Knitting my way through Cuba

One of the most important decisions I make before travelling is what knitting project to take?  It has to be portable and intricate enough to sustain my interest, ideally for the whole time I am away.  I settled on a double knit scarf, and chose two yarns from my stash:  a white handspun silk/Samoyed dog yarn given to me 10 years ago and a hand-dyed similar weight wool that I'd tried to use in another project.  I cast on 60 stitches (30 with each one, using a tubular cast-on) and decided that I would randomly knit dots rather than trying to follow a particular pattern.  I was very happy with this choice--on hot days I could let the scarf dangle off to the side instead of pooling in my lap.  Double-knitting means alternately knitting and purling with each yarn so as to create a double sided fabric, and so it's slow--just what I needed for a holiday project.

At Playa Mangalito near Baracoa, enjoying a "loco coconut", coconut water and rum drink.

East of Trinidad, we stopped for coffee and a paddle at the beach at Villa Yaguanabo.

On the mirador--the upper terrace--of our Casa Particular, Hostal Colonial, in Cienfuegos, at sunset.

At Playa Rancho Luna, near Cienfuegos, enjoying a Cafe Cubano (sugar only, no milk) served on the beach.

On the upper terrace of our casa, Hostal Enrique, in Playa Larga, enjoying a glass of wine.

On the water taxi to Cayo Levisa near Vinales, west of Havana.

At Cayo Levisa--a windy day!

After a swim.
On the back patio of our casa in Varadero.  Finished!  Six weeks of good knitting.

At Casa Marta Margarita in Varadero.

We found the Canada-Sweden gold medal hockey final in a sports bar at the Habana Libre Hotel--7 AM Sunday Feb 23.  We were joined by 2 other Canadians and 1 Swede.

One funny note from this knitting project--the scarf attracted a lot of interest from dogs!  It would be the Samoyed yarn.  One little dachshund at Hostal Paraiso in Sancti Spiritus spent a long time sniffing around my ankles...