Cuba-November 2018

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If both beauty and decay can exist in one place, Havana is that.



Cuba was our Thanksgiving vacation destination for 2018. We have been wanting to visit Cuba since the travel restrictions were relaxed in 2015. While restrictions on travel have been loosened, visits for tourism remain banned and a visa is needed to travel to Cuba under one of the 12 specific categories. In addition, level 2 increased caution is issued by US Department of State after auditory attacks targeting U.S. Embassy employees resulting in the drawdown of embassy staff in August 2018. In spite of all this, obtaining a visa through the airline was limited to answering few questions (at the airline check in counter) and paying visa fees.



We rented an Airbnb apartment (Casa) for our stay to have more space and flexibility. Airbnb owner offered to pick us up from the airport as well, as we didn’t plan to rent a car (Rental car availability is low and prices are high). But there are plenty of taxis available at the airport arrivals. Regular Cuban people who happen to own a car are in the business for tourism. There are few kinds of Taxis- just regular yellow cabs (yellow ones are for tourists, black and yellow are for locals), lovely vanity car taxis (colorful, old model American cars, mostly Chevys or Fords), colectivos (old cars from the 50s with a taxi sign in the window are shared taxis that travel along a fixed route).



Before leaving the airport, we changed our Canadian $ (there is a 10% tax on US $) to local currency. Cuba has a very unique dual currency system for over 100 years. There are two kinds of local currency, one for tourists-CUCs (Cuban convertible Pesos) and other for locals- CUP (Cuban Pesos). US issued Credit cards and Debit cards isn’t usable in Cuba, and all most all transactions happen in hard currency. Occasionally, Cubans with foreign connections accept US$ like one of our Taxi drivers with family in Naples did, although its banned. The CUC is not traded internationally but for exchange purposes 1.00 CUC = 1.00 US $ = 25.00 CUP. CUCs can only be purchased and exchanged in Cuba, so budgeting is vital when travelling to Cuba.



Casa we stayed was surprisingly modern and clean in spite of its location in a very old building. We chose a place close to old town where we can easily walk to attractions and near Malecon (5-mile-long esplanade popular with Cubans and tourists alike). We started out with a walking tour of Havana as its always the best way to get a bearing of the place. Our tour guide, a lovely young woman met us at the Plaza del Angel square and for 2.5 hours led us through interesting points of attraction in Habana Vieja (Old town), all the while sharing tit bits about Cuban history and politics. We enjoyed early colonial architecture, learnt about city defense system, heard stories about Cuban struggle for independence, and what it means to live under embargo. She made it clear she is no fan of the current US administration (sentiment shared by many other Cubans we met during our trip as well). We also learnt owning guns is prohibited under law, hence the country’s very low crime rate. Other stops included Earnest Hemingway’s favorite watering holes; La Bodeguita, Floridita and Hotel Ambos Mundos where he wrote parts of his novels. We ended the tour at the splendid Plaza de San Francisco where we enjoyed live music and people watching before heading to our first real Cuban meal at El Chanchullero recommended by our tour guide. When we arrived, this hole in the wall kind of a place in a rundown area of town had a line in front clued us it must be a good place, so we decided to stay in line for 30-45 minutes before we were seated. It was worth the wait; food was fabulous (and inexpensive- only 30 CUCs for 4 meals, 2 cocktails and a soft drink), service was friendly and attentive, atmosphere was eclectic, and music loud and happy. After a very nice stroll watching street art vendors, and light up old building, we ended back in casa for a well-deserved rest.



Next morning, after breakfast we took a 30-minute taxi ride to Fusterlandia. Jose Rodriguez Fuster, an artist & sculptor is the creator of Fusterlandia. He first decorated every inch of his own home & yard with colorful mosaic tile & then his entire neighborhood in Jaimanitas. It's similar to Gaudi (from Spain) in vivid colors. It is a magical childlike arty fantasy place that is very enjoyable. After touring the neighborhood, we learnt from the maps.me (off line map app we have been using while in Cuba due to not having internet connectivity), that Fidel Castro’s house is nearby. We decided to see if we can see the place at least from a distance (but couldn’t due to road blocks and inaccessibly of the location), but this detour took us to a middle of a village where we had the opportunity to meet Cubans living, they daily lives. Dogs, cats, even a goat greeted us on the street. Coming back to the city from another taxi, we asked to be dropped off across the Havana bay at the imposing Del Morro’s castle. After exploring the Morro castle, we walked up the hill stopping at a military exhibit of the Cuban missiles (exhibits made many references to US/Cuba missile crisis) to La Cabana Fortress where we found a hidden gem of a cigar store (has the longest Cigar on display) and several museums including one devoted Che Guevara who used the fortress as his command headquarters and later as a prison. It is the third largest fortress complex in Americas. Our last stop at this side of the bay ended at Cristo de La Habana monument representing Jesus of Nazareth on a hilltop overlooking the bay in Havana, Cuba. Home of Che Guevara is next to the statue. After enjoying the views of old Havana, we took the ferry back to Old Havana passing cruise ship terminal. Then we decided the explore the old town more. After few more stops to admire the art, architecture and street dancing (stilt dancing) and Cuban music, we stopped at Cathedral of Havana (baroque style built in 1777), the focal point of Cathedral square.



Having explored Havana and vicinity for two days, on the 3^rd day we decided to visit Viñales, a town in western Cuba. We rented a classic vintage car (with a new Benz engine the driver assured) for the 2.5-hour drive. After a few days of hustle of Havana, Vinales was a treat; full of green, peace and silence. We started the visit at the Los Jazmines lookout for great views for Vinales Valley. Valley is full of boulder like hills (mogotes), formed by erosion during the Jurassic period 160 million years ago. After a quick stop at the mural de la prehistoridad (we looked at it from far as it wasn’t worth a closer look), we visited a local tobacco farm and barn where we learned about organic farming and watched rolling cigars. Another interesting place we happen to find was Jardin Botanico de Caridad, basically a packed garden full of all variety of trees, shrubs and plants- including mango, star fruit, jack, oranges, Cocoa and orchids. It felt like walking in a backyard of a someone’s house which it was- the property of two sisters whose cottage was in the middle of property. Last we visited the nearby Cueva del Indio, an accessible cave system believed to have been used as a refuge from Spanish colonists and later as a burial ground. Natural wave patterns inside the cave provides evidence of flooding during formation of the caves. First half of the cave can be explored by foot and rest by the boat. Unfortunately, the explanations given by boat captain in Spanish was limited to pointing to random formations. For a late lunch, we stopped at Paladar 'El Sabor' Kirenia where the food was great but was comparatively expensive (due to many tour groups stopping here for lunch). However, I have never seen so many dishes (12) on one restaurant table! Next stop was to be at Museo Adela Azcuy, devoted to one of few women to fight in armed combat in Wars of Independence. Just as we pulled in, we learnt the person in charge of the museum had left for the day although it was only 4 pm and it was supposed to be open till 8pm. Our driver just shrugged it off saying “Remember, this is Cuba”, which we had heard few times before to remind us while in Cuba, we should keep our expectations low.



For the final day in Cuba, we rented a convertible Vintage car to drive around Havana. We enjoyed the city of Havana one last time devoting majority of the time to explore the National Capitol building and Museum of Revolution. The perfect end to the wonderful visit to Cuba was the ride to the airport in the same top down classic car blaring music, singing along while enjoying the passing scenery.

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