skindiver

I just need a way to get back into this forum, Rob! just got off the phone with hamlet and want to try those new blends, but I am sooo confused! need a ride downtown Havana? No problem!

Love to, but after 20 years of flying through Mexico and a couple of trips flying charters out of Miami, it will be such a pleasure to fly direct from my home airport .I am going back again in January, too! Terminal 2 can be a nightmare, even fully licensed I went through the Bahamas or Mexico!

I've been going to Cuba for twenty years. In the very beginning there were few cars on the road. After the first few trips I started renting cars because getting a car with driver was not reliable. with a car I could go where I wanted and when I wanted. I put up with the high cost, wait times,etc because I believed my vacation time was most valuable. Times have changed, though. In Havana, you really don't need a car, as reliable divers are easy to find now. My last trip in March, I rented a car for 3 days to go out to Vinales and San Luis, making sure to drive in daylight both directions. I am currently planning a 3 week trip to tour from Havana to Baracoa in November and will have a car and driver for that trip. Overall, I would only rent a car for a limited period depending on location and what I wanted to do.

BRC and PSD4 no contest!

BRC and PSD4 no contest!

I am arriving 29 February. Not sure I want to go to the Festival events, but would love to meet up with Rob and Ken, well, maybe just Rob!

Last month I was able to visit the farm of Jose Luis Prieto in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. I learned a lot about the leaf called Medio Tempo. It seems this leaf has always been around, and as Cuban cigar smokers we have smoked it in the past. It can only be identified by experts in the field. In identifying the leaf, it is not from the middle of the plant as medio would imply, but from the top, as in the ligero portion of the plant, but not all plants will produce medio tempo. This is the reason that Cohiba Behike must be 52 ring gauge or larger, because they must contain this extra leaf.Imagine 5 leaves rolled into the cigar.

I'll be back in Havana April 20-30. Let's have another conversation, Ken! Visited some nice boutique wineries in the Goulbourne and Yarra valleys and thought of you!

Can't make Orlando, Derrek, but New Orleans next year is on my radar!

G'Day mates! I have just returned from Melbourne and Victoria after a great two weeks with one of my good longtime Aussie friends and his family. No time to visit Brisbane, as much as I would have loved to reconnect with Rob, and even see Ken. I did buy the last BHK52 they had at Alexander's in Melbourne. A real bargain at AUS 83.00! Plenty of places to smoke, but they were never indoors!

I just heard the news, mi hermano Jaime! Of course I wish you the best, and I am sure you will do well. I will try to get down to Naples to see you in April. It has been awhile. You will not recognize me by skindiver, but I am Stan. I look forward to getting together again soon! Hermanos de puros y hermanos masonico siempre!

I have a box of these signed by both don Alejandro and Hiroshi Robaina that has been sitting in my humidor for several years like a collector's item. I really need to smoke one or two!

Went to Havana for ten days. Met some old friends, Jose Castellar, Jaime Paredes, Hiroshi Robaina, It was great being back in Cuba and seeing everyone. Smoked some really good leaf and caught up on what is going on there. Some changes noted, too. You can now ride in bicitaxis as a foreigner as well as those vintage US cars like Cadillacs, Buicks,and Desotos for a few pesos. The Partagas factory is gutted post Festival, the new factory is across from Briones(the old R&J factory) Hamlet was isolated in the lobby of the Sevilla Hotel lobby for 60 days- not a happy camper! No clientele there, the tobacco shop is downstairs and the guests are mostly transient!! He's like the old Maytag repairman on American TV. Bored to tears!! Hopefully he'll get a reprieve soon. He's a great guy. I managed to get a few custom rolls from Elena at 5th y 16th where Carlos Robaina is the manager. We ventured out to Pinar del Rio and brought Hiroshi a sport bag filled with enough baseball equipment to outfit a minor league baseball team. 9 gloves and 3 bats, 12 baseballs and 2 catchers mitts with helmets and shinguards. He was pretty happy and invited us to lunch at the new Robaina restaurant just down the road, Great trip as usual. Call me Rob, or Ken, it's been awhile! Stan

Chile is indeed a great country, good place to be. I stayed with local people in their homes there for a month, 10 days were in Santiago. My only problems were finding good espresso and finding someone who enjoyed a cigar. Amazing in a Latin country. I did hear you could get a good cup of coffee at a place called Cafe con Piernas! Outstanding wines are everywhere, especially liked the ones from the Colchagua valley where I spent some time, too. Enjoy your visit, Rob!

Yet another talent lost too early.

Always good to see Ken wearing men's clothing.

Whilst I have no idea of which you are speaking of, Ken, I'm glad you have tears for it. Kinda like watching your Redskins in the NFL? Crybaby!

I'd go for the Mag 50. Really good cigar.

A Flor de Leopoldina, a custom roll by La China

Lisa told that? I thought she was more discreet. Glad I was wrong!

I suspect Ken has been a bridesmaid previously.

I seldom sneeze at his!

Hamlet have anything to do with these or not, Rob?