Of course the point of any trip to Cuba is to stock up on our favourite smokes.

Our first time buying Culebras.. no they are not smoked all at once, what you see is a bundle of three.

The ubiquitous Bici-taxi seen all of Holguín.... though in my opinion it's got nothing on the horse drawn carriage taxis.

My first glance of many 50s American cars most of which, sadly, do duty as taxis.

Speaking of ubiquitous... Canadian tourists abound in Cuba.

Sunset over Gibara.

The hill at Gibara, like most hill stations, was a fortification defending against pirate Corsairs during Spanish colonial times as this weather worn canon can attest to.

We had a hard time trying to figure out what this "fruit" was. Even more impressive was to see it hanging from its tree. I can't imagine how it would feel to get brained by a falling one of these.

As in all of Cuba, bright colours abound in Gibara.

The main cathedral in Santiago de Cuba... Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

The pedestrian shopping area.

First of many Canadian bank branches we saw.

A beautifully adorned balcony on the top floor of Casa Granda, a swanky hotel at the centre of town.

I couldn't help myself in taking this shot of an (almost) downed telephone pole after a fresh accident occured. Gladly no one was hurt.

A beautiful moral at Santiago's waterfront.

The second of many...

The infamous Zapatero. In the game of dominoes, this is the name given to the losers of a 21 to nil match. Embarrassingly, we ended up with many Zapateros during our trip.

Not exactly the renowned Tropicana that Santiago is known for, but we had to settle for what we could get.

This stunning blue is the colour of coffee berries in the Sierra Maestra mountains which is the coffee growing area of Cuba.

At the Cafetal La Isabelica, they had on display a whole host of shackles and submission devices used on the slave labour used on all these coffee plantations.

In addition to the shackles are the tools of the trade of coffee production.

Inside the house of the owners of this Cafetal many original items were on display and in great condition.

These large platforms were used for drying the coffee beans after harvesting.

The kitchen... also sporting the huge mortar and pestle known as a Pílon used for grinding the coffee.

Franca's found a friend.

I couldn't help but buy one of these mini-conches so I could continue to hear the sea when I got home.

No shortage of fresh seafood on offer here in Herradura.

The secluded Playa de Herradura wasn't so secluded today. Although it looked empty to us, typically there are days where you'd be alone on the beach.

Protection from the sun made out of the hull of an old boat... brilliant!

Our nightly ritual... cigars, rum and of course, dominoes! This time smoking the über strange Culebras, sure to turn heads.

I don't know what you see, but I see the face of a mouthless cat on this church bell tower...

This Bici-taxi knows his clientele and knows that Canadians are suckers for anything with our flag on it.

An aerial view of Holguín's main square. Parque Calixto Garcia.

This cool looking pump was actually functional!

This was the morning of the Russian cars. I was out to shoot some classic American cars but instead all I found were Ladas and Moskvitches.

This cast bronze mural was phenomenal. From right to left it tells the story of Cuba, from the first Spanish colonists meeting the native Taino people, through to their massacre, the importation of African slaves. The Spanish-Cuban-American war of Cuba's independance and finally the People's Revolution and communism.

Despite all my shots of the cars in Cuba, the typical mode of transportation is two wheeled and human powered. The streets are refreshingly empty most times.

It took me a while to figure out what the dude occupying this workbench did. Turned out he's a lighter repair man. Shame I didn't bring some of my old ones so I could watch him work.

Lots of queuing in Cuba, as you can imagine. These people were waiting in line outside of a telecom shop that sold Internet cards giving you one hour of wifi access from the access points ONLY in the public squares. We took the easy way out and paid a premium for a set of cards from a guy clandestinely selling them on the front steps of the shop. After we left we saw him being taken away by the police.

Although a lot of the American cars were visibly falling apart, I was amazed how well maintained and shiny some of them were. Even the fact that any of them run is a testament to the practical ingenuity of the Cuban people.

Come on.... I dare you to drink this "potable" water...

The lobby of the Mirador Mayabe what was beautifully adorned with these pieces of hand carved solid wood, laquered furniture.

Meet Pancho... the Mirador's beer drinking donkey. Actually this guy is Pancho IV !

These sidecar sporting motorcycles were quite common on the street and always beautifully vintage.

This is what an affordable taxi looks like in Holguín

You'd have the same look of shock if your haul of Puros Cubana was this tall.

Peek-a-boo.

A full humidor always gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.