Cuba - Part 2 - Havana

	Tired of the cold and wind in Varadero, we took a day trip into Havana. The weather turned out to be much nicer there. Our tour guide was fabulous. Along the way, he told us about Cuba's history. Then, as we came upon them, showed
The view from the fort

us the landmark evidence of each. He also answered questions about everything from way of life to dangerous animals (according to the guide, the only dangerous animal on the island is the crocodile - no poisonous snakes, spiders, etc.)

The theme of the trip was rum, cigars, and the passing of ownership of Havana from hand to hand - pirates to imperialists, American mafia to current day (with many steps in between).

We learned about and purchased our cigars at "La Triada", a store inside the Fort across from Havana. This little store holds 4 Guinness records for World's Longest Hand-Rolled cigar. The longest of which was nearly 150 ft and resides in the glass case that snakes around the ceiling (this record was just recently broken in Tampa, FL). Like all Cuban hand-rolled cigars, this one was designed in such a way that the entire length of the cigar is identical. That way one could cut out any length from any spot and the quality would be just as high as any other.

Like most trades, not just anyone can roll a fine cigar. In order to roll any of the cigars available for purchase from a Cuban cigar shop, one must complete a 2 year university course followed by 2 apprenticeships: one with a junior roller, and one with a master, each 1 year in length. If my math is correct, that's at least 4 years of learning before one is good enough to roll a cigar for sale!

We learned about rum at the Rum Museum in Old Havana. Our guide talked about the barrels and processing methods, both historical and current. It was cheesy and touristy but still fun. Plus I now know how sugar is made.

At the end of the tour we were given a shot of their most popular rum - 7 year Havana Club. Rum aged for a shorter time is for mixing, 7 years and older is for drinking straight. As a novice drinker (and lover of flamboyantly fruity drinks) I was skeptical. However, I'm happy to report that it was Smooth (with a capital S). We brought back our maximum allowance of that stuff.

I also found the artwork that I liked the best in this bar. It was string knotted into sculpture and backlit with black lights. Very cool.


From a purely aesthetics standpoint, Havana is a major city just like any other - a mix of old and new, cobblestone and pavement, history and culture, strategic vegetation. There was a whole lot of road construction and building restoration going on while we were there. I'm assuming that's because we went off-season. I found the restoration effort interesting to watch because the older buildings are made from limestone and the restoration has to be done by hand. David was less interested because, being taller, he kept getting hit in the head with debris. I was also alone in favouring the wooden cobblestones over the stone ones. The wooden ones were installed to minimize horse & carriage noise during siesta.  

Cuba - Part 1

Introducing Canadian Fashion into Cuba
During the week we were in Cuba, the temperature hovered barely above freezing. During the day, the sheltered mercury showed anywhere from 8-15 degrees. At night it dipped down to around 3 degrees. The big problem, however, was the wind. It's windy there and the wind is cold!

Out of principle (and poor packing) we wore variations of shorts for most of the week. On top, with the absence of parkas, we opted for the tried-and-true layering method. David went with the t-shirt, fleece, then wind-breaker method. I instead chose light sweater, wind-breaker, fleece.

From the bus on the way to Havana

Bridge	University
Baseball Field	Fisherman's Warf

Meghan Cam

David's Opinion

Meghan: Daddy, which colour should I pick? I have blue, black, yellow, orange (pauses, looks at Daddy)
David: orange
Meghan: red, pink, white, brown (pauses, looks at Daddy)
David: okay that colour
Meghan: purple, green (pauses, looks at Daddy)
David: okay that colour
Meghan: what would happen if I mixed blue and green?

Santa Visit 2009

2008	2009

Here's the link to Meghan's first visit with Santa: http://schwindt.blogspot.com/2007/12/dear-santa.html

It seems 4 was the perfect age for a pleasant Santa Claus visit. This time around Meghan was excited to see Santa rather than suspicious of him. Also, she had a leisurely little chat with him rather than the rushed "take the picture so I can get my candy cane and get out of here" experience of past years.

Schwindt Family Gathering

Backyard Skating Rink

Now that winter has (hopefully) decided to stay, we started our skating rink. This year it will cover much of the yard rather than the small corner we went with previously. Many thanks to uncle Ryan for the big plastic bag for the base. We very much recommend it if your backyard slopes slightly like ours does.