Thomas Coram had travelled around the world as a sea captain and shipbuilder but, returning to London in 1720, he was shocked to see so many children lying dying on the capital’s streets. At a time when overseas trade was expanding fast, it was estimated that over one […]
“Save Norton Folgate,” shouts the large black print on a white banner flapping in the wind above a fine Georgian terrace a few minutes walk from Liverpool Street station. Four decades on from when Dan Cruickshank, Sir John Betjeman and many dedicated others fought a long hard battle […]
Before leaving for the airport, I went to have a look around Havana’s cathedral, a Cuban baroque building, with two vast towers and completed in 1787. Designed by Italian architect Francesco Borromini, it was described by the novelist Alejo Carpenter as “music set in stone” and is one […]
Wi-fi is hard to find in Cuba, with only tourist hotels offering their guests access at a premium price. Much more common is to see tourists queuing for creaking connections at state run cyber cafes, where some sites are blocked. Cubans are officially barred from having the Internet […]
When I told people I was coming to Cuba, most who had visited warned me about the terrible food I would eat. But dining out in Cuba, I was pleasantly surprised at the choice and quality of meals offer. The best ones that locals and guidebooks recommended were […]
There are hotels wherever you look in Varadero. Popular with tourists from around the world, the all-inclusive buffets and fine beaches at these (mostly) luxury establishments are all that many will see of Cuba during their break in the sun, especially if they land at the local airport. […]
Cuba was hit hard by the collapse of the Soviet Union. “I landed in a world that resembled the aftermath of a natural disaster or war,” wrote in an account of arriving in Havana in 1993 by Marc Frank in his excellent book Cuban Revelations. The journalist had […]
While most tourists head to beach resorts (and often don’t move from their sunbeds for a week or a fortnight!), travelling around Cuba can be really rewarding. If you do your research you can find you have a pristine white beach to yourself, as I found near Trinidad […]
Clambering up the 45 metre tower at Manaca Iznaga – where the wooden staircases creak in the wind – you are rewarded with a wonderful view. From the top platform, the open Valle de los Ingenios seems to stretch for miles. Today, many families live in this area […]
Che Guevara follows you around in Cuba. His stylised visage pops up on everything from t-shirts and billboards to bank notes and postcards as you travel across the Caribbean island. But nowhere is Che – the second in command to Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution – more […]
Past In The Present 