Central America
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A Walking Tour Helped us Fall in Love with Old Havana | Review
Old Havana Walking Tour with Cuban Adventures I have a confession. Unlike most first-time visitors to Havana, I didn’t fall in love with this city. Far from it. Havana felt like a city stuck in its past, obsessed with its revolution. So when the hour hand struck twelve, and Yanet was nowhere to be found, I muttered “Cuban time” under my breath. I had to remind myself of the need to understand that punctuality is not a virtue that is keenly observed in this country. It happened a few days ago at Playa Giron, where we waited half an hour for our bus ride to the dive site, and just yesterday,…
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Afro-Cuban Religion Tour in Havana | Review
Some will tell you these are practitioners of black magic. You would see them on the streets of Havana. African women, dressed fully in white, with a glass-eyed black doll dressed in yellow between them. Juxtaposed by the immensely colourful backdrop of their set-up, they call out and beckon to you, asking to read your fortune. But, swindlers they are not. As with most things in Cuba, religion is a complicated affair. These women are practicioners of Santeria, the syncretic religion that has its roots steeped in Afro-Cuban history. Brought by the African slaves who were imported to Cuba from the 16th to 19th century, it is a fascinating practice…