La Habana - first impressions

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Greeting all. The internet connection in Cuba is terrible so I have delayed writing a post until I arrived in Mexico, where the internet is fast and cheap.

There´s so much to write but I will keep these posts short. I´ll start with an overview of Havana and a few photos of the city and write more about what I´ve been upto and who I´ve met shortly.

I arrived in Habana after a slightly inauspicious start. The flight from Gatwick to take my connecting flight in Madrid was delayed by six hours due to snow meaning that I arrived in Havana at about 2am. I was worried that I wouldn´t be able to get hold of the Casa Particular owner and would have to either spend the rest of the night in the airport or wandering the deserted streets of Central Havana. Luckily I managed to get hold of him on the phone from the airport so he was expecting me. What wasn´t so lucky was that my backpack hadn´t been put on the connecting flight from Madrid and I didn´t get it until three days later. Only minor inconviences though.

I spent the first few days exploring the city. It´s like being stuck in a timewarp and seems like nothing has happened since the Americans left at the revolution: 1950s Dodges and Cadilacs beltching out plumes of acrid smoke pick there way through potholes, bicycle rickshaws, and people wandering in the street (and you would too if you saw the pavements). The roads are presided over by crumbling but majestic art deco and collonial buildings, the only ones of which are in a good state of repair are those used to house or feed tourists.

It´s really the people here that I love the most. They are very open, friendly, and love to party. Music such as Son, Salsa, and Reggaeton is everywhere: often live and always excellent. Dancing is big here - lots of salsa and reggaeton. Everyone seems to have grown up dancing and at the slightest provocation the Cubans will get up and start grinding away. The dancing here is very stylish, very sexual, and very uninhibited.

More soon....

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Comments

[Murray]

alright mate
Hi mate, glad you've recovered from the lost bag. The trip sounds amazing already.....I want that red 1950's car!

[toby]

nice!
sounds amazing mate, wish i was there too. love the thought of poeple getting down all the time. great pics too

[Lesley Stableford]

Wow
fab fotos lukie! love the ones with the palm trees, so colourful. And the fantastic cars, and the artwork on the buildings! Did you eat all that food yourself? looking forward to episode 2 v soon please x

[ian richardson]

Luke if your intentions are to make us all insanely jealous - it's working! Enjoy