MexicoCuba
Mexico Cuba 2006
Introduction
This is a holiday idea that I have been whinging (=winging) on about for some time now after the thouroughly (=thoroughly) excellent times I had in Peru and Egypt . The thought behind Mexico & Cuba 2006 is to combine the latin flavours of central america through the tequilla & salsa music with the ancient wonder of the pyramids. At the time of writing (February 2006) this is still simply an idea so the purpose of this page is to do some perelimenary (=preliminary) investigation into whather (=whether) the whole idea is possible at all --Tom
(You may think it's 'winging' Caz, but have you looked up 'define: winging' on Google? Hmm? Cos I'm not sure that's what Tom meant either...)
General Plan
Fly in to Mexico city, travel down to cancun (coach/rail) and over to Havana (Boat/Plane.)
Flights
We've booked our flights now, woohoo -
Outbound Flights
| From | To | Date and Time | Flight No | Class | Carrier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London - LHR | Paris - CDG | Fri 27th Oct 2006 13:05 - 15:15 | AF1571 | Class: Economy | Air France |
| Paris - CDG | Mexico City - MEX | Fri 27th Oct 2006 16:15 - 21:10 | AF434 | Class: Economy | Air France |
Return flights
| From | To | Date and Time | Flight No | Class | Carrier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Havana - HAV | Paris - CDG | Tue 14th Nov 2006 21:15 - 11:05 next day | AF479 | Class: Economy | Air France |
| Paris - CDG | London - LHR | Wed 15th Nov 2006 12:00 - 12:15 | AF1570 | Class: Economy | Air France |
Must see sights
- Teotithuacan
- Mexico city
- General Aztec/Mayan stuff
- Tequilla plantations
- Gulf of mexico coast
- Havana
- Tom, desperate, trying to order a cup of tea. In Spanish.
Moving around
Mexico
- Coach
- Rail?
- Chicken?
- Flight between Mexico and Cuba
There is an online currency converter here
Cuba
Unknown - Possibly not that much moving around as there are some nasty animals out there which bite and paralyse your legs. And if you have got no legs, say 'At least I have my arms'. And if you have got no arms and no legs, go 'At least I'm not dead!'. I'd rather be dead in that situation...bec...I've taken up yoga, for one.
Detailed Plan
Click on one of the below links to see a detailed plan of each leg of the journey.
MexicoCity to Palenque 27th Oct 9:15 pm - 2nd November 9:15pm
Palenque to Cancun (The Yucutan) 2nd November 9:15pm - 8th November 9:15pm
Cancun to Havana (Cuba) 8th November 9:15pm - 14th November 9:15pm
ToDo
Get jabs
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Polio
- Tetanus
- Yellow Fever (?)
- Malaria (?)
- Chicken 'flu (it's amazing what you can catch from an old joke-shop rubber chicken)
Tom - Had My jabs today, Oooo! I'm a laaaaadie! --Tom (21/09)
Matt'll be alright (that's if he remembers to apply sunblock)
Marc's ok too (or is he?)
Get insurance
Matt
Marc
Tom
Phew! I'm breathing a sigh of relief: a whole section just dedicated to simply, your names! In case we all forgot? Right, so can you clarify, so that's Matt, er...er...Daniel? Nathan? oh dear, I forgot!
Book Hotels
Matt (some)
Marc
Tom (some)
Cuba Visa
Matt
Marc
Tom
Haha, shame Tom's not called Luke or John, cause that'd be really funny! Get it? Mathew Marc Luke and John?? Hahahah!
Get some Mexican / Cuban / US Dollars
Matt (ordered but not picked up yet, couldn't get Cubans from Natwest!)
Marc (ordered but not picked up, not getting Cubans for now)
Tom -- US and Mex. (I have read that it is illegal to import or export Cuban currency and that US might be difficult in Cuba)
See FCO Cuba
What a cerfuffle!
Shopping for clothes / supplies
Matt
Marc
Tom
Oh dear, you're all blanked out in this section, what's the matter, cat got yer tongue?! Shopping's great - come ooon!
Other ToDo
- What to bring
- Who is bringing what
- Getting to the airport
- Print the Wiki
- Read what Elin wrote (!!)
- Watch Buena Vista Social Club or at least have a look on YouTube
- Try to learn a bit of Spanish
- Poo and wee our pants!
- And finally, bring back some nice, big presents for Caroline. And Elín. =). And Mum!!
Stuff what people paid for and who owes whom what
| Item | Paid by | Amount in Sterling |
|---|---|---|
| Havana hotel: Park View | Card | 204.26 |
| Varadero hotel: Kawama | Card | 226.88 |
| Item | Paid by | Amount in Sterling |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol for the hire car | Cash | MXN 240.00 |
| Cancun hotel | Cash | USD 60.00 |
| Item | Paid by | Amount in Sterling |
|---|---|---|
| Bus from Veracruz to Villahermosa | Card | £49.87 |
| Emporio Veracruz | Card | £84.46 |
| Flight from Cancun to Havana | Card | £271.20 |
I make that £405.53
Chit-chat
Matt ended up subbing us both our asses at the end so we owe him a shandy or two I recon --Thumb
Comments
Matt: According to Cyril & Nick at work, Cancun is "a hole", Americanised, touristy, Burger Kings... But a few miles south is a nice town... and also, a few miles off the coast of Mexico nr. Cancun is an isle, called isla.... something. Which translates as: Island of women!
Cancun: Who you calling a hole? A-hole!!
Matt: A friend of a colleague at work said that in Cancun: Senor Frog's is a fun place to go
Matt: Cyril said that a couple of miles from Palenque, there's a road that goes over a mountainous bit. On the way down, there is a river that's really clear/ blue. And also, near Cancun there's a lake that's linked to the sea underground.
Seems like Matt's really done his research. But what about the rest of ya? Slackers!
Recommended reading
The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz - insight into the Mexican psyche and outlines a lot of information about Mexican history. Short essays.
Innocent Erendira and other short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Short stories by the acclaimed Colombian writer. Innocent Erendira in particular is great for demonstrating Magical realism.
Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges - short stories from an excellent Argentinian writer. Matt will love The Library of Babel I would have thought, the Garden of Forking Paths and Death and the Compass are excellent as well.
You lil bookworms you!