Encuentro de Amigos de Partagas 2016

                   November came and went once again as did the Partagas Encuentro. It's time to countdown for the next one. As always, it promised to be an entertaining endeavor and in that aspect it did not disappoint. The family at Partagas are always concerned about what the guests think but it's always with respect to venue, food and at times the entertainment booked for the occasion. Nothing is ever perfect and the Partagas Encuentros are no exception but the difference between regular people, or customers, and ourselves, is that; we don't care much about the food...just feed us, the wine...just keep poring, the entertainment....most of us aren't paying attention. Just give us a venue where we can all get together in one spot and smoke cigars with our friends from around the world who we only get to see once a year in most cases and everything else is secondary. You make it cost effective by giving us enough cigars who's value (in our countries of origin) is the equivalent to the price of the ticket. I won't get into what the flaws of the different events may have been because the positive far outweighs the negative. The people at Partagas did a great job of hosting the largest crowd ever and as always made us feel like part of the family. I have been coming to these events since 2005 and although my reasons may be different today, the core purpose has remained the same. I want to have a good time with my Cuban family and friends. For those of you who haven't partaken in one yet, I highly recommend it.
                     This year the Bienvenida was held at the Habana Café nightclub in the Hotel Melia Cohiba. The usual Cuban show took place with dancers and a large band playing the music. My friend Amir celebrated his birthday on that day and the Partagas crew brought out a cake for him....and everyone smoked cigars. The Beach day was held at the Club Havana in Miramar, what used to be the Havana Biltmore Yacht & Country Club. I don't usually do the beach day anymore but I love this venue so decide to take part. The day was a little chilly for Cubans but it was a perfect for us snowbirds. A light snack was served when we arrived in the morning and lunch in a grand salon later in the day....and everyone smoked cigars. I didn't make it to the Country Event which took place at the Hector Luis Farm but I did go by to visit Hector before everyone arrived later that morning. I know everyone had a good time....and I'm sure everyone smoked cigars. The Gala Dinner on the Friday night was held at the Hotel Habana Libre in the Salon on the second floor. The food was good, the venue looked great and the auction shorter (I went to reserve seats at the Hotel Nacional patio)....and everyone smoked cigars.

PS......I want to give a thanks to friends of mine who donated a couple of photographs to round out this post....Thanks Guys.

Habana Café nightclub in the Hotel Melia Cohiba

Club Havana in Miramar

Hector Luis Farm

The Rum for the table at the Gala Dinner

Hotel Habana Libre

Bloody Caesars Have Arrived in Cuba

                   During my last couple of trips, maybe around a years time, I've been noticing more and more, a product on the shelves of most store coolers. I can't miss it because it's practically next to beer. There must be a lot of it on the island because some shops have a whole shelf dedicated to it. It's sold in cans the same size as a canned beer or soft drink. At first glance it looks like tomato juice or at least something tomato-like. The name always made me wonder...."Kermato", made me think of "Clamato". One day I picked-up a can and read the ingredients, besides all of the herbs & spices & the usual chemical jargon which I hardly understand in English (never-mind Spanish), there it was among the list, 20% jugo de tomato and almeja (clam). Upon closer inspection it was right there under the word Kermato in slightly smaller letters "coctel de Tomate y Almeja" (Tomato and Clam Cocktail).  This was a knockoff of Clamato Juice, produced by The Nestlé company & made in Mexico (if I'm not mistaken). I mixed it with some Stoli I got from the corner store for $16cuc and the Worcestershire sauce I brought from home and there it was, a Bloody Caesar in Cuba. I was getting into Gin & Tonics this last year, since three varieties of tonic water are now easier to find, schweppes being one of them. Many varieties of Gin are available today now that Gin & Tonics are the 'in' drink with the hip & affluent (monied) Cuban crowd. You can even find Hendricks Gin on some bar shelves and in some Supermarkets. It's nice having another Cocktail option while smoking a cigar on my terrace in Havana, I can only drink so much Rum & Beer. Cheers

Bus Stops of Cuba

                I live in Toronto, Canada and here in my country as I'm sure it's the same in other similarly wealthy and organized countries, our bus stops are uniform and immaculate. We have people paid for by the city that go around and maintain them, wash the glass, change the advertising, sweep and clean. Most of our bus stops (not all) are covered and somewhat enclosed from the elements. When I began to travel to Cuba I was always fascinated by it's bus stops, a curious mishmash of metal and concrete with one hardly ever being the same as another. Today they've become commonplace when I scan the streets while going from one place to another but I often think, what's the reason for their style of construction and how often do buses actually stop there. At first I laughed to myself thinking that the reason for them being built so firmly (concrete and metal) was so Cubans wouldn't steal the parts to use for the construction of additions to their own properties. However, I owe a small apology for having those thoughts. Although I still believe that may be part of the reason, after the last hurricane that hit Cuba this past month, another reason for their sturdiness could also be so that the high winds don't take take them away. As far as when the bus actually stops there, only Cubans know the answer to that, and just barely. No signs are posted by the stops giving you the bus schedule and if you ask Cubans they'll tell you it's never on time and when it finally arrives it's always packed. I'm glad that the only bus I take in Cuba is the Via Azul from one city to another and for the most part they're usually on time and air-conditioned, but you pay for that, public transportation is free or close to it in Cuba. Below are pictures of Bus Stops taken from different parts of the country.