instruments and fabulous necklaces made of beans!!! (1 $ a piece)

There is also an Art market in la Havana where local artists sale their paintings and old books … great fun!

I am sure you are going to have a great time!!

Oh! and don’t forget to bring a *camera and a lot of storage cards! *

[original post as a reply to a question on what to see in Cuba
you can see it here http://www.43places.com/comments/thread/168712]

There are in my opinion two ways to spend a couple of weeks in Cuba … Either you stick to habana and really get the feeling of the place (you will probably make friends find nice live music places, drink a lot of rum etc) or you decide to ride through the country with as little constrains in planning (today we go here and then we go there etc) as possible …

What i did was rent a car and drive through most of cuba. Infortunately it was a white and ugly hyundai. Not a very good match to the fantastic old american cars you can see everywhere but was much cheaper to rent and more reliable.

Try to bargain a bit, especially if you take it for many days. You should also see that they have service points accross the country and a good spare tyre (+the tools to change it) we blasted at least 2 of these … Transtur is a good deal … better reserve in advance as prices rise depending on car availlability … we paid 50$/ day

Grab yourself some nice old cuban music from a music store near you (like buena vista social club) a dozen of cigars and dollars and ride on …

You see a place you like ? you stay … ask for a casa particular (20 to 30$ a night usually) and you stay over in a house … as long as it pleases you … you will eat lobster in the country by the kilos … its their favourite … If they invite to eat at their place don’t hesitate … you will know where your money goes …

any way Trinidad was my favourite … this is as far south as we managed in 15 days …

Try to find evening music happenings in the places you go … usually in places called “casa de la musica” or “casa de la trova” There you will have to find a cuban partner to teach you what real dance means … salsa !!

I dont know much about the sea … comming from greece i was not really impressed … I think Playa larga was really nice … I would definately stay away from varadero and the such … nothing cuban about them … the only people you get to know is other tourists like you but much older usually …

Stay away from the Hotel Horizontes Chain … expensive and for tourists only … very bad service usually

what to bring back?

Cigars of Course!!
(if you are allowed..)

In hotel National of Cuba (you are lucky if you stay there … old fashion real class hotel) ask for the cigar department … they usually have a very good Torcero rolling cigars in front of you … you must ask him to roll you a panatella and smoke it on the spot !! spectacular taste … buy from him the cigars he rolls !!

Of course you need to bring back Rum : the “Habana Club 15 Años Gran Reserva” very rare and very expensive outside cuba…

Go to the open-air market and fairs (habana, trinidad etc) and buy papier-maché toy cars, music instruments and fabulus necklaces made of beans !!!

Any way …

I am sure you are going to have a great time !!

I Just came back from an 8 day long tour with in Morocco Called Imperial Morocco led by a Greek Tour Operator Called Pyramis …

The fact is that I was quite dissapointed by the trip overall which didn’t offer what I expected.

I wasn’t dissapointed by the place though. Morocco seemed to be a very interesting destination in terms of scenery, people and culture.

We arrived in (and departed from) Casablanca which is just a very large, noisy and overall not very pretty place to be. There is an interesting area called “Habous” which offers a very picturesque souk with all the goods and artisans (almost) you will find in Morocco as a whole …
We stayed at the Sheraton which is a high standard Western Like Hotel.

We briefly visited Rabat, and just had a glimpse of its beautyfull Medina (old city inside the fortified wall).

We also had a glipmse of Meknes and its very busy Central Market Place …

Fez was very nice … even though we arrived on the day they slaughter the Lamb in commemoration of Abraham’s Sacrifice …

The Maze-like Medina was emanating a strong smell of burned Hair and flesh… At every corner there were Kids mainly that burned parts of lamb on improvised Grills … Others carying lamb skins , others collecting and selling the intestins… The whole city was busy at it … after a couple hours wondering there the intense smell had impregnated me completely … I almost felt sick. Kids with knives, machettes, saws, axes etc were splitting carbonized lamb sculls in half to take out the brains that were steamed cooked and eaten. The look of these kids was scary some times, holding knives and stained with lamb blood all over…

Any way …

We organised a New Year party for ourselves trying to escape the very expensive tourist trap set-up by the tour guides (Moroccan)... and we had great fun listening to traditional Moroccan Music in a Stunning Palace Restaurant Called La Medina…

We continued our trip south to Marakesh …

I believe that the Djema El-Fna Square was one of the highlights of my visit to Morocco Overall … Colours, smells from spices, Snake tamers, fortune tallers, self-taught doctors and dentists, musicians … just amazing …
Its Market as well (souk) was quite impressive as well with a great variety of Goods and cheerful ambiance …
By Night fall the Djema El-Fna is transformed completely with litteraly hundreds of food stalls occupaying a good part of it and musicians and story tellers that other half…
Incredible ambience with Moroccan music and food waking the senses … We tried the Food … not as good as expected but not bad… The soup was excellent !

Music is not playing for free so you will be asked to tip often… but small anmounts (few dirhams) will do…

That was actually the only place I heard live music… Even though I had the impression music was at the core of Moroccan Culture, it was seldom played and even less so if there was no money for it …

The Grand Cafe is a nice place to go relax from the mayham with a fantastic panoramic view of the Square. Just for Coffe or tea…

The Club Med seems to be very well situated just off the square…

There is also the possibility to go on day trips from Marakesh. One of it is Urika valley, which we found not to be very exciting nor an incredible scenic experience…

You must avoid at all cost the dsastrous Fantasia Show (for tourists only) ... It was one of the most pityfull experiences in Morocco with very tired dancers and Musicians supposedly from all the Berber Tribes of Morocco that were nor dancers nor Musicians … Just poor Moroccans from Marakesh disquised for the show, tired and bored to death … Even Japanese Tourists usually complascent in any situation were about to Commit Harakiri… (45 Euro /pers)

For shopping except the Souk, there is a State Shop Called “enseble artisanal” or something like that, where you can find good quality artefacts at a reasonable price …

Marakesh is the Ideal starting point for more extensive tours (2-6 days) to the south with 4×4, Camel Rides and sleeping in the desert in Berber tents … Haven’t done it but i wish I had …

My suggestion find a cheap way to go to Marakesh and organise on the spot a nice trip south. Large hotels will be able to set it up for you …

Lonely Planet has some good hints on Morocco Overall, and was usefull even though I was on an Organised trip …

Last thing you really have to bargain your way through Morocco … from Tooth Picks to Excursions … everything is to be bargained …

Enjoy !!

We went to Mauritius with Nancy a couple of weeks ago

It was rainy when we arrived which was really dissapointing comming from Sunny Greece …

Things got eventually a lot better the next few days …

There is a general misunderstanding around the exoticism of that place … Having seen postal Cards etc i thought It would be coco trees all the way and endless sand beaches …

Well you can find that as well …

The majority of the beaches though have pine trees all the way to the sea… Very often you have a strech of a couple hundred meters of pine “forest” between the road and the sea front …

It is very pleasant but not the exotic thing you see on postcards… that is seychelles…

Nevertheless its exoticism is more profound in its way of life, people incredible volcanic scenery with round black rocks thrown here and there, massive sugar cane plantations, Hindu ceremonies on the sea front, the massive picknick parties thrown every Synday on the beaches by Locals (literrally thousands of famillies) the colours, the incredible sunsets the huge cloud formations that create sculptures in the sky, the waterfalls … and least but not last the colourfull fishies and incredible birds …

A really beautyfull setting …

We did the undersea walk … It is interesting but really not worth the time and money in my view…

You wear a very heavy astronaut type helmet .. air is pumped into it through a tube … they tie a weight belt on you and you sink till you reach the bottom (3-4 m) ...

I fell really bad in there with the air nozzlen the rear of the helmet making an incredibble noise in my years … really ruining the sea silence and the freedom of moovement you usually enjoy when snorkeling …

You should absolutely take with you a good mask and finns (or rubber shoes if you prefer) because you will have lots of opportunities to snorkel. It is even more interesting if you bring with you in a plastic bag some pieces of bread … you will see the wonderfull little fishies comming to you and eat from you hand … amazing !

The sea front close to the beach has usually few fishes to see … nevertheless whenever you have a rock formation in the sea you have fishies around it … loads of them

You might want to ask a boat to bring you to a nice snorkeling site … I actually did snorkel on the site where the undersea walk did take place and it was amazing … i actually swam through huge banks of colorfull fishes, fed them

You will need more than 5 days to get a good glimpse of the Island and in my view you are better off renting a Car …

Prices come arround 1200 Rupees a day for a descent small car
I was feeling a bit weird driving on the Left side … Nothing to worry though … you get it in the first half hour … just take it easy (The weirdest is the gear box on your left and turnlights on your right …)

Just take the time to go to small villages, stay on the beach eat local and get into their daily relaxed and totally laid back rythm of life (not so in The capital Port Louis)

Life is very cheap if you manage to escape the Large Hotels and their facilities …

You can also find familly owned little villas close to the sea for a very good price … look on the net

You must absolutely find a way to go to a local SEGA event (Local Dance) ... they have very nice music and they are both men and women very beautyfull people !

Enjoy!

You need to keep in mind the history of that place (ancient and more recent again)

Don’t forget that it was heavily bombarded during WW2 and canibalised during the Greek Revolution in 1821 by greek fighters because of the Lead found inside columns … it was used for ammunition … So do not expect to see the Acropolis as it is shown in books some times … I believe they are doing great restauration works on it (for the past 2 decades i think) but its biggest ennemy is still pollution …

You still get this awe feeling of visiting a place that is mythical (like the pyramids for example) ... you should try and go there during sunset … very nice
Just accross there is a roc with a beautyfull view that many young couples favor to see the full moon over Athens and the Acropolis …

I have heard from others that they are dissapointed due to high expectations … so dont have any … the grandiose remains are only a torn appart physical evidence of a Great Civilization that dissapeared through centuries of wars and invasions …
Modern Greece has nothing to do with the Ancient one … just sharing the same place and most of the language … very little of all that permeated through to Modern greeks and their culture (in most of the cases …)

The pedestrian road that goes around all of the acropolis i great …

Have fun and read history before visiting …

Well i have spent 6 months only in Norway (Bergen mostly) but it was enough to Almost make me move to Norway for good…

It is so beautyfull and easy going …

The Norwegian mentality is somewhat peculiar to a Greek at first … but if you make the effort to get into it … it is really nice

If you have the time take the little train to the top of Bergen hills … very nice view. You should also go see the Aquarium. The best is nevertheless to devote some time strolling through the old city …
On the food side: taste the takeaway shrimp on the fish market, try the superb salmon and pepper-mackrell. For meat eaters without the Bambi syndrome try the delicious Raindeer steaks (bit expensive though to get the real thing). Definately avoid the Fiskerboller (something like slimy fish balls in soup)

If you can spare a week … a must experience is a trip with the Hurtigruten (http://www.hurtigruten.com/en/default.aspx?side_id=3) to the Lofoten Islands and the Cap Nord … Unforgettable memories , images, people, sounds, ... and the Nordic Light …

As a guest student there i really enjoyed the incredible benefits the students have (half price everything basicaly)

A place not to miss

Aside the nasty weather … the city has plenty of beautyfull spots and places to see …

Grand Place and arround there is of course a must.
Les Halles saint Gerry also close by the Grand Place has very nice cafes bars and restaurants …

Also very pretty is the Sablon Area … with the best patisseries and chocolate houses around …

Lovely walks in Wolluwe area Parks and The Bois-Fort forest …

Well, much more can be said but i will stop here …

Great city if you know what to see and what to avoid … like many I guess …

I visited for 3-4 days stockholm with my wife on 17-20/march …
Despite the cold i must say i enjoyed very much …
Everything (well almost) was white with snow, the lakes frozen (fantastic walks over them…) very beautyfull …

We visited a couple museums … we are not really museum people but they were so nice we couldn’t resist …

The Scandinavian Culture museum and the Vasa Musueum we did… there where really dozens of others …

The thing that really stroke me is that they have people in mind when they build things for them …
There were digital tour-guides, brail signs, even touch-models for blind people to feel what we were seeing …

Any way the vasa museum is about a huge Caravelle type of ship dating back to the 17th century when it sunk on its maiden voyage, just outside the port of stockholm… it was recovered in one piece 30 years ago, restaured and placed in its own museum …

The GAMLA STAN, old city centre is i thing one of the most picturesque and beautyfull places in stockholm…
Very nice little shops, cafes, restaurants etc…

We stayed at the Comfort Hotel in the World Trade Center, very well located (we took a bus only once … you can reach most interesting things on foot…), reasonable price, well kept …recomended
You can use www.bookings.se to find accomodation that suits you ...

Right next to it there was also a Jazz Club with very nice live music …

A great trip for 3-4 days …