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Published: January 14th 2013
We have been back home for a few days, celebrating Christmas, and on December 28th we took a long and turbulent flight to Havana. Most of time Zoe was scared during the flight. We arrived in Havana airport, it took Gyanendra for some time to get in. It seems they have never seen a Nepalese tourist before. We spent one day in Havana, walking around the atmospheric streets for hours. It is the first non-european city we see which is not extremely chaotic and nice to stroll around (and easy to find your way!). There are also no "no-go" neighborhoods and we didn't feel unsafe for a second (not only in Havana but in the whole country).
The next day we shared a taxi with two other tourists (because the busses were fully booked) to Trinidad, a city where time stood still and where we enjoyed walking in the small streets for a few days, also celebrating new years eve with cocktails and salsa. From Trinidad we did a horse tour in a beautiful valley and a bicycle ride to the beach. The beach itself couldn't impress us for a long time, but on the way we had a nice stop
on a rocky seaside where some people went for diving. Once they were in the see, the guy who stayed on the rocks offered us his snorkeling material, so we had a nice swim and saw lots of fishes.
From Trinidad we took a tourist bus to Las Tunas (a small city were we saw a parade passing, celebrating the 54th anniversary of the revolution) and from there we took a less touristic and more local way to Baracoa in the very east of the country. First we took a truck ('camiones' are the common way for Cubans to travel, besides hitchhiking) to Puerto Padre, as always staying in a casa particular (home stay, many Cubans try to earn some extra money this way): we asked to eat fish in the evening, and about two hours later we met our host in the street, carrying a plastic bag with a big fish, very fresh! And so tasty later on.
The next day we took another truck to Holguin (but we had to change on the way, waiting for about an hour in the second truck before it left). We didn't see much of the city because Zoe got sick (the
usual travel inconvenience) and the next day we left to our next destination: Baracoa. We took a truck to Moa, 5 hours on a very hard seat... From there it was a surprise if it would be possible to get to Baracoa, and how... everybody warned us that it's a very bad road. But we could immediately leave with a jeep, the only available transport, and we could experience that they were right about the road... Finally we were in Baracoa, a very nice city surrounded by beautiful nature. We enjoyed it's rocky seaside, a trip to a national park (Alejandro Humboldt) for a walk in the rainforest (we saw a few snakes, hummingbirds and the smallest frog in the world) and we went for a hike to El Yunque, a strange flat mountain dominating the skyline. It was a VERY muddy and steep path, and every now and then we got a shower...
On January 10th, we took a flight back to Havana where we bought some souvenirs, visited the historical site "Morro Cabaña" and the museum of the revolution.
The next day, we wanted to take the bus to Vinales, we went two hours before departure but again:
sold out. They told us we can sit in the queue, in case their would be cancellations. There was one guy from Argentina in that queue and another one from Hong Kong joined us soon. So we had a better idea: check out a taxi. And it worked: we got a taxi ride, with a driver who enjoyed driving with 4 different nationalities in his car, that costs the same as the bus. So we arrived faster and more comfortable in Vinales, a small and cosy city surrounded by a national park with some strange rocky hills. The next day the four of us rented a bicycle, making an adventurous tour on was supposed to be a walking path. That's how Gyanendra got a flat tire and we got to a very local repair shop with old workers, proud of their Russian machines that never stop working. Being on the way with a Spanish speaking Argentinian was nice (since almost speaks English in Cuba), so we could have a good talk with a tobacco-farmer. We learned about the cigar-making process but also about the daily Cuban life. He, for example, had his private farm, but 90% of his production he
has to give to the government, the other 10% can he spend however he likes (for example selling to tourists like us).
For Gyanendra, this is the first time travel to Central / south America but Zoe has already seen Peru. Anyway, it's not possible to compare both countries. It seems that Cuba cannot be compared to any other country. The history, with the revolution in 1959, by Fidel Castro - who is still leading the country, made it a complex but interesting place to visit. It seems the clock of Cuba has stopped, making the country isolated from an outside world for last 50 years. That made the country worth to visit to see its authentic culture, pure Cuban lifestyle and its beautiful nature. Some things that amaze us:
• The atmosphere gives reflex of an old American movie from the fifties. Old neoclassic buildings, rolling american old big Chevrolet and Ford cars in the streets, lot of street venders shouting to sell goods, often carried on a horse cart.
• 2 different economies: two different currency is used in a country. Cubans have their Cuban pesos and the tourists use convertible pesos. If you buy food in
places that use the Cuban pesos or you use the transport with Cuban pesos, it is much cheaper than using convertible pesos. Most of time we use Cuban pesos for lunch, like pizza for less than 0,50€. Another example: local transport for 0,70€ for 5 hours, tourist bus for about 20€.
• Hardly you can find ATM and every where (bank, internet, telephone) you have to sit on long que.
• Cuban people seem very relaxed, you can see them every where- sitting on a rocking chair (they all have them in their living room, which is situated just behind the front door which is always open), children playing (baseball) on the street, old men and women having thick cigars and young people enjoying with music.
• As we enter Cuba, we can feel music in the air. Every hook and corner, square, garden, hotel, restaurant and allies everywhere we saw people singing and dancing. Even they walk, it seems like walking in salsa or rumba rhythm.
• Transportation system is complex. Fine roads and very few vehicles outside Havana. Because of very few transportation, you crowds of hickhickers at every corner waiting with money in their hands.
• Specially in Havana, were more than
900 beautiful neoclassic houses. Which is given shelter to the local Cuban and now most of them are in ruin stage because of lack of renovation. Numbers of huge factories can be seen in deserted situation.
• We stayed most of our travel in casa particular ( home stay), surprisingly we found that many of the owners are doctors. And even most doctors don't speak English.
• Literacy rate of the country is 99.8 percentage. Everyone is compelled to go to school. Who does not go will be in prison for 4 years.
• People are not allowed to travel abroad. They can travel only inside Cuba.
• No rich, No poor - every Cuban get small place to live, food to eat from the government. So seems very relaxing (but also frustrating).
• Communication system is too weak and expensive. Internet cafe is hard to find, probably one cyber cafe in town and that is too slow.
• Every where statues and billboard of revolutionary warriors. You can see slogans of Che Guevara, Fidel, Raul, communism and revolution everywhere.
• In average income per person Cuba is about 14 euro per month. Taxi driver earn more than a doctor does. Because of tips from tourists.
• Eating
ice cream in a local ice cream parlor: que outside to order (you don't know exactly what) and pay about 5 Cuban pesos (about 20 euro cent for two tasty ice creams), que to get in and get a table (where 2 Cubans are already sitting), wait till they come to pick up your ticket, wait till they bring your ice cream and than: enjoy!
• People sharing their bottle of rum: on a terrace, but also on a truck or just on the street,... So when you enter a bar, you can check out who is Cuban by checking if there is a bottle of rum in the middle of the table.
• In most restaurants is more staff than guests.
• Black, white and mixed seem to live peacefully together. We didn't see any differentiation or concentrated neighbourhoods.
• Cuban people can be seen enjoying with drinks everywhere, carrying rum, beer and hanging in the street. But no violence, it is calm and peaceful everywhere.
Since yesterday we are in Costa Rica, back in the world of Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, computers everywhere and traffic jam. We are ready for the second part of our trip, where we will visit
many national parks, starting tomorrow with a volcano.
(there are more pictures below!!!)
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Mama
non-member comment
Waaaaaaaaaaauw!
Jammer dat onze reis naar Canada al geboekt is... :-) Cuba ziet er echt heerlijk uit! En jullie ook! Ben alweer benieuwd naar de volgende avonturen...