It’s just a jump to the left...

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We’ve been offline for several weeks. Cuba doesn’t have a lot of things and one of these is internet access but we are now back in Mexico so able to provide a few updates from our time in fascinating Cuba.

Arriving in Havana is like entering a time warp. It is unique, magically blending elements of its past –colonialism, slavery, and 1950’s decadence with artistic revival, the revolution and its communist present. There are streets after streets of grand architecture – much of it in decay. The air is pungent with the smell of diesel pumped out by 1950’s Buicks and Chevrolets, as well as the more recent imports from Russia like the Lada and Skoda. The only advertising billboards expound the virtues of the revolution. The people are ethnically diverse, proud, confident, and extremely welcoming.

We could only scratch the surface of trying to understand what makes La Habana tick. Habana Vieja (the old quarter) attracts the bulk of tourist and is a tribute to the government and its drive to bring in much needed foreign funds from tourism. A government agency was put in charge of restoring Habana Vieja in the 1980s. In the process the poor families that occupy a decaying building are moved out to temporary accommodation while the government renovates the building to its colonial glory. The people move back in and often the ground floor becomes a restaurant, shop, or art gallery. Funds raised from tourists are used to keep the restoration process going and are also used for “social projects”, for example, funding old aged drop in centres, women’s sewing cooperative, and a maternity centre.

Accommodation ranged from the expensive at the beautifully renovated and stately hotels like the Nacional and the Seville (we preferred to have a mojito or cerverza at these places) to the more intimate Casa Particulares (rooms in private houses). Home owners register with the government to rent out rooms which must boost their income substantially. In Havana we stayed with Melba and her extended family – at least half of which seemed to be doctors.

Habana highlights for us including driving around in an old Buick convertible, seeing the Buena Vista Social Club at the Havana Club (we suspect a couple of the very old members are actually originals from the 1950’s), and discovering interesting places to eat like “El Gringo Viejo” near where we were staying. Jackson and Andrew also had a haircut at an old fashion barber shop. We spent hours just walking around Habana Vieja going from museums, to restaurants, to quirky shops. We also visited one of the three Lenin parks in the city – although the one we visited was the John (Lennon) rather than the Vladamir Illich variety. It has a statute of the former Beatle and naturally enough Jackson found half a dozen kids to play football with in the park.

Havana actually proved to be better than we expected for football. Although baseball rules the sporting world in Cuba, at sunset the parks, streets and futsal/basketball courts burst into life with impromptu games of football.

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