On sunday I will travel to Havana. I will keep you updated about my new travel experiences. Keep on coming to my page!!!

Day 1!

We just took of from Luxembourg Airport and will be in Paris soon. The aircraft is a Bombardier Q400 with enough space for me under the seat in front of me.

A few minutes ago we arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The ride after landing to our gate is nearly as long as the flight from Luxembourg to Paris.

I am courious to see if the working staff from the tax free shops still remeber me as I pass often throug Paris when flying througout the world.

Day 2 to 13:

Sorry for not having updated the story but here in Cuba Wifi is something very rare. Therefore here some news. Pets are still not allowed to stay in most hotels. Actually I don’t know anyone accepting pets. But there are some casa particulares accepting pets. You just have to ask. In restaurants, pets are often a no go, exept for restaurants with terraces, especially private restaurants. I was accepted nearly on every terrace.

Day 14 (journey back home) and some more details:

Getting out of Cuba was very simple, although we had to wait nearly 45min for the airport veterinarian to arrive to check my papers. Yes, they even check you for getting out of the country. I haven’t been getting checked at any airport in the world to get out of the specific country, exept for Cuba. Also, the paper you get from the veterinarian at the airport at the moment you arrive is only valid 14 days, if you stay longer you have to go to visit a vet in Havana City Center to give you a prolongation to your autorization to stay in the country and, more important, to get out of it. This paper has to be validated by the the veterinarian service of the ministry of agriculture, which takes one to three more days (you have to deposit it there and go and get it back a few days later). Cuban burocracie. But that’s how it is…You can’t even say that it is for making money because both the visit to the veterinarian and the legalization of the paper by the ministry of agriculture are free of charge if my memories are right as we had to to it only once in the last two years.

They say it’s for you to have no problems when you get back to Europe. I tried many times to explain them that the European authorities do not ask you to visit a vet in a foreign country if you stay less than 4 months(!) abroard and have all your papers up to date (European animal passport) but that doesn’t seem to interrest them. The only thing you need if you travel to Cuba from the EU and back is a valid blood titer test certifiying that the anti-rabies vaccination is effective. That’s all. This test, at least for the EU, is valid livelong if you repeat your anti rabies vaccination on the requested dates.

Not to forget that you have to pay 125CUC (+/- 120€) to Air France at their airport office before checking in. A good idea is that someone lines up in the queue for the checkin counter and the other one goes an pays the pet fee at the office (if you are travelling in a couple with your pet). Check in can be very long at José Martí Airport because of the luggage carpet, especially if there are many flights getting in and out at the same time. The airport seems to small for the big number of daily passangers, especially in peak holiday seasons and the augmenting number of flights to Miami. After check in, a sometimes long queue that expects the traveller is the passport control and the following security check.

In the departure hal there is wifi now. A good idea is to buy a wifi acces card before getting to the airport, maybe at checkout at the hotel, just assure yourself that it is a wificard that also works outside the hotel (some hotels have their own wifi service, like the Melia Habana or the Four Points Sheraton). Maybe the card is a bit more expensive in the hotel lobby but you do not have to make long queues as when you buy it in an Etecsa shop. These wifi acces cards work in many public spaces like parks, on the Malecon, or in other hotel lobbies. They cost normaly 2 CUC if you buy it at the hotel and I think 1 CUC in an Etecsa Shop. Etecsa is the cuban Telecom company.

Finaly here are a few pictures:

Me waiting at Paris CDG for the flight to Cuba (24.12.2017).

This was my owners meal. First a little gin tonic with smal salted crakcers as aperitif

and then the main course with chicken in a delicious sauce and some good french wine. They even served a digestif with the coffee. Generaly the service on Air France flights is realy good to nearly excellent, especially in Premium Economy, but also in Economy. In October we flew to Miami, and the meal was exactly of the same amount and quality in economy as it was now in premium economy. The entertainment system is a big touch screen and you can find nearly all the last film highlights from the past months. There are maybe 30 to 40 films you can choose from (maybe even more), tv series, sports, news, kids program, etc. That’s valid for all the different classes (economy, premium economy, buisness, etc). I think the only thing that changes is the size and handling of the screen. I can realy recommand travelling in Air France’s Premium Economy. Many say that it is quite as good as many buisness classes of other companies. And the price isn’t that much higher than economy tickets if you reserve your ticket long time before your planned holidays or during special offer periods (which are often available). The space for me under the seat in front of my owner is also more than sufficiant for both my travel bag and his legs.

Here arr some impressions from Havana:

New years dinner at the “El del Medio” (#6412, 11th avenue, inbetween 64 and 66, tel: +53 (7) 2095780)!

Here I am with my cuban “cousin” Pako:

Unfortunately it’s not the same Pako who was stolen some two years ago and who’s disappearance still makes us cry, but he is also very nice and friendly and likes a lot to be petted. My cuban family loves him at least as much as the old Pako, but if you are realy a pet lover, you’ll never realy get over the loss of one of your four legged friends.

Our beginnings where not so easy but at the end we played a lot and passed much time together.

Now we are back home and for the next months there is no greater journey in our plans (but plans can change rapidly 😉).