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***WARNING! There are lots of photos associated with this blog!!***
Cuba! Rum, salsa, baseball, Castro, Che! It's all just a nine hour flight away from Madrid. Air Europa may be cheap and cheerful but they certainly represented the best value for us to get there. On arrival, even immigration seemed straight forward but we have been repeatedly told how lucky we were.
We arrived a day ahead of our friends, mostly members of the South Wales Travelbugs which we were active members of before our travels began. A taxi had been organised and the driver was there to meet us. We were also lucky to have to a queue for only ten minutes or so to change some money. Come with Euros if you can as there is a 10% surcharge for changing US Dollars. It seems strange having to use a visitors' currency, the CUC (convertible unit of currency) rather than the Cuban Peso. Still, that's what visitors have to do and the locals are really keen to take them off your hands as they are quite valuable in monetary terms.
The taxi dropped us off at the B&B which had been arranged for us. Sadly Jesus
and Maria had no room at their Inn (fitting!) but we were escorted to one of their friend's places where we had a room to rest our travel weary heads. After breakfast the next morning we were taken back and an hour or so later a room was available for us to leave our bags. It wasn't quite ready for us to relax in to start to overcome our jet lag. The reason for the lack of a room despite the reservation was a stolen camera requiring its angry owner to spend an extra night in the city. Not to worry. The police seemed to be dealing with them efficiently enough so we set out to explore our surroundings before our friends arrived in the evening.
Havana is visually stunning. Around every corner lurks a new subject for a keen photographer. Classic American cars from the 1940s and 1950s are everywhere. Some are beautifully restored; others rattle along the roads spewing out toxic black smoke behind them and it's a wonder there are not bits and pieces strewn along the streets as there must surely be debris dropping off at every bump in the road or hole in the
ground. The buildings are beautiful too and their level of restoration varies as much as that of the cars! Poor people and rich people rub shoulders in the street and everyone except the bemused and lost looking tourist wears a broad smile. It is a city for wandering aimlessly around simply taking in the visual smörgåsbord on offer. By the time our friends all arrived later that day, we had already fallen in love with the city.
We spent the best part of a week exploring Havana and it's environs. There were so many highlights that I can't begin to list them all here. Where to begin? Well, history seems as good a place of any and Havana is full of it. The Museum of the Revolution was excellent and we learned a lot about the antics of Che Guevera and Fidel Castro. Most of the contents were things we had seen in various TV documentaries over the years which is why the more central museum dedicated to political struggle was more interesting. It contained many stories which we had never heard about, such as the fight to free the five political prisoners in the USA who had been
accused of espionage. We're not here to judge, just to observe, and it was good to see everything from a slightly different point of view compared to that which the Western media have always given us. The history of Havana goes back much further though, and the Portuguese forts and old sea walls are testament to that era. There are, of course, many statues around the city, paying homage to different figures in Cuba's rich history.
Hemingway has to get a mention too. We saw his statue in
El Floridita where he used to drink his
daiquiri and the wall full of the massed signatures of guests alongside Hemingway's scrawl in
La Bodeguita del Medio where he used to drink his
mojitos. Unfortunately both of these bars are well and truly on the tourist trail and the prices of the famous cocktails are sky high as a result so we didn't bother. Crowds also flock to the Hotel Ambos Mundos to see where the great writer took up residence for a while. It was enough just to chill out in the lobby without joining the multitude queuing to go up in the lift or clatter up the stairs. Far
better was a trip out to
Finca La Vigía in one of the city's outlying districts. This house became Hemingway's home and is crammed with his hunting trophies, books and writing equipment. The air is sweet and fresh, and it's not hard to see why he retreated out there to write. The views are spectacular too, and you can also have a look round his fishing boat,
Pilar, which stands proudly displayed in the garden.
Symbols of the revolution are everywhere and you can't turn a corner without being reminded of it. Revolution Square itself is quite a way from the central part of Old Havana but it is an amazing sight. An enormous open square is flanked on one side by tall buildings and hotels bearing the faces of Fidel and Che, along with a huge inscription of Che's famous phrase "Hasta la Victoria Siempre". Dominating the square is a tower which houses the José Martí Memorial. Martí was a political activist in the late 1800s and is considered by many to be the "Apostle of Cuban Independence."
In Havana you can travel around by
bici, a bicycle taxi using human power. There are also the Coco Taxis where
you can ride in a plastic yellow coconut shell on wheels. Of course, you can also take a luxurious trip around in a classic car. Just be sure to negotiate the price before you get in! As for us, we prefer walking around and getting a real feel for the place. The
Malecon is the long road alongside the waterfront which stretches for miles. Along the way we were mesmerized by the
Monte de las Banderas where hundreds of Cuban flags fly. Apparently this was originally in defiance of the USA blockade as US interests are looked after by the nearby Swiss Embassy. Not too far away is the
Hotel Nacional where we sat out on the terrace and had a
mojitio. For people who don't like rum, we drank rather a lot of these during our stay!!
The Cuban art scene is certainly alive and well. If it's propaganda posters or images of Che you want, you've come to the right place. Serious art fans can also find loads of small galleries featuring anything from fine art to portraits to surrealism to pop art. There's even something curious called Naive Art which we had never heard of before
but quite liked. In a small cul-de-sac near the cathedral we stumbled across a lithography studio. Watching the artists at work was fascinating. Another place to head for is San José where you will find a wonderful artisan market in the old warehouses.
Music is also extremely important culturally. There's not a
plaza in town without a live band and maybe some dancing. One evening we went out to the
Casa de la Musica in the upmarket Miramar district. We had expected loads of salsa dancing, but instead we got a live singer with a dance group who were like something from the 1980s: Kraftwerk perhaps. It was an excellent show followed by a latino disco which was noisy but lots of fun! There's also an awful lot of "street entertaining" in the city with human statues galore fighting for your spare change alongside stilt walkers and a clown with a real live dog on his head. One thing is for sure, you'll never be bored in Havana.
Food, drink and nightlife are very varied too. Street snacks are generally expensive unless you can get your hands on some local currency. What should cost 4 pesos (20p)
will actually cost you about £3 because technically you cannot spend anything but convertibles and they want to charge you 4CUC instead of 4 pesos. Maybe we were unlucky and vendors will apply an exchange rate but it spoilt the fun a bit for us. We did, however, find Crepe Sayu which provided us with ample snacks at a good price in CUCs. We found out about them from
a great foodie blog . Havana is full of excellent restaurants and we certainly had our fill of great meals. A particular highlight was
La Guarida , a short open-top classic-car taxi ride away. The food was amazing and the prices were not too bad at all, but go up onto the rooftop and sip a
mojito with a full panoramic view of Havana and you'll never want to leave! Don't let the crumbling walls of the building's exterior put you off - they just add to the atmosphere.
As we said, there is just too much to do in Havana to squeeze into one blog, but that's all you are going to get! By the way, if you want to do a tour of a cigar factory, check with your hotel to see that
it's actually open for tours at the time you want to go. We wish we had! Instead we got to visit the gift shop!!
Havana (far from) done and dusted our group headed off on the bus to our next destination, Cienfuegos. The proliferation of photos on this entry should whet your appetite and hopefully you'll take a look at the next blog when it gets written!!!!!
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Jo Trouble
Jo McCarthy
Completely agree!
A few memories here :-) I could have spent all my Cuba time in Habana, and still not had enough! Looking forward to the rest of your photos - need to get on to my own Cuba blogs!