Havana, Cuba 27-29 June 2018

---

Wednesday - Friday 27-29 June 2 pre-tour days + Day 1 of tour: Arrive Havana







We were welcomed to Cuba! Flying via Vancouver (3hr stop over) and Toronto (1 hour stop over) with Air Canada we arrived in Havana at 11.00pm. We didn’t feel too bad and we immediately saw our driver when we exited customs. He took us on the 25-minute drive into Old Town Havana where we checked into Hotel D’Osbe. The Ensuite room was comfy but it was in the old town. Sleep didn’t evade us.



The next morning, we had breakfast at 9.30am. The fresh fruit was lovely as was the fried egg and toast. We quickly learned that coffee was pretty good in Cuba.



For the next 2 hours we were sifting through the means to get cash and find our way around. Cash was the problem! We tried many ATMs with our Visa credit card as well as inside the bank. The CC didn’t work anywhere. In the end we changed some USD at great expense (thanks Trump and your predecessors!) It wasn’t until later in the afternoon after our 1^st Cuban beer that Tom went back to our hotel to get our Travelex Mastercard (which were had been told wouldn’t work in Cuba, but it was successful at the ATM!!!!







During the day we chose a Hop-on-Hop-off bus around the city, something we had done often after a long flight and in very hot weather. It was a 2 hour circuit and was fantastic.







We noticed the city was open, with wide streets except for the old town where streets were narrow and often cobblestoned. Many buildings were baroque and Romanesque in architecture. Large columned entrances to buildings, particularly the broad variety of museums. We visited the moated castle – Castillo de la Real Fuerza which told the story of the discovery and founding of Cuba – all in Spanish!! Up on the first floor, accessed by wide, stone stairway, was a fantastic view of the coast around Havana. We could see the Castillo del Morro, a major defence castle since the 1500s. The statue of Cristo de la Habana could be clearly seen across the water near Comandancia del Che another fortress where cannon guns are ceremonially shot at 9.00pm each evening.







We stopped to visit the Catederal de La Habana near the Plasa de Armas. As the day progressed, more and more music and dance were heard. It bought back great memories of one of my favourite tours which was through South America. Salsa and other Latic American dance was all the go. We even saw women on stilts dancing!







The city was very clean and there was extensive restoration of many of the old buildings. There were also a sizable number of deserted buildings, particularly around the American Embassy on one part of the sea-front. Throughout the old town were also deserted buildings, many of which had burned years previously.



We stopped several times for coffee. At one restaurant we had their special cold coffee which was nice.







The last stop for the day was at the Hotel Inglaterra for cold beers and dinner. There was a gentle breeze blowing as we sat under the wide outdoor sitting area. After dinner we noticed a roof-top restaurant at the top of Hotel Plaza. Spectacular views of the city at night could be seen from the restaurant, particular of the Hotel Inglaterra and the Gran Theatro. Again, there was excellent Spanish music and some more dancing. The was also an infinity pool which looked beautiful. To top it off the full moon was rising behind the old buildings.







Evening temperatures were balmy which was better than the 6 degrees overnight in Brisbane!



Later in the evening we experienced the Cuban wifi for the first time. Buying a 1 CUC (=$1.03 USD) wifi card which lasted 1 hour. We bought it at the hotel we had dinner at, but that was after waiting for an hour before the hotel had received a new supply of ETESCA cards.







I saw that I had a text from Sheryl so messaged her to find my 92yo Dad was not well. After many attempts to talk to her, she eventually told me all the details. The wifi service kept cutting out. I don’t think there is anything more frustrating than technology working against you!!







Friday 29 June







Havana is 10.5 hrs behind central Australian time, so I couldn’t phone SA to find out about my Dad. This happened later in the day and I eventually received positive news from Sheryl about Dad.







We decided to walk to the Cigar Factory after breakfast only to find that it had moved 5 years previously. Having no problem to find a taxi, we drove the 4 kms to what was now the main Cigar Factory. This was certainly worth the visit. The knowledgeable guide was so interesting. Learning about the 3 parts of the tobacco plant – top leaves for nicotine level, middle leaf for flavour and bottom leaf for burning – we saw several hundred men and women preparing the leaves, pressing and rolling the cigars and labelling and packing. All brands of cigars were made there. Different types and brands of cigars depended on the ratio of the 3 types of leaves used.







The factory didn’t have a cigar smell. As our smoking cigar days were a dim memory we didn’t buy any!!!!







Walking back to our hotel we then had to move hotels to Hotel la Gargola which was a 10 minute walk and next to a castle and only one block from the water.







On the way back, a lady stopped and spoke to us about a cultural performance scheduled in the evening at the Teatro Marti. She was a ballet teacher and took us to where the performance was scheduled. Tickets were 30CUC each. We were looking forward to the entertainment as I had read about the standard of the performances in this theatre.







For the third time while overseas, my watch stopped. Tom had spotted a watchmaker in one of the streets He looked an expert watchmaker and found the battery was OK but fixed the problem, He showed that he had ‘pressure tested’ my underwater watch by putting it under running water!!! I don’t think I will be subjecting it to too much water pressure until I get it checked at home!! At least it worked. He gave me a hand-written note on what he had done so I guess that was his ‘guarantee’!!







After checking into the new hotel, Tom had a shower while I went back to Hotel Inglaterra to buy more wifi cards. It was 5.00am in Australia so too early to speak to Sheryl but at least I got a text message to her as well as Kerrie & Adam.







At 6.00pm we met our guide Dany who was to take us on the 6 Day Western Cuba Tour. We were originally going to do the 20-day grand Cuba tour but were too late to book it, so we joined 2 tours together to do much the same but in 2 parts. We had to extend our time in Cuba by 4 days which worked well.







After a short briefing we all went to a wonderful restaurant where I had a lobster meal and Tom had pulled pork. We soon learned that meals in Cuba were very big serves. Mental note: lets share our meals. We were a group of 7, a couple from NZ who had already travelled to the east of Havana, the trip we are going on after the western trip. There was another couple from Chicago and Tracy from near Boston. Her husband loves travelling but loves the local 4^th July celebrations even more. Tracey could speak very good Spanish.







The meal and company were excellent but at 8.30pm we left as we had booked into a performance in Teatro Marti. Walking for 5 minutes got us to the theatre and was welcomed by a beautiful local who quickly got us a mojito, the 1^st of 3 drinks included in the price of the ticket for the performance.







For the next 2 hours the Spanish Cuban music and dance entertained us. There was a couple who were performing Latin American dance and quickly invited the audience up to join them. It was an excellent night but we decided to leave before the end of the entertainment. We organised a bike taxi for 5 CUC which was much easier at 11.30pm than walking back. The breeze was fantastic on the bike as our cyclist worked hard whilst we just sat behind him.

---

Photos

Crystal is the beer to drink in Havana Cuba
I had to put in a beer drinking photo