Off to Gatwick and into Havana

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Geo: 51.2351, -1.12412

We set off early for the airport. Looking forward to a cooked breakfast at Gatwick. We sat in the same table in Wetherspoons that we sat in when we went to Portugal with Leanne, Rilwan and Marley last year.

The plane wasn't full so we had a bank seats to ourselves. Although the 10hr seemed to go by quickly you still get off the plane feeling like you've been run over by a truck!

Pretty biting flight and arrived in Havana. It's the same drill whereever you go these days. Through immigration, through another time scanner and off to collect the bags. It's a pretty chaotic process here with people everywhere. Everyone looks to be tourists.

We met the Cuba Direct rep and were taken to our taxi. A 1950s Plymouth complete with broken speedo, an air conditioning modification and a new radio with booming speakers that any teenager would be proud of. We later find out that these cars are referred to as 'Frankensteins' where they're made up of lots of parts and kept alive with some unknown forces of nature.

We passed a car fire, a 'fender bender' and randomly found our way the the Hotel Raquel.... safely. The hotel is very 'old world' with ornate interior and friendly staff. It's here we changed our money for the Cuban Convertible Peso.(cuc). After a quick walk to Old Square we'd decided we needed some sleep. It'd been a long day.

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