I'll start. Now booked to go back on Dec. 18th with Air Transat out of Toronto direct to Cayo Coco and then taxi over to Camaguey city to stay with my wife there for 23 days in our casa. Coming back to Toronto on Jan. 10th. Got a deal on that for sure - only $745 base price + suitcases x 2. I already have our pig purchased and growing fatter by the day for our annual New Year's Eve fiesta as usual with the family - my best friend there is raising it for us in his pig coral in the meantime. Hopefully there's much more electricity available each day at that time - it's up to 22 hours without the juice there now. But we have the generator / inverter at the casa to help keep things frozen in our refrigerator and deep freezer. I'll just be happy if I can still buy ICE for my big Coleman cooler full of beer. OK, your turn! Terry

I was just looking at that flight and it's still reasonably priced. After my last trip, I swore off independent travel to Cuba until things improve. At the very least, no more 3-6 month trips there. A shorter trip to Camaguey? Maybe. Not sure if I could keep up to Terry's legendary partying though.

Hey Simon, great talking with on the phone yesterday. YEP! I see that what I booked has now bumped up to a $823 base price as of this morning with Air Transat. But still reasonable when considering what time of year it's for. As you know, prices for over the holidays to Cuba are typically absolutely insane. "Terry's legendary partying!" Bueno, I pride myself on being a little bit older now and a bit more responsible when living there in our barrio - no more drinking injuries of late. No more taking headers over the handlebars of bicycles shirtless, or falling into cactus hedges anymore. I'm now a much more kinder gentler hardy party'er when there. I just like to catch the buzz... or as I tell my Cuban friends - montar la serpiente! I hope you're still kicking the idea of joining me there around, Simon. Trust me - you'll love that Laguna Azul casa particular. And of course, any time that I rent that pool there for the day for the benefit of my tribe, you'll also have an open invitation to join in with us. I'll look after you. My best friend Maikel can also be your go-to-guy for whatever you need as well... ANYTHING... including for money exchange. Maikel lives just around the corner from that casa. Terry

Terry, how much time do you save going to Camagüey when you fly into Cayo Coco as opposed to Holgiun?
Looks like there are still no flights from anywhere in Canada to Camagüey or Santiago this winter. Bummer indeed.

Never been to Cuba for Christmas or New Years. I don't travel to Cuba as much as I used to. I can handle the current situation, it's just that it's a big world out there and lots to see.

I have had a drink with Simon before. He behaves like an English gentleman and I am not even sure if he is English!

Oje! CubanWaters! The flights into Cayo Coco to taxi over to Camaguey city take 3 1/2 hours... as opposed to 4 hours when flying into Holguin. Part of the reason why the Cayo Coco / Camaguey leg is faster is because the taxi can race the length of the Cayo heading east along the ocean all the way to just south of Cayo Cruz before turning south to go over the new causeway to Playa Jiguey on the mainland before getting slowed down by traversing through numerous very small towns, and over a small mountain range.

No flights from anywhere in Canada to Camaguey direct - YES! The question is... will they put those routes back in my lifetime? Bueno, I'm not getting any younger. Pain in the culo at present - and more expensive too with the taxis... around $200 US now X 2, there and back.

I've done Christmas and New Years every year in Cuba for almost 20 years. But like you CubanWaters, now that Cuba has become almost a 1 season destination due to the lack of electricity, etc., being there over the holidays is likely to be the only time you'll find me in Cuba for now on. I have my Cuban wife, Yudith, now coming to Canada on a regular basis through the warmer months with her TRV... soon to become her PR and work permit. Given the choice, she'd rather be in Canada too.

HA! Well I've been confused for an English gentleman before too whenever I swap out my chancletas for different footwear. But I'm from Irish decent - only so much can be done to fix me. Actually, the more everyone drinks, the better I look. So drink up mates! Terry

We don’t travel outside of Canada during the Christmas holidays because of family. The price $ during that stretch is another good reason. After New Years prices become normal again.

Bueno, Wessislander, for me personally, my family in Canada have just come to know over the years that they can't expect me to be around over the Christmas and New Years holidays. They have me available to them pretty much at any other time of the year, so no biggie. No! For many years, I've sung that famous Bing Crosby tune for my Cuban family before always jetting off to Cuba and for Camaguey - " I'll be home for Christmas ".

But in fact, it's not Christmas that's always been the main focus, although I love being there for that time too. The most important and most anxiously awaited holiday time in Cuba is New Years Eve and New Years Day. I couldn't possibly miss that with my Cuban family members. That's a MUST HAVE! I already have my pig there for our enormous New Years Eve fiesta growing fatter in my best friend's coral for roasting on the spit that day. Around 32 family members always attend our huge party, with my wife and I providing everything for them to both eat and drink 'on us' as our contribution to the family and to help give them a temporary reprieve from their daily struggles during the rest of the year. We party large all night long, and then greet the rising sun the next morning while all holding hands together standing in the middle of our street to begin the new year. It's actually quite spiritual. Terry

I always have enjoyed Terry's detailed descriptions about how he enjoys independent travel in Cuba. I hope the situation there improves soon so we can get back to travelling around the country. I can handle 6 hours a day without electricity, not 20+.

Simon, the funny thing is... when I'm there over Christmas and New Years, I jokingly always pull out my phone in front of my Cuban family members and pretend that I'm calling Miguel to ask him for more electricidad - in Spanish of course. I quickly get into an argument with Miguel on the phone telling him that I won't be his amigo anymore, unless........ After a very long pregnant pause while nodding my head, I then thank him profusely and ask him how his family is doing. All of my family members always howl with laughter... except for ONE! My best friend Maikel. He just snarls at me and yells out MIGUEL! PINGA! But honest to God! The next day after I do that, all of a sudden we have electricity for either the whole day and night... or at least, as with last year, more than twice as much electricity as we were getting the day before. And that carries on day to day right through into the new year until it's time for me to leave. Some of my family members are beginning to believe that I really am good friends with Miguel. Except for Maikel, of course. It's spooky though. jiji Terry

Terry, I am curious as to how long you can keep your generator running at a time. Is it noisy? It runs on gasoline? Is it strong enough to give electricity to every appliance in your home at once?

Hola Wessislander, see the attached link and video regarding our generator / inverter that I purchased at the beginning of this year from supermarket-treew online for delivery direct to our casa. That guy explains everything about that thing much better than I can. However I can tell you that it CAN power everything in our casa at the same time, short of our A/C split system, as that's 240V. My wife has the ability to power our casa incrementally to spread the electricity around where needed during the day and to save money on gasoline. I was there at the end of May and early June - the thing is amazing! It will run our Samsung washing machine, refrigerator, deep freezer, pressure cookers, microwave, wall and ceiling fans, lights, water pumps, hot water heater, television, and our 3,500 watt Samsung Giga music system - all at the same time! Made in Vietnam - a remarkable bit of kit. Terry

Sorry, Wessislander, I forgot to answer your question about the maximum duration that our inverter / generator can run continuously - it's a maximum of 8 hours straight before needing to be shut down for a rest. But my wife never runs the thing for that long at a stretch anyway. Typically, she'll run it for 3 hours in the morning if she feels the frozen chicken, pork, and fish in the freezer needs a bump to remain solid... while doing a load of laundry in the washing machine at the same time. And then she'll run it again in the evenings after 7:00pm through to 10:30pm to watch her novelas on TV before shutting it down again and going to bed. My wife isn't a nighthawk like me. She's a bit conservative, but I love her ying to my yang. Terry

CCO are you running a casa or a nightclub! I bet that you are an annoying neighbour! jejejeje

​​​​​​​And that's a swell looking generator. I can't remember if you bought it in Cuba or carried it from Canada.

Hey hey, CW. Bueno, the running joke in our barrio is that our casa is actually also affectionately named "Terry & Yudith's Discoteca". jijiji As you know, Cubans love to play their music LOUD! Much to the annoyance of many tourists. But I haven't been a tourist in Cuba for over 15 years, and there's no other foreigners living near by in our barrio either. So when I'm there, and after I've been tipping a few, I'll crank that puppy up to the maximum playing La Grange by ZZ Top and other assorted classic rock tunes while playing air guitar, as well as Cuban salsa, timba, son, bachata, merengue, and YES of course, our beloved reggaeton too... with some Jesse Cook thrown in for good measure. All to the max! Much to the annoyance of my wife. I've been told that people there know when Terry is back in town because they can hear my music playing 3 blocks away. But other than my wife grumbling occasionally, I've only had one other complaint... another Cuban woman who came to our front gate asking me to please turn it down - apparently she was working night shifts and was trying to sleep during the day. No hay problema. But imagine that! A Cuban complaining about the music volume! CubanWaters, what is this world coming to?

About our inverter / generator - I had already explained in an earlier post to Wessislander that I bought that online from supermarket-treew and had it delivered to our casa at the beginning of this year. It cost me $1,450 USD at that time. Worth every centavo too. I did the math at the time - it was cheaper, and let's face it, just more damned convenient to buy it online for home delivery. Easy peasy. Unfortunately when looking at supermarket-treew today, there's no longer any inverter / generators available there for sale. Not surprising given the severity of the situation there now in Cuba. Terry

We did do a Cuba trip over the holidays for New Year’s but not Christmas. An all-time experience but expensive. Like someone already wrote we have enough going on at home during the Christmas season that would prevent us going during the holidays often. The price too. No Cuba plans yet for this winter.

Bueno, the prices for flights for over the Christmas and New Years holidays to Cuba are beginning to come back down again now. As of this morning, October 23rd, by comparison, my already arranged departure from Toronto to Cayo Coco on December 18th through January 10th, "flight only" booked with Air Transat for $745 base price 1 1/2 months ago... is now today down to only $754 base. There's still time for the rest of YOU LOT to jump onboard too to jet off to wherever you please in Cuba. That window of opportunity with assuredly more electricity in Cuba within the interior during the holidays won't last forever. Buena suerte amigos! Terry

I think you can officially count me out Terry. Looking at flying to Havana on Januray 11.

Yea, I noticed that, Simon. Well, you'll definitely not need to worry about the electricity situation in Havana - at least I hope not! You know how things have a habit of changing there in Cuba. jaja Terry

Terry, forget about Simon. He is coming up to Montreal in a couple of weeks (where there is lots to electrico) for a drink and it’s also possible that I will meet him for a drink in La Habana in January.

I will make a bold prediction that you will see me (and possibly Simon tambien) on the streets of Camagüey in January 2027 or 2028. As long as the lights are on. That’s all I ask.

HA! Well, by that time, CubanWaters, my wife, Yudith, her daughter from her previous marriage, Delenys, and my wife's mother too, Belkis, will all be living here in Canada with me. So unless you both come to Camaguey city during Christmas and through New Year's Eve for perhaps a week beyond that as well - when we'll still be visiting Cam city ourselves at that time in the future too - I doubt you'll ever see us there when visiting Camaguey yourselves.

Ironically, YOUR quest vaguely reminds me of my situation 3 years ago when I was determined to actually live there for at least half the year in Camaguey city after retiring from my work - which never happened for a variety of reasons, of course. But at that time, all of my Cuban friends and family members there thought I was absolutely crazy because I wanted to GET IN to live in Camaguey - while everyone else living there was wanting to GET OUT! Terry