Music Port Festival

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Encompass Tours

Music Port is Whitby’s annual world music festival! Encompass Tours will be promoting its famous “Cuban Snapshot” and “Mi Cubita” tours and asking the question “What do you want from a Cuban Holiday?” All input from you the general public will be considered in planning our new tours and increasing our ability to satisfy your holiday dreams!

Join us from October 18th to 20th at the Whitby Pavilion for a “Journey through World Music” a holiday requiring No Visa or Passport!

Bring your dancing shoes and a thermos of tea for a beach party in the comfort of the Whitby Pavilion! For more information please download the flyer and poster from the links below.

Hope to see you there!

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A stroll down Obispo.Cuba

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Encompass Tours

Obispo is Havana’s Oxford Street!

Let’s take a stroll down Obispo! Turn your back on the central park and head down towards the harbour. Obispo acts as the main tourist route connecting the Parque Central to Plaza de Armas a stone’s throw from the bay of Havana.

On your right Bar Floridita professes to be “the cradle of Daquiri” and “one of the seven most famous bars in the world” it attracts crowds and is one of the many places Hemmingway left his mark! The romance of his novels and the many stories of his years spent enjoying the good life in pre revolution Cuba are legendary.

Take your time! There are many things to delight and surprise the eye, the ear and the nose!

The street has blossomed into a cacophony of bookshops, bars, money exchanges, home goods stores, pets in tiny cramped cages, tacky tourist trinkets, and numerous cafes with musicians supplying the background rhythms.

A couple of blocks on, the figure of Sancho Panza greets you on his mule and musicians play in the shade of some ruins converted into a restaurant and bar.

New relaxations in the laws have triggered a fast growth of small business and enterprising Cubans are making the most of their new opportunities. Tourists have become more abundant and more approachable and hustlers who have always been present now have licenses to offer their services! Tourist police patrol the designated tourist areas and Cuba is very safe for tourists.

If the heat is getting too much you might be feeling a bit thirsty. Why not pop into “Lluvia de Oro” for a coffee or a cocktail and imagine yourself back in the cold war days, a secret agent in Graham Green’s Film “Our Man in Havana”. It’s normally hot and the bars do well! Back out onto the street, music floats into your ears from all directions.

It’s impossible to walk down Obispo without being approached by someone to buy something, go to bar, visit a restaurant or part with some cash to feed a needy family. The choice is widening and Cubans are learning about competition!

Museums, tourist information, ice cream sellers, pizza sellers, opticians, artists’ studios/shops, shoe shops, clothing shops, flower sellers and Hotels.

Museums, mainly small, are everywhere! Many free to enter.

The famous Café Paris is small but great music is usually on the menu, whether you stop for a cerveza or a meal. On the walls are memorabilia and photos of the much loved “Caballero de Paris”

From here the aroma of baking will attract you in to Pastelaria San Jose and there is sure to be something sweet for a tasty snack.

You are now on the door step of Hotel Ambos Mundos Hemmingways favourite! The view from the roof terrace is worth a visit in the beautiful old lift!

Continue on past Mercaderes and you enter the colonial architecture of Plaza de Armas surrounding a park with some lovely Palms and flowering Frangipani trees. This Plaza is where second hand book sellers congregate. Beyond the glint of the sea can be seen below the huge fortifications defending the harbour!

If you would like to see it all for yourself, why not join us on tour this winter to enjoy Cuba at its best!

A Cuban Snapshot https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

Mi Cubita https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

To read more of our Cuban news posts please link to Cuban News Posts

Havana Aquarium, Miramar

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Encompass Tours

A Cuban family outing!

Its the weekend in Havana. The city is full of tourists sitting sipping Cuba Libre and Mojitas in old Havana’s street side restaurants and cafes.
The air is hot and the breeze from the sea is only slightly cooling!
Young men and children plunge into the sea as it laps against the walls of the Malecon, down by the harbour these brave young men are delighting in the freshness and excitement that being in the sea brings. The only way to learn to swim is to take the plunge in the open sea!!

Cuban families living in Havana don’t have many options for days out!
Going anywhere costs money and there is no sandy beach in Havana city for a cheap beach party.

Havana does have an Aquarium in Miramar and that can certainly entertain the family group!
The entrance is cheap and there are buses that stop outside the gates!

Sadly not much information about the animals housed inside is displayed! It’s a case of looking, watching, asking friends if they know what names of the creatures are in the tanks, or even drawing some and finding out at school next week!

Highlights are the shows! Dolphins and Sea Lions jump through hoops and balance balls on their noses while the crowds cheer and laugh in the blazing sun.

Turtles seems to thrive in the murky waters of the central pond but their lives are not unmolested! Poked and prodded they endure manhandling from the children who know no better and from adults who should know better! Guards sleep in the shadows….

Wild Pelikans drop by for a snooze in the shade, but they are freeagents!!

If you are a tourist you can take the Hop On Hop off bus tour and spend some time at the Aquarium or take a taxi!

Tourist price is in CUC convertible pesos locals in MN moneda nacional.

Have you tried our virtual bus tour? Click on this link to Hop on the bus!
https://encompasstours.com/2013/04/virtual-havana-bus-tour/

Why not join us on tour and see Cuba for yourself

A Cuban Snapshot 7 day holiday
https://encompasstours.com/tours/cuba/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

Mi Cubita 14 day holiday
https://encompasstours.com/tours/cuba/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Virtual Havana Bus tour!

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Encompass Tours

Join us for encompass tours virtual Hop-on Hop-off bus tour of Havana, Cuba

Got your camera, water, sunscreen, sunglasses, money and maybe a snack??? Yes? “Listo?” Ready? Then let’s go…….
This is your Hop – on Hop – off bus tour of the major attractions of the city of Havana!
Keep your ticket in a safe place, it is valid all day and will be inspected every time you hop on or off!! Remember you can get off at any stop and there will be another bus to pick you up in about 20minutes!!!

As we are staying in a lovely casa (BnB) in Havana Vieja, we are “hoping-on” in Parque Central just opposite Hotel Inglaterra and Café Francesa. https://encompasstours.com/2012/09/coffee-break-havana/ This small park is surrounded by some of the most popular hotels of old Havana. Shiny new ones like Hotel Parque Central and not quite so shiny old ones like Hotel Inglaterra and Telegrafo.

The best seats for city views are on the top deck, so cover up with sunscreen or you will burn quickly in the sun!!

We are off!! Down Prado towards the Malecon, passing the Museum of the Revolution housed in the old Batista palace (recently restored) and a fascinating “must do” visit in itself!

The city’s historians have realised the value of the old architecture to the tourist industry and attempts are being made to re build. Restoration of some of the crumbling facades is underway, but for some of the decaying buildings, fronting the malecon, weathered by the sea spray and the winds; it’s too late and they are being torn down. The malecon is always a popular place for Cubans and tourists alike. https://encompasstours.com/2013/02/life-on-the-malecon/

Our tour bus stops to pick up people from various hotels en route, then we arrive at the first stop of real interest; Plaza de la Revolucion. This expansive plaza was built to celebrate culmination in 1959 of the revolutionary struggle for Cuba led by Fidel Castro.

Castro used the plaza to make countless public addresses to the masses in praise of the revolution over the years, but more recently this enormous plaza has been used for non political musical events. Famously the free concert in 2009 given by many of Latin Americas most famous and popular stars. This concert was attended by a staggering one tenth of the population of the island and astounded the authorities who struggled to provided security and support!!!

Next stop the Miramar trade centre with a good view of the coast and National Aquarium!

Castro announced the Aquarium would be “the best in the world”, but if you do hop off for a visit you will see it has a long long way to go! It’s mainly a day out for Cuban families who have not heard of animal rights or welfare, and sadly there is little information about the lovely fish that are housed here. Turtles are abundant and there are shows daily of trained of dolphins and sea lions who seem to be well fed!

Winding through busy streets, a bus ride is a great way to see life going on in this extraordinary city where most buildings seem to be half ruined. Everyone going about their business.

The CDR and Huge political hoardings remind Cuban’s to be uphold the revolution and this one at the gates of the cities cemetery Cementario Colon broadcasts the words Jose Marti https://encompasstours.com/2012/05/in-search-of-cubas-national-symbols/ We can hop off here and explore the maze of magnificent tombs within the yellow walls, but If it’s not your thing stay on the bus!!

Heading back towards the old part of the city our bus returns to the Capitolio (now closed and being restored) and the Gran Teatro de la Habana, the majestic grand theatre, which is certainly worth a visit. You can take a guided tour for 2 or 3cuc. If you want to come back in the evening to catch a performance that will cost you tourist price of 25cuc upwards great value!

More or less the last port of call on our bus tour is the Castillo de la Real Fuerza. These fortifications are situated at the entrance to Plaza de Armas and were listed in a UNESCO world heritage site as part of Old Havana and Fortifications. If you look up at the watch tower you will notice a familiar figure, La Giraldilla, this one is a copy, but she is the symbol seen now on every bottle of Havana Club!!

In the magic and romance of the old city, maybe it’s time to Hop off for one last time and explore! Find a nice bar to enjoy a cocktail before dinner and digest all you have seen!!

Why not join us for a real tour this year and take your own fotos!

“A Cuban Snapshot” https://encompasstours.com/tours/cuba/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

“Mi Cubita” https://encompasstours.com/tours/cuba/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Dr Triolet’s Cuban love affair!

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Encompass Tours

One Frenchman’s love affair with Cuba!

Go back in time to the late 1800’s. The science of Pharmacy is young and there are many discoveries to make and many ailments and diseases to cure! Dr Juan Fermin Figueroa Velis of Cuba, invites his newly graduated, French Pharmacist friend, Dr Ernesto Triolet Teliebre to visit. The friends decide to set up in practice together in Matanzas and Ernest asks to marry Juan’s sister Maria Justa! The two men dedicate their lives to their pharmacy which became famous and is now open to the public as a museum.

Ernesto and Juan worked together establishing the pharmacy in Matanzas which was famous throughout Cuba in its day. The “Botica la Francesa” as it was then called has today been re invented as the Pharmacy Museum, “Museo Farmacéutico” and it is well worth a visit!

The guided tour can be enjoyed in a variety of languages and the items on display are beautifully cared for and preserved in the manner of a working pharmacy and dispensary. The enthusiastic guides will explain how the medicines were made and you can see the tools and the recipe books for potions and powders administered to the people of Matanzas. Adornments such as a beautiful porcelain vase with portraits of the husband and wife are proudly displayed above the sales counter, as is a statue in marble of the Virgin of Conception protecting the establishment.

Hundreds of labels and boxes are on show behind glass. Original tools and cabinets are still full of medicaments in use at the time of its heyday, and the ancient “on Duty” lamp outside, (which used to indicate when the pharmacy was operational,) is said to mysteriously come on from time to time as a reminder of the past!?

Ernesto kept up to date with pharmaceutical trends and did his own research. His personal library is testament to his enthusiasm and dedication to his profession. He took some of his products to the Paris World Exposition in 1900 where he won a bronze medal, sadly he never returned to his beloved Cuba and his family as he died on December 19^th 1900 in France of a heart attack.

Dolores Triolet

Sadly Ernesto’s marriage to Maria Justa was short lived as she died at a very young age, but his friend Juan’s daughter, Maria de los Dolores accepted his offer and became his second wife. Dolores was one of the first Cuban women to graduate in pharmacy in New York and after the death of her husband she continued the work of the pharmacy in Matanzas, outliving him by many years!

The couple had three children and the youngest Ernesto Triolet Figueroa ran the pharmacy until it closed in 1964 and re opened as a museum a few months later. Ernesto the younger continued to care for the museum until his death in 1975.

Why not join us in Cuba this year and explore the fascinating history of this island of immigrants and pioneers that has so many stories to tell!!?

A Cuban Snapshot 7 days tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

Mi Cubita 14 days tour
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Encompass Tours

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