I just returned from leading a tour in Cuba, where my group had the opportunity to see the world’s smallest bird, the bee hummingbird. As its name suggests, this miniscule flier is scarcely bigger than a bumblebee. Its Spanish name, zunzuncito, captures something of the whirring of its tiny wings as it darts through the air …
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’ve been thinking back over the romantic scenes I’ve encountered during my travels. One that comes to mind is from a tour I led to Cuba a couple of years ago. I was walking near the main plaza of Trinidad with some members of my group when we saw a …
I was wandering along Havana’s famous seaside boulevard, the Malecón, when I spotted a group of young men enjoying themselves jumping from the seawall into Havana Harbor. They would start on the opposite side of the street, wait for a moment without traffic, and then run across the road, leap onto the wall, and launch …
Remember dominoes? The game with the little white tiles with the black dots may not get a whole lot of play these days in the U.S., but in Cuba it’s still hugely popular. At tables on sidewalks and in plazas, players plot their next moves, while spectators gather round to watch the action or just …