havana

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We had good flight with Avianca from Bogota to Havana. Our first impressions of Cuba were the basic airport facilities but we were quickly through baggage reclaim and passport control.

On the taxi drive from the airport to central Havana we noticed the numerous old American cars dated from the 50's. We had seen and heard about these but it was still quite a shock to see these cars for real. Havana is a really amazing place with wonderful buildings and architecture but many of these are in a poor state of repair.

Our hotel Florida is a restored colonial building in old Havana. It is a very atmospheric place to stay. The quiet and calm interior is in marked contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Calle Obispo outside.

Many hotels are colonial conversions and there are neo classical arches and pillars.

Many people are extremely poor but are living in beautiful old decaying buildings. The faded grandeur of these buildings just adds to the atmosphere and experience.

Some buildings have been successfully restored to their former grandeur and are magnificent.

We spent a lot of time wandering round the plazas and visiting churches, museums and castles. This was all very interesting. We had to contend with a few hustlers offering cigars, restaurants, currency exchange and numerous other articles.

There were numerous tourists also wandering around taking in the sights of this great city. The red bus tour was really good and lasted almost 3 hours taking in the principal sights of the city.

Most cars in the city were very old and many were dilapidated. However we spotted a few mercedes and an audi near Plaza San Francisco and these were very prominent amongst the rest of the old vehicles we saw on the streets.

Our hotel breakfast was very poor so we ate in restaurants at night and we found a good choice El Templete fish restaurant was the best.

Music was everywhere and in every cafe, restaurant and bar. We kept a supply of small change to donate to the musicians in the various bands.

Our excursion to see Hemingway's house was enjoyable and also to Cojimar fishing village.

We realised very quickly that communications would be much more difficult than expected , even in Havana. The reality was that internet access is extremely limited and when you get it it is so slow as to be not worth the effort!

We enjoyed our mohitos and other rum based cocktails such as cuba libres and pina coladas.

Planning our tour of cuba was not easy. Initially we had hoped to do some travel by rail but we heard that only one train a day left Havana and this was not reliable and also it did not go to where we wanted.

We decided to hire a car so we could visit the West of Cuba including Vinales and then travel to the famous bay of pigs followed by some time in Trinidad. Finally we wanted to relax at Caya Coco in a nice beach resort!

We also wanted to vary our stay with hotels and casa particulares where you can stay with local families in a bed and breakfast type of arrangement.

We were helped by a Havana based tourist company who helped us with room bookings.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to wondeful Havana and start our car journey around Cuba.

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