On our last morning in Havana, after having some yummy street vendor pizza for breakfast, we got picked up in the morning by our taxi driver, Rainel. It turned out to be the coolest taxi ride that any of us have ever experienced. Rainel was super cool and he had even made an iPod cord for his 1980’s car so I was able to put on my iPod for the whole 5 hour drive from Havana to Trinidad. He called his car and “international car,” because the engine, brakes, stereo and multiple other car parts are all from different car companies all over the world. Wow- so resourceful!

It was a beautiful scenic drive and I was so hyper and happy the whole drive, looking out the window at all the visual eye candy. We passed rice fields, sugar cane fields, palm tree forests, mango groves…. the list goes on.

We arrived in Trinidad around 4:00pm to discover our Casa Particular (Cuban version of B&Bs) was full, so they found us another Casa Particular nearby to stay at that was just as nice. It’s apparently quite common for Casa Particulars to give rooms up to people who drop by before you check-in so you just have to go with the flow. Part of the adventure!

When we arrived at our Casa Particular, we were greeted by such friendly hosts who warmly welcomed us in and showed us around. I was amused at the very different sounds between our Havana Casa Particular and our Trinidad one. In Havana, there was constant construction noises during the day with a remodeling going on below and in Trinidad there were sounds of chickens, roosters and pigs in the neighbouring backyards. haha.

We dropped our bags and left to explore Trinidad. I was blown away by the colour and vibrancy of Trinidad. Every home was a different colour with equally colourful cars ambling down the streets. We poked around a neat street market as the sun began to set, the warm light spreading over the cobblestone streets like liquid caramel. All the locals were so friendly, interesting and photogenic. It felt like everyone had to have gotten together before I came and was like, “Ok guys, Jessica is coming and loves to take photos. Everyone get to your places! Stand in front of cool walls in awesome poses, wearing colourful clothing. Go!” haha.

It happened to be festival week in Trinidad, which only happens once a year, so we completely lucked out as there was lots of live music and vendors filling the streets. Over the few days that we spent in Trinidad, we made up our days as we went along, much like we did in Havana. We lazed at outdoor cafes eating french fries, ventured down streets we hadn’t seen yet and looked in tons of art galleries (so much amazing art in Trinidad!). We all found art we wanted to buy but were unfortunately unsuccessful in finding and ATM where we could get cash out to buy the art (you can’t use credit or debit cards in stores).

We also experienced some amazing nightlife. One night, we went to an incredible night club in a cave (yes an actual cave) after watching a fantastic live musical dance performance in front of a gorgeous church in the main square. We also got steered in the direction of a local Cuban street party by the owner of a restaurant we ate at. So awesome!! There was a couple blocks completely packed with people, with a bar set up in the middle of the street and music pumping.

Trinidad was my favourite stop in Cuba and I will most definitely return…. Hopefully sooner than later. ; ) I know I have just scratched the surface of all there is to see in Cuba and can’t wait to see more of the country.

Click here to see my Havana, Cuba post.

Rice FieldWe arrive in Trinidad after our long but fun drive from Havana and promptly fall in love with the place.We caught a taxi and had a beach day at Playa Ancon, 12 kms away from Trinidad. The water was so turquoise and I loved the rusty, broken dock.On our last day in the area, we left early and went to the El Nicho waterfalls, past the town of Cienfuegos, an hour away. I was gobsmacked when I caught my first glimpse of the waterfall below. Most stunning waterfall I have ever seen. Wow, just wow. I wished for the millionth time on the trip that I had brought my wide angle lens to Cuba.There were all sorts of cool natural pools to swim in at El Nicho. SO beautiful! I need to go back and spend a full day there to enjoy it to its fullest.

And now, a few shots of Danielle, Dan and I in Trinidad. First up, us on our way to Trinidad from Havana. Bottom left photo: Our taxi driver at a highway sandwich pit stop. Right: Danielle.We happily whiled away many hours in the outdoors cafes on these sloping steps beside the main square. We had the most amazing breakfasts every morning prepared by the casa particular we stayed at. Freshest, most delicious smoothie EVER.Lovebirds, Dan and Danielle. You two make me smile. : )Danielle left; me, right. Thanks for snapping some photos of me too Danielle! I saw SO many gorgeous shades of green in Cuba. Being my favourite colour, I wanted to take this car home with me.Dan was climbing all over the waterfalls. Lol. This dude is fearless!

I recently got back from a 10 day trip to Cuba and man oh man do I wish I could go back already! I went with one of my best friends, Danielle, and we met her friend (now boyfriend) Dan, in Havana. We flew in to Varadero and found a couple of fellow travelers to share a cab to Havana. I was fascinated with the eccentricities of Cuba as soon as we were on the road. Seeing cowboys dressed in what looked like clothing from the 1930’s driving horses and carriages along the highway with beautiful old cars whizzing past them made me feel like I was constantly seeing time machine bubbles into the past. Another odd site that caught my eye was a man standing beside the road, in the middle of nowhere, holding a plate of cheese (apparently it was for sale).

After meeting up with Dan at our casa particular (Cuban version of a B&B)  in Havana, we went off to wander the streets. Dan immediately showed his “awesome travel buddy” status when it became apparent that he already knew his way around and we didn’t constantly have to check a map to navigate. He took Danielle and I to the main squares and I just gawked at the beauty and personality of the city. I loved that everywhere we walked, live Latin music could be heard somewhere nearby. I wanted to photograph every person we passed – everyone was such an interesting character. The crumbling architecture made me think of the song “Let Go” by Frou Frou when she sings, “There’s beauty in the breakdown.”

That night, Dan took Danielle and I across a wide canal to sit on an old stone fortress wall with a view of Old Havana and the Malecon boardwalk, stretching 8 kms down the coast. It was such a beautiful view. After that, we meandered over to a nearby castle and Dan bribed the guard to let us go down and walk around in the dried up old moat. We then headed back to our Casa Particular and hung out on the beautiful rooftop patio, listening to music, talking and dancing.

The next couple days in Havana were filled with exploring and experiencing the amazing ambiance of Havana. I loved poking around the street markets and bought a cool camera from 1945 as well as some neat old photos and a pair of earrings. We checked out a really cool camera obscura high above Plaza Vieja, ate at outdoor bistros with live music, and meandered to our hearts content. With a lack of advertising, chain restaurants, and brand name labels, Havana really felt like its own little world. I’m glad we went in January as it’s apparently normal for it to be 45 degrees in the summer. One cool thing I wouldn’t mind seeing in the summer though is one of the crazy downpours where the streets flood and kids play in the water, surfing on pieces of styrofoam while holding on to the back of buses.

On our last night in Havana, it poured rain for the first half of the evening and we enjoyed it from the rooftop of our casa. The rain poured heavily on the tin roof while sheet lightening flashed outside. I love rainstorms on a warm evening. When the rain died down, we caught a beautiful old taxi with a bright red interior (a 1950’s Chevrolet, I think) to the Casa de la Musica to enjoy a live band. The band didn’t come on until after 1:00 a.m. but we stayed and danced for awhile. Everyone was paired up dancing salsa like professionals and Danielle and I made our way up to the front and did our own crazy dancing. haha. I’m hopeless at learning dance steps and wouldn’t try to out-salsa a Cuban anyways! Not possible. Afterwards, we went back to our rooftop patio, put some music on the portable speakers Danielle had brought (genius Danielle) and danced in the rain puddles on the roof. The night staff at the casa lit candles for us and made us drinks. Our very own DIY Havana nightclub. : )

Our last morning in Havana we had delicious cheap pizza for breakfast and got picked up by our taxi driver Rainel, who had been referred to me by an avid Cuba traveler before I came. I’ll leave off here and continue my next post with our journey to Trinidad, my favourite place we stayed in Cuba. Click here to view that post.

 

I don’t know if you can quite see it, but the lady below is smoking a cigar while doing her laundry. =)50 cent churros! YumCute little girl doing her best to wait patiently for the above churros.We stayed at a Casa Particular (Cuban version of a B&B) in Havana called Casa Emilio. The rooms were very simple but the cool lounge and our awesome rooftop patio made this place a winner in our books! Also, the food was awesome!Danielle (left) and I (I was having a bad hair day, ok? Cuba is humid! haha).Left: Dan & Danielle. Right: Random person checking out Danielle’s tattoos. This happened constantly and was highly amusing. 😀 Cubans found Danielle pretty fascinating! Tall, beautiful, blond and covered in tattoos – she stood out a mile away! haha.

Oh, Dan and Danielle. I love you guys. Traveling with these two was so incredibly fun. They have the best love story ever! I am not going to do it justice so I will just give the quick version. Twelve years ago, they were each others first kiss. They kept in touch over the years and really started to reconnect a few months ago (pretty sure they kept Skype in business in that time). Dan has been traveling for the last decade, working as a scuba diving instructor and was not too far away in Guatemala when he decided to come meet us for our trip in Cuba. It was obvious pretty immediately how perfect these two are for each other. It was pretty fun having front row seats to one of my best friends falling in love with a guy who has fast become a really good friend of mine too. I felt like I was watching an awesome romantic comedy the whole trip (where was the popcorn, Cuba?). I mean, just look at that grin on Danielle’s face in the photo below. She’s little-kid-in-a-candy-shop happy. : D I made sure to get lots of photos of these two as I thought it would be pretty special for them to look back on someday.

My sister, Lila, and I went on such an awesome sister trip to Costa Rica in December. I love my sister to pieces and it was so great having her all to myself for a week! We are so compatible for traveling which is a huge plus. : ) I hadn’t been to Costa Rica since photographing a wedding there a couple years ago and I had been itching to get back there ever since.

We stayed at Flamingo Beach Resort in Playa Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We loved the smaller size of the resort and the fact that it was right in the town of Playa Flamingo and across from Flamingo Beach, the public beach, so we didn’t feel like we were in a total resort bubble. We also chose not to do the all-inclusive food plan (except for breakfast) so we could go out and experience the ambiance and cuisine of the restaurants in the area. Many of the restaurants even offer a free pick-up/drop-off service in the area which is such an awesome plus! Some of our favourites were Carlos & Carlos (Amazing Italian with thee best service. Try the Exotica Anana C cocktail!), Papaya Restaurant (awesome tree-house ambiance, complete with a hammock area. Best spring rolls I’ve ever tasted), and Nibbana Beach Bar & Restaurant in Tamarindo (great ambiance right on the beach with yummy, fresh food).

We spent our days exploring the nearby towns and beaches as well as relaxing on our own beach of Playa Flamingo. My favourite outing was when we did a Sunset Snorkel tour through Manta Ray Sailing. We got picked up from our hotel and taken to a beach where we hopped in a small boat that took us to the Manta Ray Catamaran. Lila also did a day trip on her own to the Monteverde Cloud Forest where they also stopped at a coffee plantation and hummingbird sanctuary that she loved.

I felt so at home in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. I loved the Pura Vida (Pure Life) lifestyle that everyone lives by of not focusing on consumerism and owning things. It’s all about being positive, enjoying the little things in life and time with your friends and family, as opposed to a materialistic lifestyle. It really inspired me and I just felt like, “These are my people!” haha. I may even go back to Costa Rica for a few months next winter in my off-season, I loved it so much! I’m looking forward to photographing more weddings here as well.

Below: Flamingo Beach Resort in Playa Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, where we stayed.Doesn’t the below, right cliff look like a turtle?Sunset view from the Manta Ray Sailing snorkel tour we did. I highly recommend it!Playa Conchal beach! I did a Trash the Dress shoot here a couple years ago when I photographed a wedding in Guanacaste and it was great to come back. Instead of sand, part of it is made up of tiny little seashells. Gorgeous!The final stretch of road to the beach is… a beach. Haha. We walked the 2 shorts kms but lots of SUVs and horses passed us as well.Fishing with the Pelicans.Tamarindo, is an awesome surfer town in Guanacaste with lots of character.Time for a bunch of beautiful sunsets! There was a stunning sunset over Playa Flamingo beach literally every night we were there!