Advertisement
Published: December 23rd 2008
Getting into Cuba was actually easier than getting into the US! We rocked on up, after having our plane delayed, handed over our piece of paper that was for the visa card, it got stamped, they push a buzzer and you walk through the door and you´re in Cuba. The casa particular we stayed in, Casa Tamara if you´re ever in Havana, was really nice. The couple that owned it were sooo nice and friendly and helpful. The two wee dogs they had, which were 12 years old, didn´t bark too much thankfully but the boy one did keep jumping the girl one and I´m surprised her hips didn´t get broken!
Our first day in Havana (Thursday) we went to get a local bus into town. We went around the corner and managed to establish which bus we needed. We tried to pay the bus man but in the end he just waved us on the bus and we squeezed on. We went in search of a bank or casa de cambio that would cash the travellers cheques as our host had said no internation debit cards would work at the cash machines. We walked up and down one of
the main streets for most of the day being directed to different banks or change places that apparently would change travellers cheques, but if it is issued by American Express, despite what the internet and your guide book might tell you, you can NOT use them in Cuba. We waited in line to change some Convertible peso into Peso National as you need that for street food and apparently the local buses which is why we were unable to pay that morning. It took about 20-30mins and there was a guard on the inside so only one person was allowed to go in at a time and you couldn´t open the door from the outside the guard had to let you in.
After we´d got some national peso it started to pour down so we went along to the Gran Teatro de la Habana and got a tour of that. Was quite nice inside, the president has a special seat reserved for only him to use and it´s the best seat in the house. There was an opera on that night that for cubans the cost was like 5 national peso and for tourists 20 convertible. One Convertible peso
(CUC) = 24 national peso (CUP). As we were very limited with our CUCs and not sure if we were able to get more we declined - that and we didn´t fancy the opera! When we got out it was raining even more so we went into the Capiitolio, which is a replica of the one in Washington. It helped fill in some time but wasn´t anything great. Oh, we did get to sit in the presidential desk though. We were walking past a door and a guard lady comes up to us and goes you can´t go in there, which we hadn´t planned on since the door was shut, we were just going to look through the glass. Next thing she´s opening the door and going come on come on, quick quiet and ushered us into the room! She then asked for our cameras and goes sit sit quick quick, keep quiet - this is the presidential desk. So we got our photos taken there and we had to exit into the big commons area so ended up on the podium bit! I was trying to get some money our for her but the zip was stuck so she´s
standing there asking something for me yes and asked for less than what I was going to give her so all good.
When we got out the rain had stopped so we tried an exchange place we´d been told accepted travellers cheques, but it was shut for another 30mins so we waited in the hotel lobby and listened to a cuban band. There was a lady selling cigars, so I borrowed the one she was smoking and got a photo with that, but Lorna bought a cigar which she liked. Turned out no the exchange place didn´t accept travellers cheques and we were fed up trying by now and it had started to rain so we got a taxi back to the guesthouse. The taxi driver had some sausage looking things so I asked in spanish what they were and next thing he was giving us one to try. We established they were meat of some sort and cost 1 CUP which was really cheap! They were yummy too. We went looking for a supermarket so could buy something for our dinner and found one, but it has a Chinese resteraunt next to it so since we´d had such
Gran Teatro (Grand Theatre)
The green light is under the best seat in the theatre, reserved for the Presidenta crap day we decided to eat our and the whole meal came to about 5 quid so that cheered us up. Oh and also we randomly tried Lorna´s debit card at the ATM at the bus station around the corner and it worked!! So annoying after all day but go good we had money. Could´ve also got national pesos from it too!
The next morning I got a bus down to Playa Giron cos wanted to visit the Bay of Pigs area and museum. I´d bought my ticket the day before and they´d not been able to tell me what time the return bus came back to Havana. I asked the driver and he said about 6:15pm. The bus would drop me off about 12:30 and there was only 2 buses a day each one, one in morning and one in the afternoon. I nearly didn´t go but as had spent the money figured screw it am sure there´s other things to do there after the museum. The bus only took 3 hours instead of 4 so arrived in at 11:30am and the museum took 10minutes to go around but I managed to stretch it to 25mins. There
was a tank and plane used by cuba during the Bay of Pig invasion, and then various guns used, clothing and personal items of fighters. Some of the clothes had bullet holes in them which was a bit not very nice. I then spent the next 5 hours sitting on the hotel´s beach and rented a beach chair for one CUC and was allowed to use their toilet also. Was really nice, and quiet. Had a swim and lay in the sun. Got to have a coconut cut off a tree and a straw put in it to drink it. Was only a few other guests on the beach and security guy so was pretty safe.
On Saturday we did the hop on hop off bus around Havana. Was a bit of a waste of money really. There were 3 routes and only one had commentary but only if you were on the double decker one, which was nice cos was open top. I'd gone over to use los banos (the loo) and the driver had said they'd wait and I had a few mintues, and when I came out and was crossing the road the bus was driving
off! I'd left my bag on the bus but luckily Lorna was on it too. I waved at them and the driver smiled at me and pretended to drive off. When I got up to Lorna she said the bus had gone to leave once already cos they'd forgotten I was coming! Got to see a few things like the revolutionary plaza, just around the corner from where we were staying, drive along the waterfront, the marina, Cementerio de Cristobal Colon (Columbus cemetry) - which we got off at and wandered around. It is a cemetery from the 1800s and is really big. There is the tomb of La Milagrosa where locals go to pray so it had loads of flowers on it. Also saw some of Hemingway´s places, the hotel he stayed in and one of his favourite pubs, and got the bus back along the waterfront where the waves were crashing over the walls it was so strong.
The next day we went to the beach by getting two local buses out there. They squash as many people as possible into the bus and then a few more for good measure. I kept hearing a bird and
then realised a lady had a bird in one of her bags! It must have been tied up cos wasn't moving. The beach was sooo nice, more like what'd we'd imagined Cuba to be like I think. Clear blue water, white sand, palm trees, coconuts. There was a lady walking round with a pineapple on her head selling fruit so I got a whole pineapple, a guava (which I LOVE) and an orange for 5 CUC and it was soooo yum. Fresh fruit while sitting on a beautiful beach - perfect. We went for a swim and the water was warm and quite shallow even for us shorties lol.
We managed to find our way back to the main road to get the bus back into town. There were about 20 people waiting for the bus and the first one that came was totally full so didn't stop. The next one looked nearly as full and maybe 5 people could squish in. But no, all 20 of us piled in and sardines would have even felt squashed! We changed buses and got one that was going into town cos Lorna wanted to buy some more of the sausage things
so again it was a full bus and we went in the back door. We were like 2 stops from where we had to get off and the doors opened to let people on/off and as we were standing on the steps right beside the door Lorna's foot got caught in the door and her jandle (flip flop) got caught in it and ripped! When we got of the bus it was hanging by a thread but was a write off. We couldn't stop laughing but kinda fixed it using a rubberband and the sleeping eye patch things you get given on planes that she randomly had in her bag. It did the job and we went to the sausage shop but it was closed, so we got a big chuggy chevy car out to La Coppelia which is the park where Coppelia icecream is sold. My book has said locals would queue for hours so when we got out the taxi we joined the queue that was there. After about 40mins we got near the front and wondered why people were just walking straight up to the kiosk. Turns out the queue we'd stood in was for the cafe/resteraunt
bit if you wanted to sit down and eat it from bowls!! It was pretty good ice cream though, the strawberry was yum.
Monday was our last day in Cuba and Lorna decided she was going to have another beach day but I wanted to go to the Revolutionary Museum so went into town to do just that. It was interesting but very anti-American to the point it was kinda funny but did get a bit much. The museum is in the old Presidential Palace, so in the courtyard there are bullet holes from the attack in 1957. Outside at the back is the boat that Castro and his 81 rebels came to Cuba on from Mexico - it is a boat built for 20 people! And a van used in the 1957 attack, a tank and plane used in the Bay of Pigs, I think it was the tank Castro used to shoot at one of the American ships; part of the spy plane shot down in the sixties. There were a number of armed guards partolling this area and while I was taking a photo of the van heard a funny noise behind me but ignored it.
It kept going and I turned around and it was of the guards trying to whistle at me and when I looked he made kissy noises and goes Lady, where you from? I looked at him, with my best scornful look and said Nuh and walked off. The guys in Cuba got really annoying for that. Inside the rest of the museum were bits and pieces from various attacks by America on Cuba, the history of Cuba and the history of Che and Castro. I went for a walk down to the old walls at the other end of the town and again got the Lady where you from, from a guy behind me so I just ignored him. He asked again and then a lady goes, what wrong with you lady you racist. Nearly turned round and told them where to go but ignored them and walked faster.
When I got back to the house Lorna arrived not long after and she'd also gone to the museum cos the beach was a bit windy. She'd bought some of the sausages so put them in her pasta we cooked and ended up having to go from both ends for
the whole night! Don't think they were made to be reheated! I slept through most of it and didn't realise until the morning. When we got back to Cancun got a bus down to Chetumal on the Mexico-Belize border so could cross the next day instead of having to do it overnight. Cuba wasn't a place I would recommend to people but if you did go I would say don't spend a whole week in Cuba, go out west to like Trinidad for a few days. And take lots of currency that you can acutally change so you don't waste time trying to get money. It did get better once we got used to the Cuban way though but wouldn't go back there.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.051s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Katrina
non-member comment
Misspelled Jandal.....then I just couldn't read the rest.