Nothing more distressing than calling an airline to clarify something about a trip and hearing that there is NO such flight!

I am leaving for Havana from Tampa International Airport next week and need to figure out why they can’t find

This is my personal reaction to the typhoid vaccination—redness the size of a baseball and soreness at the site of the shot on my arm.

Well, at least, I’ll be protected from the full blown, nasty disease and also from

The most exotic trip I’ve taken, measured by pre-trip vaccinations, was to China about a dozen years ago.  The recommendation was for a tetanus shot and both the hepatitis A and B series, a total of 5 vaccinations given over

So, of course, it is always recommended that you check out special or necessary vaccinations prior to any travel outside of the U.S. and I dutifully did my research on what I need to travel to Cuba.

What a shock to

As I write, I actually have airfare tickets to Cuba.  I leave at the end of June and will head for Havana and then on a bus to Baracoa.  Woo Hoo!

     Due to its geographic isolation, Baracoa, Cuba, is an exotic place even to Cubans, especially those from the capital of Havana. This remote northeastern corner of the island is said to be an almost unspoiled colonial village surrounded

     So, surprise, surprise!  My desire to get to Cuba, and specifically to Baracoa, is once again thwarted.  The SUPs cancelled their trip and I’m back to figuring out how to get there.  But get there, I will.

    In the meantime, my faithful

   Now armed with my newly minted Cuban passport, it looks like I’ll be joining a group of international SUPs (Stand Up Paddlers, for those of you not in the know) as they head in March to experience various rivers in

  ¡Aleluya!  That’s Hallelujah to those of you who don’t speak Spanish, something I encourage all to do since it is indeed the second most spoken language in the U.S.

        More importantly, yay, that today I received my Cuban passport which, along

  STILL no passport, and I’ve now missed my third opportunity to join a group traveling to Baracoa, Cuba. Thank goodness I haven’t lost any money—this time.

        Unfortunately, Mimi’s Path/El Camino de Mimi, my prequel to Mango Rain/Lluvia de Mango, languishes unfinished because