Cuba - Visiting Cienfuegos

If you haven’t read my Cuba pre-travel tips, check them out here.

Other posts from this trip can be found using the label Cuba2018.

Day 2, Part 2 – Cienfuegos

Downtown Cienfuegos

Back in Cienfuegos we had an afternoon break and watched a storm roll in from our balcony. 

Next up: a walking tour of Cienfuegos. We walked along the Prado, down a pedestrian-only street, and to Parque José Martí. The architecture in town is beautiful. There were lots of people out and about, on foot, or bike, or even with carts selling fresh fruit. We saw the shops where locals can buy their household essentials and produce, but didn’t go in. We also had a short discussion about healthcare in Cuba with our local guide, while standing outside a pharmacy. Doctors in Cuba are well trained, and all healthcare is free (you must pay for medications, but the prices are subsidized). However, doctors are mostly located in bigger cities and medication is scarce on the island.

Cienfuegos blues

Statue of musician Benny Moré on The Prado

The Prado

The pedestrian street

Pineapples for sale!

 

Abandoned streetcar tracks

My favorite building in Cienfuegos matches the sky after a rainstorm  

Concierto Sur

The absolute highlight of the trip for me was a private performance by Concierto Sur, a local chamber orchestra. They were incredible!

Concierto Sur

In their own words, ‘much like Gershwin brought jazz to Broadway, they want to infuse their Cuban musical heritage into classical music’.

Here’s a video (by someone else), with a slightly different lineup:

I can’t get over how much I enjoyed their performance, and you can bet that I bought a CD and had everyone sign it.

Here's one more video (also by someone else), in case you can’t get enough of their music:

Reeling from the beautiful music we just experienced, we headed back towards the hotel and had dinner on the water at Villa Lagarto. Somehow there were no mosquitoes!

The name of the restaurant means “lizard”, but the menu was chicken... and squash!

Be careful on these swinging barstools after you’ve had a few drinks!

After dinner we stopped at the Hotel Jagua bar for drinks. What do you call a Cuba Libre if you use 7-year dark rum instead of blanco?

A Cubata – my new favorite drink!  

My complete set of Cienfuegos photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robotbrainz/albums/72157702183404681.

Cuba - Arrivals and Touring Trinidad

If you haven’t read my Cuba pre-travel tips, check them out here.

Other posts from this trip can be found using the label Cuba2018.

Ok, let’s go!

Day 1 – Arrival, Cienfuegos

Arrival

We flew from Miami, Florida to Santa Clara, Cuba. Santa Clara is a small airport. We deplaned onto the runway and went inside the airport building. Time to get our passports stamped into Cuba!

The group leaders tried to keep us all together, but the lines moved at different rates, and somehow I was the last person in our group to make it through the big wooden doors (ie: I couldn’t see anyone from the group!). The Passport Control guard checked my passport and paperwork, said “wait”, took my passport to some other guard, came back, waited for another guard to come over, they looked at my passport more, and finally let me through. I was thrilled to catch up to the group on the other side of the doors. Next, I took my carry-on items through security (my camera and lenses weren’t a problem, but my Kindle raised some eyebrows), and then waited with the group for our checked luggage. Once everyone had collected their items we headed for our bus to Cienfuegos.

Upon landing in Cuba, you immediately notice some differences. The smells are different (diesel). There are palm trees everywhere, and it’s more humid than the northeastern US (which is saying something). Oh, and the female airport employees wear fishnet stockings. Who knew?

On the Road to Cienfuegos

Our local guide welcomed us onto the bus and began to set the stage for our activities that night and the following day. The bus ride was interesting. Though it was dark, we could see in some of the houses along our route through Santa Clara. We spent long stretches of time on roads that looked like highways but then had a roundabout intersection every so often. There wasn’t much other traffic, and I was struck by just how dark it was without lights from other vehicles or many streetlights. It took us about 1.5 hours to reach Cienfuegos. We got off the bus at our hotel and got our first taste of Cuba: a welcome dinner in the courtyard next to the Palacio de Valle.

Dinner is served!

 

Musicians serenading us for dinner… what a welcome!

The Palacio de Valle is an incredible building. It was stunning at night, but you could see even more of the intricate façade during the day. InHavana has more information on the Palacio and some of its symbolism: http://www.inhavana.net/palacio-valle-symbolism-luxury-museum/.

The Moorish-style Palacio de Valle was built in 1917

We stayed at Hotel Jagua. The rooms were sparse but nice. The air conditioner was no match for the humidity, but kept the room cool. I had to give my camera time to acclimate every morning before removing my lens cap or changing lenses. In the morning we were treated to an incredible view:


Palacio de Valle and the Cienfuegos Bay

Day 2, Part 1 – Trinidad

Walking Tour of Trinidad

To kick off the day we boarded the bus for another 1.5 hour drive, this time to the beautiful and historic town of Trinidad. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, primarily for its colonial architecture. Our local guide gave us a walking tour through the city center, including a visit to a ration shop. Families are given a book to track what they’re provided each month. Typically, this includes a small ration of rice and beans, maybe a tiny bit of chicken, and a huge ration of sugar. What do you do with all that extra sugar? Make rum! Oh, and rum is not rationed. You can buy as much rum as you want. There's lots of rum here.


Inside a Cuban ration shop


Another ration shop.  Stock varies greatly from shop to shop.

We visited the home of a local painter, Carlos Mata Pich. We toured his home/studio, had some fresh guava juice, and admired his artwork. His house was built in the 1700s and he renovated it himself. It was a beautiful place, with a very pretty courtyard. Mata’s paintings of Trinidad were wonderful. He’s known as the ‘night painter of Trinidad’ because he perfectly captures the scenes around his hometown at night. You can see some of his work here: https://mata.artelista.com/en/

The picturesque courtyard at Mata’s home and studio


Vintage floor tiles in Mata’s home and studio

We ate lunch, walked around town a bit more, visited some of the outdoor markets, and boarded the bus back to Cienfuegos as the sky started to look a little ominous.

I'll finish out Day 2 in the next post. Here are some photos of Trinidad to hold you over!



Outdoor market in Trinidad

Hat shop


Apparently, birdkeeping is a popular Cuban hobby. 
You set a trap in the woods and wait, and wait, and wait until you catch a bird. 
Then you train the bird to sing, and sometimes compete with other birdkeepers.

An iconic view of the historical center of Trinidad

That's a Ford Taunus, not a Taurus...

A child playing with a homemade kite

The ruins of Iglesia de Santa Ana

My complete set of Trinidad photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robotbrainz/albums/72157700444749652.

Cuba - Preparing for the Trip of a Lifetime

In 2018, I traveled from the US to Cuba. I’m just now finally writing about it. This post will focus on what you need to know before traveling.

The Bacardi Building from Hotel Sevilla

Can US citizens still go to Cuba?

Just a few short years ago, the US made it easier for US citizens to travel to Cuba. Today there are daily flights to Cuba from many major airports, including Newark, Charlotte, and Miami. It should be noted that US citizens still may not travel to Cuba for “tourism” purposes. Your visit must fall under one of the 12 11 categories approved by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). More information can be found here: https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/traveling-to-cuba/

Most group trips and cruises formerly operated on the People-to-People general license. Travel under this license is no longer allowed as of June 2019, but US citizens can still visit Cuba under one of the 11 other general licenses. More information on the changes can be found here: https://www.viahero.com/travel-to-cuba/new-cuba-travel-policy-updates.

Cruise lines took the biggest hit when People-To-People was discontinued, but there are still some other group trips out there. These trips often operate under the ‘Support For The Cuban People’ license.

Music is everywhere in Cuba!

Group Travel

US citizens can travel to Cuba as individuals or part of a group. There were many benefits to traveling with a group and I’d highly recommend it.

• Logistics are taken care of. They’ll likely get your visa for you, book your flights, and arrange ground transportation to coincide with flight times. You can still practice your Spanish and interact with locals, but won't need to worry about how to get from A to B. (Mass transit in Cuba isn’t the greatest, and nothing is for sure in Cuba.) You get to spend all of your time learning/observing/enjoying, instead of planning your next move.
• Groups have access to things/events individuals don’t. I got to visit the US Embassy, a local school, a nursing home, and attend lectures by a Cuban economics professor and a Havana city architect. I certainly couldn’t have arranged any of that on my own.
• Safety. Cuba is safe. But if something goes wrong (canceled flights, hotel rooms double-booked, miscommunications… whatever!), your group leader can handle the situation for you. Even if you left your First Aid kit at home (please bring first aid supplies with you), your group leader should be able to help.
• Documentation. US citizens are required to retain all documentation and receipts yeeeears (5? 7?) after traveling to Cuba. If you go with a group, they are responsible for most of this. Just remember to keep any receipts you do have. If you buy an expensive souvenir it is a good idea to request a receipt. 
• The People. Everyone on our trip was interesting, nice, and there to learn about the people of Cuba; it was a great group to be part of. Our tour director was an experienced traveler, and our local guide was amazing. He was willing to share so much about his country and his life with us. We couldn't really get to know everyone we visited in Cuba, but we spent over a week with our guide, day in and day out. By the end of the trip we had really connected.

Looking over the Prado onto Centro Habana

Travel Tips

Traveling to Cuba isn’t much different than traveling anywhere else in the world. You just have to be extra prepared because you can’t buy an extra phone charger or memory card there. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some things to note:

Don’t drink the tap water. It’s probably fine, but it’s really not worth the risk. Jimmy used a Grayl camp/survival filter which worked well, but bottled water is readily available. Another benefit of traveling with a group is that they’ll likely have more bottled water on hand than you’ll ever need! I usually took a bottle or two to my hotel room at the end of each day for use when brushing my teeth and to stay hydrated overnight.

To help mask the mineral taste Cuban water has, I put half of a Nuun tablet into my water bottles. It added some flavor and helped with hydration in that tropical heat!

Debit/credit cards won’t work in Cuba, especially if affiliated with a US bank. Bring lots of cash. If you run out, Western Union is pretty much your only option.

I read online to bring Euros and Canadian dollars instead of United States Dollars (USD). Meh. Unless you have these other currencies already, it isn’t that much cheaper than converting directly from USD, even with the extra penalty. It’s probably not worth the hassle. Many touristy places accept USD directly anyway (ex: artists, prominent gift shops).

Exchange money at your hotel, not at the airport. Your hotel will usually have a better exchange rate than the airport, and they will already have your passport on file from when you checked in. Since most US travelers won’t be making frequent return trips to Cuba, you probably don’t want a bunch of extra Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUCs) at the end of your trip. To avoid this, exchange money as you go, and only exchange what you think you’ll need for the next few days.

Internet connectivity is sparse. Cell service is available, but wireless data isn’t really a thing in Cuba. You can send/receive texts (albeit expensively), but don’t expect to post to Instagram.

You’ll need to buy a WiFi card to connect, even at your hotel. The most popular ones (ex: 60 minutes) are often sold out, so you end up paying for more minutes than you may have wanted. Don’t expect reliable service or speed. Most hotels offer WiFi only in common areas, not in the rooms.

I used my trip to Cuba as a technology detox of sorts. It was refreshing! :) If someone couldn’t remember the name of an actor in a movie... too bad! You’re not going to Google it!

Bring anything you might need. I can’t reiterate this enough. High-end hotels usually provide shampoo and soap, but smaller hotels and B&Bs aren’t likely to do so. Same goes for towels. I didn’t end up needing my travel towel, but I was glad I had it just in case. Bring painkillers, bandaids, moleskin, first-aid ointment, sunscreen, bug spray, anti-itch cream, Pepto, Immodium/loperamide, Benedryl, cough drops, hand sanitizer… anything you might possibly need, because you. cannot. buy. it. there!

Camping/travel toilet paper is very useful. You will probably need it everywhere outside of your hotel. Some restaurants will have toilet paper, but it might be seriously limited. Like, the attendant might hand you 2 squares of toilet paper. I kept a roll in my bag at all times. Besides, you never know when you’ll need a tissue or napkin.

You will look like a tourist. You won’t be able to fly under the radar, especially when you have a camera in your hand. Common tourist scams are ‘cigar festivals’ or any ‘today only’ events or sales… skip them.

Many hotels have both European-style and US-style outlets. Beware (!) the dreaded US-style outlet that is actually 220v! If your devices aren’t dual voltage, you’ll need a converter. If your devices are dual voltage, an adapter will be fine. Make sure your converter or adapter can support your devices. Hairdryers and flatirons use a lot of power.

Souvenirs: You’re allowed to bring home rum, cigars, honey, etc. for personal use only (no re-selling). Rum and honey should be officially labeled, not in second-hand containers. You do you, but it might be confiscated. The honey sold in rum bottles was delicious, but I didn’t want to risk it being confiscated… so I sought out smaller, officially labeled jars of honey.

I packed extra bubble-wrap and gallon-size Ziplock bags for bringing home rum, beer, and honey. If I hadn't, I'm certain that my luggage would've been covered in honey from the inside out.

Plaza de San Francisco de Asís at night
That’s all for now. I’m working on an article for each day of my trip in hopes of sharing what I learned and some of my favorite parts of the trip.

More info

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2018/04/23/yes-you-can-still-travel-to-cuba/#2e49bf08378d 
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/09/organic-honey-is-a-sweet-success-for-cuba-as-other-bee-populations-suffer

Old Maps of Bethlehem, PA - Part 1: What Used To Be (Clearfield Village)

Like many people in Bethlehem after WWII, several of my family members lived in Clearfield Village. Not much information about this former housing development can be found online, but its 250 single-story homes were built to house those returning from war and starting families¹.

Formerly located south of Pembroke Rd and east of Bethlehem Drive, Clearfield Village had 50 5-unit residential buildings and a community center. All buildings were constructed of cinderblock². The homes had coal stoves and furnaces and an icebox³ (No refrigerators?! Talk about ‘essentials only’!).

To get a sense of the neighborhood I overlayed the Sanborn map of the neighborhood in Google Earth, and then drew the streets and buildings as they used to be. The result provides a good overview of the neighborhood.

Hint: Click on the buildings for addresses. 
This is helpful if you're curious where your relatives 
lived, since the streets are gone!

It's interesting that the streets in "the Village" (as the locals call it -- and several other housing developments) didn't line up with the streets in Freemansburg. You can tell where the city/borough line is located by looking at the ends of Tolstoy, Karoly, Kossuth, and Monroe Streets (all in Freemansburg). But why not make them connect? Simply because Clearfield Village was intended to be temporary?

Timeline
Clearfield Village was created as temporary housing and was demolished after some time, though I can’t find much information about the demolition (or when it was built, for that matter). I turned to the USGS’ awesome historical map site for a timeline. The faint red crosshairs in each map denote the location of Clearfield Village.

The 1939 Allentown map shows vacant land (under Freemansburg):

1939 Nazareth Map - USGS

That hashed red line is the city/borough boundary. Remember that for later!
Side note: did you know that Pembroke Rd used to be Alternate US-22?

The 1959 Allentown map shows Clearfield Village’s major streets:

1959 Nazareth Map - USGS

The 1964 Nazareth map only shows a few remaining roads (Bristol Rd, part of Nelson Rd, Spencer Rd, and most of Salem Rd). Also note that Missouri Ave (today called Bethlehem Dr) is missing, but was missing in some earlier maps as well.

1964 Nazareth Map - USGS

Sorry for the weird way the historic map is truncated... 

the rest of these do the same thing.

The 1992 Nazareth map shows the same layout, but with more industrial buildings moving in to the west:

1992 Nazareth Map - USGS

And by the 1999 Nazareth map, the entire area had been redeveloped, with Win Dr cutting through where Clearfield Village used to be.

1999 Nazareth Map - USGS

In 2018, nothing remains to give any indication of the vibrant neighborhood that used be there. Do you have pictures or stories of Clearfield Village or the neighborhood reunions? Let me know!

Sources

1. Newspapers.com: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/280040098/
• “When veterans returned home after the war, he declared, Bethlehem faced another housing shortage, and Clearfield Village, a 250 unit project, was built.”
2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map via Lehigh’s Beyond Steel project: http://gisweb2.cc.lehigh.edu/beyondsteel/
3. Klugh In America (genealogy report): http://www.klugh.com/pdf/butler-genealogy-report.pdf
• “During this time the family lived in low-cost G.I. housing ... that had coal stoves and furnaces, and an icebox in lieu of a refrigerator. Clearfield Village consisted of long concrete block single story row houses."

Additional Resources:

• Bethlehem Housing Authority – History Page: http://bha645.homestead.com/BHAhistory.html

Map Tour of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR)

I love love love love love love love PDFs of old books on sites like Archive.org, Google Books, and the Library of Congress. A while back I found one called “Seen from the Train on the Picturesque Lehigh Valley Railroad”. Published in 1895, this book was intended to keep riders informed of their whereabouts as they took the train from NYC (well, Jersey City) to Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

I’ve spent most of my life living along this former railroad (in New Jersey and Pennsylvania), and I really enjoyed reading the 1895 description of several places I lived in/near. While this book is an interesting read, it just isn’t as fun without a train ride. (Soapbox: we need more passenger rail service!!!) But these trains don’t run anymore. And some (most?) of the rail segments are totally gone.

Someday I’d like to make a road trip out of this, and include a present-day photo of each stop. For now, I created a Google Map to act as a guide and provide some context. You can click on any point and read the that town’s description from the book. I hope you enjoy it!



Legend:

• Blue binoculars: Points of interest along or near the route
• Red train engine: Major transfers or junctions with other railroads
• Green circle with a square inside: The western route through the Finger Lakes
• Yellow circle with a diamond inside: The eastern route through the Finger Lakes

PS: If you happen to be a train nerd (I mean that affectionately) and I got something wrong, please let me know!

An Interesting House in Bethlehem, PA or I'M BACK!

Hellooooooooo. I’ve been away from my blog for a while (about a year?), but I finally found a topic that has inspired me to post once more!

What’s this all about?

There’s a house on Linden St in Bethlehem, PA that I’ve always been curious about. Have a look:


Pretty unique, right?  That giant stained glass window, the stone porch beams carved to look like trees, that crazy looking peaked roof on the back part of the building: it doesn’t look like any other house in the area. Since the outside is so ornate, I’ve always wondered what the interior looks like. Well we are in luck - the house is currently for sale, and several real estate companies have photos!

Links to real estate listings:

• http://www.weichert.com/65126340
• http://www.trulia.com/property/3239906425-3300-Linden-St-Bethlehem-PA-18017

Note: If the photos are taken down from the real estate websites, just leave a comment and I’ll try to get in touch with you.

The realtor’s (Weichert) description of the home provides more information (emphasis mine):

“This stone gingerbread house with walls of old mosaics, carved stone porch columns and stained glass windows has tremendous historical and artistic value and is listed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. It was built by Tilghman Fogel from 1899 to 1906 and every exterior wall is a work of art. The hand-crafted blocks have a menagerie of story telling and each are an artistic expression, with blown glass, Chinaware, and many artifacts built by hand in an artistic tale. This is a large estate style property with what was a stable attached in the rear, which is now a 4+ car garage and workshop, with a 3 bedroom apartment on the top. This is surrounded by almost 3 acres of prime, flat, partially wooded land. Originally designed all 29 rooms for active air flow and natural light for most of the day. Much of the 100 year old architecture has been preserved. This house must be valued as "artwork" and it will captivate your artistic imagination immediately.”

Who was Tilghman Fogel?  Google Books to the rescue!  Tilghman Fogel (1850-1935) was a member of a seemingly prominent agricultural family in Lower Nazareth Township, Northampton County, PA.  If you’d like to learn about his family, check out pages 413-414 in this Google Book:

Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical  and Personal Memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

Fun fact: I also found another Tilghman Fogel (1842 - 1915), from Lehigh County, who was a well-known blind musician.  The two men do not appear to be immediately related.

But what about the house?!

Now that we know a little about the family, let’s talk about the house.  Why would a prominent farmer decide to build such an eccentric home?  Google Books comes to the rescue again, with two articles containing details about the home itself:

Technical World Magazine, Volume 10

Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality, Volume 66

In summary, Tilghman Fogel built the home after he traveled around the United States, collecting souvenir rocks, broken glass, and other scraps along the way.  He decided to incorporate his plethora of souvenirs into the facade of his new home, embedding his creativity into the house itself. 

While looking for information on Tilgman Fogel and his “Souvenir House”, I came across a photo of some unknown young men on the home’s porch:

As such a unique home with an interesting history, I hope someone buys this home and really makes it shine.

I'm Not Dead, I Just Moved to New Jersey

Sorry for neglecting this blog.  As the title says: I'm not dead, I just moved to New Jersey.  I hope to get back to posting and maybe even Photo Phriday once I am settled in.  In the mean time, here are photos of the New Jersey themed dinner my boyfriend made for me in celebration of our move.






Yum!

Photo Phriday - 2015 08 07

Part of a hike through a swamp in New Jersey's Cheesequake State Park.

Photo Phriday - 2015 07 31

The Ghost Building in downtown Denver!  In my blog about Denver's Chilled Water Plant I mentioned that a historic building was disassembled to make room for the Chilled Water Plant in 1979, and that said historic building was reassembled 6 years later at 18th & Stout.  This is that building.

Photo Phriday - 2015 07 24

A colorful dusk in Liverpool.  I loved this city!  So vibrant and gritty (I mean that in a good way).  Definitely a place I'd visit again.  There's a ton of history here.

Photo Phriday - 2015 07 17

Market Street in Denver, taken in May after a few weeks of heavy rain.  At that time, Confluence Park was heavily flooded.  Photos of the flooding are available on my Flickr.

Photo Phriday - 2015 07 09

Lots going on lately, so I missed Photo Phriday last week again... sorry! I hope this cool shot of a basement speakeasy-esque bar makes up for it!

Photo Phriday - 2015 06 26

A foggy night in Midtown Manhattan really made the city glow.

Photo Phriday - 2015 06 19

A Doc Martens sign on the side of the former FasioNation store. They recently left Capitol Hill after 30-some years and moved to South Broadway due to rapidly increasing rent; a common story in Denver these days. Glad they found a new location!

Photo Phriday - 2015 06 05

A shot of the Batman building in Nashville. I can't believe that was 6 years ago! I guess I'm overdue for a visit to Tennessee.