Conozcan a Sergio Arboleda. Sergio descubrió que su hijo Andres sufre síndrome de Down tres días después que nació. El no sabia nada de esta enfermedad y empezó a entender que significa para su hijo y para su familia. Con la ayuda de dos extranjeros, maestros trabajando con niños discapacitados, le ayudaron a entender. Le dieron un libro sobre el síndrome que todavía tiene. Llevo a Andres a una clínica especializada en Loja que le ayudaron con algunas técnicas de terapia.

Hoy Andre tiene 11 anos y el ayuda a su mama y papa a hacer las artesanías que venden a l0s turistas. Un préstamo de FACES de baja taza de interés ayuda a la familia para que crezca su micro-empresa y permite durante todo el día que alguien este en casa para cuidar a Andres. Andres sonrío cuando le encontré y el se emociono mucho cuando su padre toco una canción en uno de sus instrumentos musicales hechos a mano.

Les encontré a Sergio y a Andres cuando estaba trabajando para la fundación Grameen. Me asignaron a FACES por una semana, una organización de micro-finanzas en Loja Ecuador. FACES es una organización pequeña que ofrece prestamos a los Ecuatorianos que no tienen recursos bancarios. La organización hace su trabajo con un objetivo social muy importante; generar empleos para sus clientes.

Me ha interesado durante mucho tiempo la industria de las micro-finanzas y me uní a un programa de la fundación Grameen que se llama ‘banqueros sin fronteras’ hace nueve meses. Los estudios mas recientes sobre las micro finanzas tratan de si la industria ayuda los clientes a mejorar su nivel de pobreza o no. Yo queria verlo por mi misma. El proyecto en Ecuador me pareció perfecto – en español y he ido una vez a Ecuador y por lo tanto sabia que me sentirá muy cómoda con los ecuatorianos.

Tenia razón. Loja es conocido por su ambiente tranquilo y por su gente amable. Es un pueblo pequeño, de 200 000 habitantes, largo y entendido del norte hasta el sur con cerros verdes por todos lados. Esta entre dos rios que dan espacios verdes a la ciudad. La ciudad es antigua, una de las primeras en Ecuador, establecido en 1548. Hay varias plazas lindas, iglesias bonitas y casas coloniales pintadas en diversos colores en el centro.

Tambien hay dos parques – el parque Jipiro en el norte y el parque Lineal en el sur. Vale la pena visitar las dos. Hay una colección de edificios de todos los continentes del mundo en el parque Jipiro mientras que el parque Lineal es mas tranquilo y allí los lojanos hacen ejercicios. Hay varios lugares de donde puede verse toda la ciudad y el valle con sus hermosos cerros verdes.

Me quedo en el hotel de San Sebastian, limpio y barato. La comida en Loja es muy rica. Muchos de los restaurantes sirven almuerzos – una sopa, pollo o puerco y algo dulce. Cuestan $2-3 – una ganga! Recomiendo también el restauran Mar y Cuba que ofrecen ceviches riquísimos. Después vaya al bar el Viejo Minero. Tiene un ambiente tranquilo, música buena y copas de vino chileno a $1.50! Resulta difícil irse. Igual que de Ecuador.

Este artículo también está disponible en Inglés.

Meet Sergio Arboleda. Sergio first learned that his son Andres had Downs Syndrome three days after his birth. Never having heard of this condition he set out to learn about what this diagnosis meant for his son and his family. With the help of some foreigners who worked as special needs teachers he began to come to terms with the news. They gave him a book about the syndrome which he proudly still has. He started taking Andres to a specialized clinic in Loja which helped them with various therapies.

Now aged 11 Andres helps his mother and father make handicrafts which they make to sell to passing tourists. A low interest loan from FACES has helped the family grow their own home business which ensures that someone from the family is always at home with Andres to take care of him. Andres was smiling broadly when I met him and was visibly thrilled as his father took up one of his home made musical instruments and started to play. My attempt was not met with the same delight!

I met Sergio and Andres working for the Grameen Foundation. I was assigned to spend a week on the ground with FACES, a micro-finance institution based in Loja, Ecuador. FACES is a small organization which offer loans to low income Ecuadorians without access to credit. They link their products to a strong social mission to reduce poverty by supporting employment opportunities for their clients.

I have long been interested in micro-finance and became a member of Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders PPI reserve corps nine months ago, desperate to see its work on the ground. Recent news flow around the micro-finance industry questioning its ability to meaningfully reduce poverty only made me more impatient. The issues around micro-finance and poverty reduction are the cutting edge of the industry which is something I am proud to be a part of. This project in Ecuador was my perfect match. First it was in Spanish and I had also been to Ecuador once before and knew I would feel at home among the Ecuadorians.

I was not wrong. Loja is known in Ecuador for its warm atmosphere and friendly people, a reputation it lived up to. It is a small, narrow, town of about 200,000 inhabitants, running north to south and flanked by rising green hills on all sides. It is split between two rivers which provide a pleasant spot of greenery in the city center. The town is old, one of the first to be settled in Ecuador in 1548. It is home to a number of attractive squares framed by pastel colored churches and colonial columned houses.

There are two recreation areas, one to the north (parque Jipiro) and another to the south (parque Lineal). Both are well worth a visit. The first has a collection of model buildings representing every continent and the latter is more tranquil and acts as the city’s exercise ground. There are a few good city viewing points to the east and west which allow a wide view of the valley. The surrounding valleys only get more remote and are even more beautiful with their soft rolling hills.

I stayed at the pleasant though nondescript Hotel San Sebastian which was clean and good value. Although not famous for its cuisine I ate very well in Loja. Most eateries serve ‘almuerzo’ which is a set lunch menu usually including a soup, choice of a chicken or pork dish and topped off with something sweet. For $2-3 these are the best deals in town. For a more upscale dinner option Mar y Cuba comes highly recommended, serving delicious ceviche and fish dishes. Finish the evening at the Viejo Minero – a gem of a bar. It has a relaxed atmosphere, good music and with Chilean red at $1.50 a glass it can be hard to leave! The same goes for Ecuador.

For more information about the project please visit:

http://ppiproject.wordpress.com/

http://www.razoo.com/story/Bankers-Without-Borders-Progress-Out-Of-Poverty

This article is also available in Spanish.

Darjeeling

We flew out to Darjeeling via Bagdogra and took a jeep up into the hills. The air was fresh and crisp. The road was narrow, steep and windy and the hills covered with tea bushes which we saw being picked en route.  It was a slow drive – but the villages we passed through and the scenery helped pass the time. As we passed the Nepal border adorned with brightly colored flags we felt close to the mountains. Our anticipation grew. We pulled into Darjeeling, a town built of cascading houses on stilts, carved into the hillside. We made the Elgin hotel our home falling for its old world British charm, which made up for its disappointing food.

Darjeeling was something of a family pilgrimage for us. Both my grandfathers had spent time at this British retreat hill station when they were posted in East Asia in the late 1940s. They had both told tales of this town to their children; mum vividly remembering her dad talk of seeing the imposing Kanchenjunga on the skyline, and my dad’s dad of Chowrasta and the ponies that gathered there. Knowing both my grandfathers had walked these same streets made exploring this town all the more special.

The people here look distinct – warm looking with wide rosy cheeks and narrow eyes, and bundled up in blankets and animal fir. Hardy and fit for mountain life. The Himalayas dominate life here – the town home to Tenzing Norgay (Sherpa with Edmund Hillary on his 1953 expedition to Everest) who is a local hero. The mountaineering institute brings this and many more expeditions to life, its a treasure trove of mountaineering history. It is inside the zoo which is a nice stop on the way.

Our attempts to glimpse the mountains themselves were dashed on more than one occasion. We walked up to the viewing platform on Chowrasta, taking a picture of the ponies, but the mountains remained shrouded in cloud. Next we took the toy train – a UNESCO world heritage site – and a train lover’s delight. It runs on a two foot track, alongside the main hillside road, at present only as far as Kurseong . The train is slow and rickety, built in 1879-81. It has a coal fired steam engine, toot toot!, and I was sure it had not changed one bit since my grandfathers were here. It has two dinky carriages, which you can just about stand up in, first class and second class! If you want to spend time at Batasia loop, which on a clear day (not ours!) offers unsurpassed views of the Himalayas take the tourist train which does a loop. We got off in Ghum and walked back along Tenzing Norgay road – ask the locals for the turn! Its a lovely walk along the backside of the hill – littered with small villages and you pass a beautiful monastery perched on the hill.

By now we had been enveloped in cloud for three days without so much as a glimpse of the Himalayas which had such an impact on my grandfather. In a last ditch attempt we joined the huddled masses at Tiger Hill – a viewing spot another 400ft up the hillside – at 5am. I would suggest buying a ticket for the building unless you want to freeze and many cups of the sweet milky coffee on sale. We waited. The sky was brightening and we were staring so hard into the clouds that we were seeing things. Then suddenly, rising above the clouds stood the tip of Kanchenjunga, lit by the warm glow of the early pink sun. Mesmerizing and one of those moments you snap a still of in your mind to have for a lifetime. Here’s to you grandad.

Varanasi

Varanasi was our next stop, and a world apart from Darjeeling. A holy city, it is a place of tradition, ritual and pilgrimage. The main focus of the town is the Ganges with many temples, ghats, lining its shore. In the morning men come down at sunrise to bathe in its lukewarm waters. The women wash clothes and boat men take tourists on trips into the murky river. The town has special significance in Hinduism since if you die here your soul goes straight to Nirvana, breaking the cycle of reincarnation. There was a mixture of relief and inner peace in the people we met here for this fact, they feel lucky that they will die here. After death, the bodies are swathed in cloth (white for men and red for women) and carried down to the waters edge to be blessed with the holy water. In public view the bodies are brought up to the cremation ghats. The air is thick with incense, ashes and the smell of sandalwood. The families gather, comforting each other in their grief. It is a curiously uncomfortable sight for those of us who treat death and grief as so very private.

Back from the shore line, Varansi is a bustling town. It is made up of a maze of narrow alleyways no more than 2 ft wide but room enough for the bikes, cows and carts to roam at will. We stayed just back from the shore at the Kautilya Society Residence which was clean and friendly and fed us often. We had some of our best food anywhere here in Varanasi. Start with a sample of the wonderful sweets sold at the entrance of the old town and do not miss the Blue Lassi, one of those rare lonely planet havens which deserves its accolades. The seasonal lassis were among the best we had and my favorite du jour was the apple. VSB was a local favorite where a whole thali (meal) costs $1 and was both filling and delicious. Many of the restaurants will also make and pack up sandwiches for you which beats the offerings available at the station.

The garment district in the largely Muslim part of town is well worth a visit to see the saris being made by hand. The material patterns are hammered into the pattern board which then gets fed into the sewing machine which is worked using foot pedals to stitch the silk. A wedding sari can take a single maker six weeks or more. We also spent the morning at a local school supported in full by the German Bakery cafe. Catering to backpackers missing home the food doesn’t live up to much and is expensive but their help with our local itinerary more than made up for it. The school was a highlight as we spent the morning teaching the children about Christmas, trying to explain Christmas trees and holly.

The end

Before we knew it, our cross continental India trip had come to an end. We had been surprised, welcomed and enraged. Defining one’s first experience of India has stumped many an author. I found India dirty, busy and struggling. Traveling in India is hard work, it takes it out of you. Yet India is also giving and friendly. It is warm-blooded, full of life and unapologetic human energy. I can only say India left an indelible mark. We will most definitely be back.

Agra

We chose not to stay in Agra itself but hired a driver from Jaipur to go for the day. Be sure to leave early if you don’t stay overnight to beat the crowds. We arrived at the Taj Mahal at 930am and there was no queue. In the winter fog season it makes little sense to do the sunrise tour. Take a guide to fill you in on the well rehearsed anecdotes and take the ‘essential’ photos. Give yourself extra time to wander the grounds at your own pace afterward, else it can feel a bit rushed.

It does not matter how many times you have seen pictures of the Taj Mahal, standing in front of the building herself stops you dead. The effect of the white marble against the sky backdrop is transcendent. The site is at the same time both bigger and smaller than you imagine, the mausoleum itself is a narrow dome while the main building is flanked by four towers and many other buildings, one is the mosque. The attention to detail in the design was extraordinary, using inlay techniques for the precious stone designs.

Agra’s Red Fort gives you another view of the Taj Mahal, where the king who had it built was imprisoned, to see his creation only though a haze from his window. He must have wondered if it was a mirage. The fort itself, if rather overshadowed by the Taj Mahal is well worth a visit. Its red sandstone facade and greenery makes a sharp contrast to the cold white of the Taj Mahal. It had a large military role but also was the palatial home of many rulers with their white marble living quarters clearly visible in the center.

Ranthambhore

We ended our Rajasthan tour in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Home to a rare, silent, India. We stayed at the Ranthambore Regency which we would highly recommend for its service and value. Pack in as many safaris as you can – we did four over three days. We were extremely unlucky not to see a Tiger but this is the wild. There are many more sightings in the summer when sources of drinking for the Tigers get more scarce so consider this in your timing. Despite our disappointment we thoroughly enjoyed the safaris. The terrain was beautiful and each track was diverse – sandy or hilly, scrub land or wooded. We saw many different species of wildlife including crocodiles, turtles, samba deer and many many birds; owls, vultures, kingfisher among them. The safari was a break from our holiday and showed us another side of India altogether. The air was still and we were engulfed by the sounds of the jungle, not the people.

Delhi

My first sense of India was stepping out of the new modern metro and down onto the street. It was there she launched her first attack on my senses. The sights and smells and the rising din. Bicycles, stacked high with family members or brown packages, taxis, speeding tuk tuks, limbs hanging out of buses, cars and wooden carts pulled by starving cows all merged into the traffic. We tried to take the route through the market to the amusement of the residents, the smell of chickens, fruits and roasting nuts. Then came to crossing the road, a rushing torrent with no way across. Somehow we made it, luggage and all. Just that gave us the rush of achievement. Then through a hidden door we stepped into our wonderful family run oasis, Shanti home.

Delhi is a run down city of fading grandeur. Connaught place, the city’s focal point, was a construction site, and mostly empty although the United Coffee House is worth a recommendation for dinner. The main tourist sites of the city were definitely worthwhile. We began with Qu’tb Minar – one of the first founding sites of the city. The imposing minar itself is quite a sight and the encompassing complex a pleasant and interesting place to wander around. Another favorite was Raj Ghat – the memorial site for Mahatma Gandhi. It was a very modest place, perfectly fitting with a serious air. The Lotus temple is a newer addition to Delhi’s architecture and it really stands apart. A bah’ia temple it is modeled on a lotus flower. Its surrounding pools of water add to its tranquility. P.S. It is a good idea to carry a bag to put your shoes in for all of these sites.

We rounded off our day in Delhi at dinner graciously hosted by friends. A glorious Indian feast which gave us a taste of the hospitality and warmth we would come to appreciate all over India.

Jaipur

Jaipur, the pink city, was the city in which we felt most at home, so named for the pink hue the buildings give off as they bask in the afternoon sun. The center of town is a giant bazaar laid out in a square, each side hawking a different ware. There is sari street filled with women stocking up on clothing and textiles, the jewellery street filled with precious stones and gold, the flower market resplendent with floral garlands, the food street selling chillies and spices which gave the flower market a run for its money in its colorful spread. Last but by no means least, dad’s favorite, was hardware street with strands of loose copper wire piled high and more nuts and bolts than Dad could ever imagine or I need. A wonderful stroll to while away an afternoon. To keep your energy levels up pop into LMB for a snack – their samosas were the best we had and you can eat them in the open shop area as you eye up the bewildering array of sweets on offer. Try the ladoo.

The Raj Mandir is an absolute must. Get tickets early (same day) to the left of the theatre (top tip: it helps if you write down the show time and how many tickets you want) and then come back about half an hour before showtime to ensure you have some time inside to take in the extravagant décor and get your popcorn. Take your seats on time since the show starts promptly with no previews and you do not want to miss the drawing of the velvet curtain accompanied by rapturous applause. Audience participation is encouraged. Don’t be worried about not being able to understand what is going on, we had no knowledge of Hindi and there were no subtitles but we understood 90% of the movie. Firstly, you can bet you have seen the plot b­efore and the slow pace and regular use of English phrases is more than sufficient to allow you to follow along with ease. After the show, let it sink in over a delicious lassi around the corner.

Set a full day aside to visit Amber Fort. And go as early as you can to avoid the rush. A taxi takes about 30 minutes from town for 120R. Always use the pre-paid taxi booths at stations if you can as they were always cheaper than hailing one. Else bargain hard and stick resolutely to a fair price. The sandy colored fort is surrounded by a hilltop fortified wall which towers above. Amber Fort lies about half way up the hillside and was the palatial home to the ruling king. Jaigarh fort, perched above on the ridge, acted as its military defense and is also well worth a visit.

But first Amber Fort. The elephants trumpeting up to the imposing entrance gate helps transport you back in time. The elephants are majestic, all individually decorated in their Sunday best as they march through the gate to deliver their guests in the fort’s first courtyard. Upon entering the fort the site is a maze of palatial rooms, many intricately decorated showcasing a fine attention to detail. It is not hard to imagine the decadence in which these residents lived; seeing them dancing in their finery in the room coated with silver leaf or taking a wistful afternoon stroll through the peaceful rooftop garden. The fort exuded a sense of privilege and peace, in stark contrast to Jaigarh fort above. The day visitors tend just go to Amber Fort and leave but I strongly recommend taking the 10 minute trek up the hill. Jaigarh fort is red, crumbling and much more basic, and stern, in design. Its walls are particularly discouraging. It was here that the barracks were based, and where the royal family retreated if Amber fort was ever threatened. You can wander around the fort freely and the views are breathtaking. The decadence of Amber Fort clearly came at a cost, fiercely protected by the soldiers above. A wonderful day trip into Raj history. We took the bus back to town by following the locals onto the main road.

Another highlight of Jaipur was the Jantar Mantar observatory. A collection of sun clocks built long before their time the site offers unique insight into the scientific legacy of India. There are a collection of different clocks and instruments used to map the stars and understand the universe. You can even find the constellation representing your star sign. I would take the tour if astronomy isn’t your strong point.

During our stay in Jaipur we stayed at the truly wonderful home from home Rawla Rawatsar  where we were treated like family. Its conveniently located close to the Sindi Camp bus station and Handi restaurant which comes highly recommended.

Before you go

1. Plan on delays. When putting together your itinerary, give yourself plenty of time. Our trains were delayed anything from 3 to 13 hours each. It helps if you are aware of potential breaks in your plan if the journey takes double the scheduled time. Remember delays multiply if you are meeting the train en route. The farther along the line the train is from its starting destination the more likely delays become.
2. Trade up. You will not regret booking first class – it doesn’t cost much more and the extra privacy is well worth it. If first class isn’t available book the highest class you can. Do not be tempted to book sleeper class just because you believe nothing travel throws at you can phase you. This just might.

3. Book in advance. We used cleartrip which was the only site at the time accepting non Indian credit card payments without needing an Indian mobile phone number (though this appears to have changed recently to match requirements by IRCTC). The cleartrip site is often down but do persevere, with patience we were able to book all our required journeys. Do not expect much in the way of customer service, our enquiries to the customer service team were met with excuses or silence.

4. Cancelling is easy. One of the reasons for over booking is the ease of canceling a ticket, you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for the maximum refund. For this reason many people have multiple tickets and then just take the best tickets they have on the day and cancel the rest. It’s a handy option.

5. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. If you can’t find availability on the route you are looking for, try playing around by looking for a destination further along the route than you plan to get off. These often show up as available. Remember you can get off a train earlier than you have paid for but its a lot more difficult to get on it later than you intended to. Also useful is to cross check cleartrip with IRCTC – this site can be easier to navigate to find the information you need.

6. RAC versus waitlist. If you don’t succeed in getting a confirmed reservation then you are often left with an RAC or waitlist reservation. If you take an RAC reservation you can board the train (although you are not guaranteed a berth to sleep in). With a waitlist ticket you have to wait until it becomes an RAC or confirmed seat before you can board the train. The PNR number is the key. Each reservation has its own 10 digit PNR number which you will need to check the status of your reservation, easiest on the IRCTC website. Here’s the rub. If you are wait-listed 2 or 10 (as high as we were although you can be wait-listed in the 100+) your status doesn’t move as your trip approaches. You don’t get a good sense of how likely you are to get a confirmed seat. The movement all happens 24 hours before the scheduled departure or even the day of, when the seats being saved for a variety of officials I.e. military, dignitary personnel are given up if not used and added to the pool. Suddenly your reservation jumps from its original booking slot as far up the list as it is going to go. If our experience is any indication we got confirmed seats for all our reservations – the highest wait-list reservation we had was WL10.

On the ground

7. Use local agents. These can be a good way to avoid the booking chaos at the railway station. Most local travel agents charge 75R per ticket to make reservations. While this is 50R more than cleartrip charges it can be cheaper than the taxi fare to the station and it helps reduce the communication issues at the station. If you do go to the station, my top tip is to write the key information down i.e. the train number, departing station and destination, time, number of tickets and which class – this tends to help with the language barrier.

8. The first class waiting room. Once you get to the station you will most likely have a decent wait. The station can be a mayhem with people all over the place, stacks of luggage and food and drink vendors hawking their wares. Every station we went to had a first class waiting room – often no more than a few chairs but they tended to be the least busy parts of the station to park yourselves and wait.

On the train itself

9. Ignore the departure board. More often than not the departure board would not update or was just plain wrong. Listen to the announcements as these are the only reliable source of information at the station. They give you due warning when the train is expected. Beware though if you follow tip 8 as the announcements are often not piped into the first class waiting room. As the time approaches, you may need to stand outside under the loud speaker.

10. Take provisions. Given the long unreliable delays, take enough food and water to last you the entire journey and then an extra 5 hours. In some trains people came though the carriage all day and night selling chai (sweet milky tea), samosas and pani (bottles of water). In others there was nothing. In some instances the train attendants came around taking dinner and lunch orders (at a cost of about 50R), but again this wasn’t reliable. They would come at odd hours and their was a hefty wait between ordering food and getting it. It is easier to take your own dry food.

11. Hustle for space. Indian train passengers are masters of acquiring space. Don’t expect the luggage space under your berth not to be used by others when you arrive or find people sitting on your bed throughout the day. Embrace it, but don’t be a wallflower. Hustle for your own spot. It is also good to have a piece of chain and a lock on hand to secure your bags (sold at kiosks in every town).

12. Have a map. Information about where you are on the route or how long each stop is is very hard to come by – mostly involving rumors from other passengers. It is very helpful to bring a map of the area you are in so you have a sense of the distance traveled and the size of the town at each stop. The larger the town the longer the stop tends to be. If you get out of the train to stretch your legs do not stray too far but equally don’t worry if the train starts to move, you can outrun it easily!

13. WC in AC1. Perhaps the most useful tip of all. The toilet facilities are squat toilets onto the tracks which can get fairly unsanitary by the end of a 20+ hour train journey. The toilet in the first class carriage (AC1) is European style (has a seat) and was generally much cleaner than those elsewhere. You are free to walk up and down the train so find AC1 and use the WC there. You will still need toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

I had long harbored a desire to visit Cuba which grew more and more urgent as rumours of impending regime change swirled. I didn’t want to miss a chance to see Cuba as I imagined it, captured in time.

Havana was everything you imagine it to be; from the old vintage cars, the windy cobbled streets framed by pastel coloured buildings to the salsa music which drifts along the cigar smoke filled streets. It feels like you stepped into a black and white movie. Certainly nothing looks new.

Havana is best appreciated ambling around the central squares and streets. Pass one of the many old book stalls stacked with Hemingway novels and linger at leisure. Stop often for the coffee, one of Cuba’s best exports.

Once you have explored the centre, take a stroll along the Malecon, the sea wall which lines the city’s edge. The Malecon is the city’s social focal point. Its where the elder Cubans come to fish, the kids come to swim, and groups of young friends meet up. At dusk young couples stroll atop the wall arm in arm. I would highly recommend a late afternoon stroll from Old Havana along the wall to La Nacional to get you there just in time for sundown mojitos on the terrace. With its old colonial architecture and marble halls, it belongs in a James Bond movie. This makes for a much better option that either La Bodeguita del medio or El Floridita which lacked genuine charm.

The best meal in Cuba is found at La Guarida. It is the type of place you only find because you really trust the friend that recommended it. The restaurant is tucked away in a residential area of town in an ordinary looking town house. You even pass airing laundry as you ascend the large stone staircase to the entrance. Persevere, it is well worth it. Stepping through the doors it feels like you have entered a forbidden Cuba, how you imagine feeling at discovering a hidden speakeasy. You can’t help feel the infectious glow of those in the know. The room is warm, painted yellow, and busy, adorned with photos frames of all the many people who have passed through the doors. If only those walls could speak! The food is exceptional – inventive and flavorful – and has all the ingredients of an unforgettable dining experience. It is not the type of restaurant where you drop in even if you somehow stumbled across it by accident. Reservations are a necessity if you don’t want to miss out.

Outside of Havana, Cuba loses some of its romanticism and the realities and frustrations of Cuban life are all too evident. The dual system, one for tourists and one for locals is frustrating and steeped in rules.  My advice is to stop the clock here in Havana, settle in and enjoy being stuck in time.

This is an excerpt of an article published in full by Vagabundo Magazine – check it out here.

The video of trip highlights from the Delaney Xmas 2011 tour of Incredible India! is now live…

Check out more photos here.

Check out my article on Cuba in this week’s Vagabundo Magazine for the highs and lows of traveling to a country captured in time. http://www.vagabundomagazine.com/destination-cuba/.

Browse the magazine for plenty more wonderful articles and tips wherever your destination!

La ciudad de México (D.F.) no es una ciudad muy conocida por los turistas. Pero vale la pena descubrirla. Hay muchos edificios importantes en el centro y es muy fácil caminar entre los lugares de interés. Aquí es la ruta que les recomiendo.

Empieza en el Zócalo, la plaza principal del centro. Es una plaza enorme, la única mas grande es la plaza roja en Moscú. El palacio nacional esta por un lado y la catedral por el otro. La mejor vista de la catedral es de afuera. Para ver los murales enormes por Diego Rivera por las escaleras hay que entrar al palacio nacional.  Si se hace el camino al revés, trata de llegar al Zócalo al atardecer cuando bajan la bandera. Es un gran espectáculo.

A la misma vez, el Zócalo es el centro de la ciudad actual y también de la ciudad de pasado. La ciudad fue construida directamente encima de la ciudad antigua, que fue descubierta por accidente. Todavía están excavando el Templo Mayor que ofrece una ventana a la historia intrincada y la cultura rica que existe en el país, allí en el centro de la ciudad. Después ve al museo de antropología.

­Probablemente es la hora de comer. Hay algunos cafés típicos en el centro, o el favorito mio es “la casa de azul lejos”, un edificio muy bello. Puedes sentarte y comer en el atrio tranquilo y la comida es rica.

Después de comer, visita la torre latinoamericana donde hay una vista maravillosa desde el ultimo piso. Cruca la calle y encontrarás el Palacio de Bellas Artes, para mi el edificio mas bello en la ciudad. Si prestas atención, puedes ver una entrada del metro en el estilo de París. Termina tu tour del centro con un camino por la Alameda central. Siéntate en el parque y mira la gente.

De allí toma un bus o un taxi en dirección de Chapultepec. Los dos pasan por la avenida Reforma, el calle mas amplia de la ciudad. Hay mucho para mirar incluyendo los flores y las instalaciones de arte moderno. No te pierdas la estatua famosa “El Angel”. Si prefieres tomar el metro, baja en Chapultepec. El metro es seguro, rápido y barato.

Visita al museo de antropología. Es un museo increíble, con una colección enorme de obras y artículos que representa toda la historia de Mexico. Uno se siente que es realmente una tierra muy antigua.

Después de caminar todo el día, cruca la calle y entra al parque Chapultepec. Es un lugar muy tranquilo durante la semana pero lleno de gente al fin de semana. Es enorme, así que camina sin prisa y observa todo. Los mangos con chile son botanas riquísimas.

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