Blogs from La Habana, Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean - page 26

First experiences in La Universidad de Habana 05.09.07 Everything. Here. Happens. Very. Slowly. If it happens at all. It seems one of the favourite pastimes of the Cuban population is queuing… waiting… waiting… queuing.. and … waiting some more… and then actually… mañana. That’s what happened on Monday at uni - we went to enrol but we couldn’t do so until the next day because Magaly, in charge of foreign students, felt ill. Tuesday then, we went in again… I went to the first class that I was interested in - Estudios Afro-Caribeños - turns out the profe is away for two weeks so another is covering, but he teaches Arte del Caribe, which I was also interested in but I think I will only do one of the two. Four of us “extrangeros” (me, Rob ... read more

I’ve moved into a new casa particular, owned by a lovely couple, Anita and Jorge - they live below Yamelis and Federico and but also have this house… some kind of loophole so they don’t really live here but can rent it. It’s a much better deal for a permanent stay than Casa Federico, which is really set up for tourists. Here I pay $CUC 450 a month which includes breakfast and dinner (huge tasty portions, there’s lots of fresh juice and she even manages to get hold of tomatoes which I haven’t seen in any of the markets!). There’s a German girl living here too, Corina, here for a semester to study psychology. The apartment is on a main road, Infanta, opposite a Catholic Church, near the uni and the Malecón. It’s on the ... read more

The dustyfoot traveller is back, literally. After just one day in Habana I’m immediately regretting not bringing a scrubbing brush, blister plasters and a lot more chocolate, especially as I severely doubt the postal service! Other than that, I’m loving it. Arriving alone at the airport last night, I waited nervously for my luggage, which I was happily surprised to be reunited with. In the taxi to my casa particular (room rented in a house) we passed posters proclaiming the joys of Castro’s regime, many unlit cyclists and crowds of people waiting at bus stops. At Casa Federico the couple I am staying with are lovely - Federico and Yamelis (who is 7 months embarazada). The flat is just off the Malecón - the 8km road along the seawall, where waves crash against the rocks and ... read more

Today we spent the day visiting: - Revolution Museum (again) - Drinks at Hotel Ambos Mundos (another Hemingway haunt) - Walked around Ospiso & O'Reilly Streets - Relocated the hidden park in Ospiso Street - Parque Ecologio Eseucla - Took photos of anti-imperialist signs along the Malecon - Dinner at the Nacional Hotel - amazing fresh daiquiri de Mango! - Walked along and sat on the Malecon until after midnight ... read more

After a big night out, our last night in Rio, and a lot of travel (approx 2-3hr flight to Buenos Aires, 7hr transit at BA Airport, approx 9hr flight to Cuba...) we arrived in Cuba excited about our Caribbean adventures. We were supposed to be heading to Jamaica from Cuba (yeah I know a wacky flight just to get to Jamaica, but worth it all the same). We handed our passports and plane tickets to an Air Cubana (or Cubano) attendant. She asked us to go wait in the lounge and she would be right back with our PASSPORTS etc... yes that's right she had all six of our most important documents (there were 6 of us traveling together, Amy, Guido, Junior, Denise, Aori and me). After a couple of hours we realised it wasn't long ... read more