Have you .....

Have you hugged your dog today?

Dispatches from La Habana

Greetings from La Habana.


Here I am at day five and I finally have some time to offer some commentary about this trip.

December 14th found me partaking in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Consejo Cientifico Veterinario de Cuba (Veterinary Council).
This celebratory event was initiated and for the most part organized before the untimely death of Dr.Fermin, President of the Veterinary Council. His wife Dra.Beatriz Amaro picked up the torch and carried the planning of this event to it’s completion.



One observation from this trip is the increased number of dogs in the street. Not only increase numbers but in poorer shape.
More on this when I return to Canada.

Oaxaca, Mexico

It's me again. Perhaps you've been wondering what's gong on ... well, a lot.
I interrupt my last Cuba report with a trip to Oaxaca (sounds like Wahaca), Mexico
We traveled to this part of Mexico with the specific purpose of taking in the celebration, Día de los Muertos.

You will be hard pressed to find a more colourful festival.

Oaxaca is very much a town of artists and craftspeople.

True to form ... I did search out a dog story.
Before my departure I was connected with Rebecca Raab. This expat lives with here husband on property that has been in his family since the '60s.
Together they operate a wonderful guest house called Casa Raab .

Wandering the streets of Oaxaca I noticed few dogs in the streets.
Most visible dogs seemed to be associated with a person or purpose.
The one below was the "greeter" at a monument supply company.

This one seemed to clean up after lunch at the market.



This town is amazingly clean.
Recycling is second to none and people are constantly cleaning up.



Brooms seem to be on standby and at the ready should any rubbish hit the ground.
There is little to no sign of dogs being in the streets ... you know what I mean.

In the perfect world, I would like to think that the lack of strays was due to a great humane population control program.
The world is not perfect.
The efficiency with which the streets are cleaned is also displayed by the dog catcher.
This is a town that runs on tourism.
Need I say more.

You do see more dogs as you get out of town.

Rebecca calls her project Megan House.

Megan House was established in 2003 in the memory of her beloved German Shepherd.
"The number of homeless dogs and cats in Oaxaca continues to rise at an alarming rate and organizations to assist them are virtually nonexistent. More resources and facilities are urgently needed to care for these animals and to educate the community about the importance of responsible animal ownership, including sterilization and vaccination."


Read more and perhaps leave a donation here.

Oaxaca is a beautiful part of Mexico.



Should you find yourself traveling to this area ...


...don't forget our four legged friends.

09/26/2008 continued

After a short taxi ride down the Prado and along the Malecon I was in Vedado.
Awaiting me were Amparo and her cousin, my translator when needed, Justo.

A short time later arrived Gladys Morales Wiswell. Gladys is a former president of La Asociación Cubana de Aficionados a los Gatos (ACAG).

Gladys has agreed to take on the role of Coordinator for a project under development with Grupo Duce Maria Loynaz the Universidad de La Habana and Barbara Calm DVM
.
“Proyecto Felina” is Barbara’s brainchild.
With donated test kits, Barbara and Cuban Vets will see if Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) exist in Havana, Cuba, and if so, to what extent.

09/26/2008

This trip to Havana found us staying at a hotel and not our usual Casa.
One week trips to Cuba are more economical if booked as a package.
The Hola Sun package we booked had us flying direct into Havana and staying at the Hotel Telegrafo. This four star is located across from Parque Central and beside my favourite cafe. So, for under $600.00 CDN, we received air into Havana with over 100 lbs of luggage allowance, transfers, and hotel with breakfast for one week. 
That is a great deal as air only with Air Canada would have been $800.00 plus.

View from our room

This trip I had quite a few things on my “to do” list.

To find this dog ...

To get an update on this dog...
And...
-Attend a campaign.

-Meet with Consejo Cientifico Veterinario de Cuba.

-Develop a process for visiting veterinarians to work with Cuban veterinarians on projects of mutual interest.

-To have introductory meetings with Havana area vets. These meetings were to discuss how the Spanky Project may be of assistance to area clinics.

So, with all of this in mind, it was off to Vedado and a meet with Amparo, head of Grupo Dulce Maria Loynaz.

09/25/2008

September 25th found me packed and heading to Toronto for my third trip of the year.
Flying Cubana, and being allowed 2 x 23 kg, permitted me to take a large quantity of pre approved supplies and books. Thanks to Mags for giving up a generous portion of her 2 x 23 kg to haul for the dogs.

I must say, that with our allowance, we did take the opportunity to deliver about 8 kg each of medical supplies to Policlinico Docente Principal de Urgencia Tomas Romay in Habana Vieja.
These bags were provided by Not Just Tourists (NJT)- Toronto.
NJT provides bags of donated medical supplies for delivery to Cuba - free of charge.

A few days before departure we were informed our flight would be delayed 5 hours.
Upon arrival at the airport we found out that our CU183 flight would stop first in Havana then go onward to Camaguey. This was odd but appreciated --- as it meant we would be in Havana well before the midnight we were expecting.
Boarding the aircraft there was no one in Tropical Class (first class). Strange. The departure time came and went and we were still on the ground. Soon the Tropical Class seats were occupied. Those in the seats were given a beverage and the aircraft pushed back. Once in the air the curtain between Tropical Class and us in steerage was drawn. After the seat belt sign went off four Cubanos got out of their seats and chatted the entire flight perched, for the most part, on their respective armrests in front of the drawn curtain.

For those interested in the food and beverage inflight, Cristal and Bucanero were offered at $3 CDN.


The meal was enjoyable and much better than the $6 CDN sandwich offered on Air Canada flights.

Greek salad with olives and feta.
Grilled chicken breast served chilled.
Focaccia with tarragon (albeit dry)
Blueberry swirl cheesecake

Our flight was a smooth one but there was one tense moment ---no passengers were allowed to pass the drawn curtain.
The pleadings of one woman who said she could not wait for the washroom line up at the back of the aircraft. Tense to say the least.

Our flight landed in Havana and taxied to an area of the airport unaccustomed to me.
An announcement requested all Havana passengers, "remain seated". This seemed like a cue for all the Camaguey passengers to queue in the aisle.
Stairs were rolled up to the aircraft, the doors opened, and Tropical Class emptied --- along with the chatty arm resting Cubanos.
There was a whole lot of hugging and hand shaking taking place on the tarmac.
After a few minutes of this the aircraft door was closed and everyone was told to be seated.
The stairs were rolled back and the engines started.
We taxied to the main terminal.

Here is what we figure was going on.
On September 24th, Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura addressed the United Nations in New York.
It was likely that to return to Cuba the delegation and security (aka chatty armresters) flew NYC - Toronto to connect with a Cubana flight to Havana. Our Cubana flight.
So, to accommodate the Cuban delegation, our flight was delayed five hours and landed in Havana first and not Camaguey as originally scheduled.

After disembarking we proceeded to the immigration area. It was obvious we were the only arriving flight as the oficers began to scatter for their booths, firing up the computers at our appearance.
It was 9:20 pm and a very quiet airport.
Clearing immigration was smooth, taking two minutes and one question. Compare that to my previous trip where the officer in Varadero questioned me for 20 minutes.
As I mentioned earlier, I had my supplies pre approved. Upon recovering our bags I showed the rubber stamped paperwork to Aduana officials and was directed to the exit.
The elapsed time from arrival at the passenger terminal to exiting into the Havana night was 21 minutes . Suave