Our favourite things in Cuba

Things we liked

• Mojitos 2.50 - 3.00 CUC
• Daiquiris 2.50 - 3.00 CUC

• Ice creams (best was in Cienfuegos, condensed milk, and vanilla with choc chip) 5 MN per cone
• Black bean soup free with casa meals

• Town dogs - around the smaller towns like trinidad and vinales there are lots of friendly dogs that just hang around the street. They all seem to be similar types of medium sized dogs and are very well behaved. They love getting a bit of attention from tourists.
• Lobster 10 CUC (15 for fancy pants, sometimes less than 10 in popular areas)
• Tukola(and other nacional refrescos) 1.00 CUC at bar

• Cristal beer 1-1.50 CUC

• Old american cars

• Pizza bread 10mn at local joints if u can, 2 CUC for tourist places
• Rum - from 3.80 CUC a bottle. 6.00 CUC for an aged one!
• Casa owners
• Music - live groups are playing somewhere everyday, mostly on the bars and restaurants.

• Trinidad- or favourite place in Cuba (we assumed it would be Havana)

Things we didn't

• Old car exhaust
• Fruit overdose
• Government service
• Getting hassled, a lot of people are friendly nut some want stuff and you can trek those that do because they remedially mention that their wife had recently had a baby, either there is an incredible amount of babies being born, out they realise that it is the best way to tug at the heart strings. Before asking you for money they offer you some crap gift' then hit you for some pesos for some crap.

Conversion rate at time of travel:

• 1 CUC = $1.16
• 1 MN = $0.05

Havana (Part 2), Cuba

After waking with the roosters of Vinales we successfully dodged breakfast (due to the early departure) and hoped on our last Viazul bus ride to Havana for a few more days of hanging out before heading onto Mexico to celebrate Joss' 30th. We arrived at Eddies, and stayed in the 3rd different room. We had now sampled them all and the best was saved for last; we had our own little terrace getaway. After a return visit to Waoo Snack Bar for lunch we walked first to an exciting sounding live music street/area for a bit of Cuban Afro music. We however found it to be a bit of a tourist trap. As soon as we got there we were pounced on by quite a few locals talking to us in English but ultimately wanting us to give them money or buy them a drunk. We sought refuge in a bar right beside the hectic area and got chatting with a married couple Julio (who lived in Barcelona) and Diego (who lived in Mexico city). Gay travellers are very open in Cuba it seems! Although the music and atmosphere wasn't what we were after it was nice to meet some more interesting traveler sorts. Afterwards we headed to the Jazz Cafe in search of music and atmosphere more to our tempo. We thought that surely on a Sunday they would have a bit of music going on during the early afternoon but we were wrong, the live act started at 11pm (it was 5:30)! Concerned we didn't have the pesos on us to survive that long (or the stamina) we headed back to our Casa for a quick break, shower and headed back ready for action. After numerous mojitos and pina coladas a jazz pianist Roberta Fonseca and his 5 piece group played an hour set (for a 'jazz cafe' they are pretty limited with the amount of live jazz they play 1 hr per day). Although short it was pretty spectacular, and would have been better off not for the idiot tourists who chatted the whole way through. At 1 point the band was giving some death stares, luckily they weren't Aussie (just quietly one group was German, the other we think Spanish)

Roberta Fonseca and his band... and yes that is a ukulele

Our last day in Cuba we decided to try check out the Havana Belle's Artes in central Havana only to find it was closed on Mondays... Cuba. Instead we had a wander around some of the restored areas around Havana which are simple stunning but somehow lack the feel of the rest of Havana. Perhaps because they are so touristy... another thing we noticed, well we saw before but have become more frustrated with. A of people who approach us in the street and start talking to us. The ones offering cabs and restaurants are OK because if you say no to them they accept it. The ones who become annoying come up and want to talk in English and even after you say no, they continue, often interrupting our conversation. We generally assume want something in return (based on our personal experience it has been true) with makes them eloquent beggars. It has made us think back to the guy we meet earlier on Havana and how nice he was, but 2 weeks later we would have found him a nuisance and we cannot help but think we perpetuated this behaviour. Overall it is negative as ultimately tourists feel hassled and will then start to not want to visit. It isn't unique to Havana, but it is certainly the worst here - how we would do things differently now. Anyway after wandering around and having a few drinks we went for dinner at yet another of the article suggestions: Chef Ivan Gustow. Apart from the closed venues it hasn't led us astray, and again we weren't disappointed. Joss fed on what can only be described as a family of lobster, after which she said something she never thought she would 'I have had enjoy lobster please take it away'! Paul feasted on a tasty Lamb shank which came from an obviously very young lamb for which he felt extremely guilty. Although the meal was good it wasn't as good as the other nice restaurants we have been to. The dishes didn't quite come together as well (considering the price we paid). After dinner it was back to the Casa for a bit of a wind down with rum and cigars... the only way to finish off the Cuba leg of our trip.

Havana streets/alleys

Plaza Vieja one of the squares that has had the most renovations

Enjoying a beer overlooking the river

UPDATE: after a night of dual evacuations for Paul, we have downgraded the restaurant from 'recommended' to 'with caution'. Cuba has been great and very interesting, and the next post will list some of the good and bad parts of our Cuba journey.

Valle de Viñales, Cuba

An early morning bus meant we could skip the 4 course breakfast (thank god), and got us to Valle de Viñales around lunch. We were met at the bus station by Carlos our Casa host who took back to settle in to what ended up being a little impractical as it felt like we were intruding in their house. We decided to acquaint ourselves with the town before committing to any of the more active options so we had a bit of a wander around before settling in for some lunch and a few beers. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of options in the small town, with a mix of bad service or a lack of atmosphere. It seems that, like a lot of places in Cuba the real action happens after 10pm when the live music starts. So although a little disappointed we headed back to the Casa for a lobster dinner and a few more drinks.

After dinner we wandered into town to confirm that the previously sleepy bars came alive... and they did. The government run cultural centre - which we had visited earlier and was dead - was just getting ready for a live act to start: a 9 piece Cuban band with an extremely tall lead singer. Armed with mojitos (probably the least exciting one we have had in Cuba, but still drinkable), we sat back and enjoyed the music with another storm as a backdrop. After a few songs these seemingly random guys got up to do a bit of solo dancing in the rain (no one else was dancing). They were both wearing shorts and thongs, and one was wearing sunnies. This look led us to assume they were some tourists getting up to practice their salsa moves they had learnt, the moves they were doing supported this. However as the song went on they started to throw a few more moves in, which were going suspiciously well with the song, perhaps they weren't so random after all... Then 2 girls came out and they started to salsa with them, and pretty well! It was very entertaining, and we still can't figure out if it was completely staged or whether they were both dancers who had maybe come to cuba for a bit of a dance holiday (a lot of people do, either to learn or just dance with all the locals). Either way in was enjoyable. Unfortunately though the band took a break and just didn't come back on. We weren't sure why, perhaps the rain was causing difficulties with their equipment, whatever it was it seems that the best thing to do is shrug your shoulders and say, well that is the Cuban way and head back to the Casa.

Tobacco huts

Selfie on the rooftop 'terrace' at our Casa 

Day 2 we awoke with slightly fuzzy heads from the mojitos the night before (good mojitos don't seem to have caused it before so it must have been the quality not the quantity ;) but we powered on through another fruity breakie to build up our energy for a day of biking around the picturesque Valle Viñales area. After a leisurely start we got on our way and and meandered west from town until we got to a 'prehistoric mural' wall painting, the catch being the subject was prehistory, not the painting. Never the less it was pretty impressive seeing a mural that covered an entire cliff, even if it was a complete eyesore (different strokes for different folks and all that). We then headed back to town and south up a hill to get what to the best viewing spot in the Valle Viñales area. We took in the view with a nice long break and some Taranja refrescos, which area locally made equivalents of Coke and Fanta. It was then back downhill through the town and then up north to see what the scenery provided. Again it was more pretty spectacular scenery but this time we didn't really have a destination in mind but were enjoying riding through such amazing scenery. After going as far as we felt were could and still be able to make the return journey we turned back and headed back to town for some lunch (lucky we had such a massive breakie) and then to our Casa for a long rest before dinner. We decided to have a quiet night in prep for the early morning bus back to Havana.

Not a bad view for the ride

The Mural de la Prehistorica

A well earned Naranja break

And the view we were enjoying it with

And one more

Havana Transit Day

Today was spent mostly on the viazul bus from Cienfuegos to Havana before our trip tomorrow to Valle de Viñales. When we arrived we had to do a few errands, get money (which really is harder than it should be) and change the date of our flight to Cancun. We decided to return to Mexico earlier so we could have a more relaxing celebration on Joss' birthday in Playa Del Carmen. Relaxing because there is no respite in Havana from car exhaust even if you are staying in a nice hotel... which is also unlikely to have the friendliest staff.

Anyway, as we already mentioned we tried to change the return ticket at the Cubana airlines office last Thursday at 3pm (the office should be open till 4pm), but were met with a sign saying the office was closed because of the air con, and wouldn't you know it, Thursday one week later they had exactly the same problem! Lucky for them they kept the same sign, at least they don't waste paper! What are the odds of them having to close again at 2 - we rocked up at 2:12 at least we weren't the only ones exasperated by this - frustrated by more government ineptitude we decided to instead cut our losses and book with Aero Mexicana.

The offending sign

Afterwards we returned to our Casa, cleaned ourselves up ready for another dinner out. While we were getting ready a thunder storm was brewing and pretty much just as we were ready to leave it hit. The only way to describe it was angry. There was some crazy close lightening and the rain was bearing down in full support. During what was possibly the calm eye of this storm we headed out to find another of the article recommendations, only to find it was closed for what we assume was renos. Disappointed we headed back in the direction of our Casa as the storm was still letty imposing: the lightening was lighting up the whole sky in massive horizontal looking bolts and looked like they were travelling from cloud to cloud if that is even possible.

With some luck we found what we think was a family run bar that served some food with a friendly hostess who spoke great English but was nervous to be serving foreigners. It was close to our Casa in case we had to make a run for it and we had a great view of the storm from the the 1st floor terrace. Not the night we had hoped for but turned out pretty fun.

Cienfuegos, Cuba

Our bus from Trinidad to Cienfuegos left at 10:30 leaving us enough time to fit in breakfast at our Casa before we left... now to most that would seem a blessing but we have started to find the breakfasts to be hard to get through, not the quality of food but sheer quantity. They are all pretty similar: a plate of tropical fruit, now we are taking a big plate with 3 or 4 different fruits including mango, guava, pineapple, banana, papaya, watermelon and more accompanied with fresh mango, guava or pineapple juice. After what is already to much fruit (we are getting our 5 serves right there) it is into eggs (optional, but a good way to help you through the fruit with some savoury), then coffee with bread, meats, cheese, maybe a crepe, and at one some very tasty biscuits. It is literally 30 min of non stop eating, which was great for the first few days but it is getting hard after so many. And you cannot say no, the Casas are very proud of providing a good start to the day!

So after battling our way through breakfast and an uneventful bus ride we arrived at Casa de Las Golondrinas with hosts Victor & Sosa. We dumped or bags and headed out for a bit of exploring. with only one night we didn't have a lot of time, and unfortunately as the bus arrived at midday we were doing our wandering in heat enough to make cacti wilt. Never the less we powered on and ended up wandering around the main city streets and then onto the malecon around the bay. We were getting pretty hot so took a break for some surprisingly good service and lunch at the Club Cienfuegos where some very fancy private yachts moor (we assume visitors to Cuba not locals) it was surprising because it is government run.

Afterwards we continued down in search of a bar to seek respite from the sun and have a few cervesa. We instead found a park at the end of the point the road was following with many locals enjoying a swim in the cooling water and generally relaxing. We decided to join them (for the hanging on the swimming) and were happy to find a gazebo bar where we enjoyed cervesa and some expertly made mojitos and daiquiris made by some very friendly fellas. Just as we were enjoying them a refreshing thunder storm arrived. Perfecto. After the rain petered out, we started our walk back to town only to be talked into a bike taxi ride back instead. On the way the driver/rider told us in very good English some of the plights of Cuban people. He himself used to be a history teacher, but only being paid 12 CUC, found it was not enough to support a family, so he quit and is a bike taxi instead, which can net him 40 CUC a month after paying the government some fee or tax and a kind of forced super. In comparison doctors get 25 CUC from the government (but we think are given gifts payments from patients), lawyers 22, and beating them all: the military get 80-100 CUC! Viva la revolucion.  He also somewhat explained how housing worked, he and his sister were lucky enough to have inherited their grandmother's house (no idea how she got it), but they don't seem to own it but instead inherited the lease, so they can rent it from the government for 5 CUC a month. If you want do indeed want to buy a house you have to have the entire amount up front, you can imagine how far out of reach this is when people earn 18 CUC a month and have to save for months to buy shoes or clothes. Puts it into perspective why Roberto in Santa Clara was keen for t-shirts.

Despite all of this he says Cuban people are happy - and apart from the government workers certainly seems is true. He was also quite open in saying that Raul has been a positive influence, implementing changes that mean people like him can earn more money than before by working as taxi drivers or Casa owners. His opinion was that after Fidel dies things will change. The people will want change, perhaps because the end of Fidel represents the end of the first revolution, and the next generations can then make their mark on Cuban history. His only concern was that the US would use force or threat of force to overtake Cuba... a fear we think not accurate, however we can imagine the US using its (capitalist) power to exert influence on the next Cuban government to encourage outcomes that are in the best interests to the USA, but not the downtrodden Cubans. After our interesting ride we kicked back at our Casa on the rooftop terrace enjoying more mojitos with dinner then had a quiet night before or bus ride back to Havana.

The Cienfuegos Malecon

Hanging in the park

More park

Scruffy Paul with a Mojito and nuts in a cone

Some of the stunning French Colonial architecture, everywhere else is Spanish

Our dinner spread on the Casa terrace - black beans, chicken with pineapple, fritters and trimmings

Trinidad, Cuba

The 3rd of our Cuba destinations is Trinidad, a town south of Santa Clara where most of the Centro Historico (central district) is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. During it's heyday it was an important sugar growing hub during the years of the Spanish colony. Unsurprisingly it is a pretty stunning city and conveniently our Casa (Casa Amigos del Mundo) is situated pretty much in the Centro Historico, which where all the action and sites are.

After arriving around 3pm at our Casa we dropped our bags and had a bit of a (very hot) walk to get our bearings. We climbed up a tower that is part of the Museo Municipal and were surprised by how small the city seems. After such a hectic day we decided we had earnt a break and returned to the Casa rooftop terrace for some drinks and a special pineapple chicken dinner (if anyone didn't know, joss loves pineapple in savoury meals). After dinner we headed out to the town square where there was live music, dudes breathing fire and a lot of locals and tourists doing a bit of salsa. We have found out that pretty much everything starts at 10pm in Cuba so there was the post dinner timing was perfect, it was a lot of fun and there were loads of people out and about. Because there are so many tourists around it seems like it might be a nightly event here... we will find out tomorrow!

Streets around the UNESCO heritage zone of Trinidad

Looking over Trinidad and the stunning surrounds

The terrace - best we have had so far

Day two was pretty relaxing, we climbed another tower in a different museo and took in the surrounds with the sound of a Cuban band playing in the park opposite on ground level. With such a nice atmosphere and with the sun scorching we then decided to hang in the shade of the park for about an hour taking in the sound of the 5 Buena Vista Social Clubesque musician buskers. After that we decided to take a stroll to check out a pottery factory to check out the local pottery being crafted on wheels. On the way we passed the ruins of Santa Ana church. We bought a couple of small pottery pieces then made the long and hot walk back to the center of town, and it was hot. So hot birds were flying under other birds to get shade and lizards were scared to leave the shade. Hot! Once we made it back we decided to have lunch, and lay low to conserve our energy for the night, when the town comes alive - the same square that is packed at night with music and people is virtually empty all day (it seems only idiot tourists are out in the heat of the day).

Around 6 pm we decided we were well rested enough to head our for some drinks and dinner, although it must be said that 6 is still bloody hot. Anyway we stalked out a bar from the lonely planet that sounded great, the daiquiri bar (correct pronunciation is die-ka-rie ) however we were very disappointed to find that it was closed, not least because we walked what felt the equivalent of many furlongs in the heat. Anyway we returned again to the town centre where nearly everything seems to happen, and settled in for a couple of beers on the main steps before heading to dinner. We picked a nearby restaurant 'Los Conspiradores' with first floor balcony seats which had a good view of the people below and the brewing thunderstorm in the distance but still close enough to hear the music in the square. Over another fantastic dinner (lobster pasta and shrimp in devil sauce) the storm grew providing us with a great show over the centuries old cathedral in the square and tantalising us with the promise of cooling rains. With the refreshing rain frustratingly keeping its distance we decided to keep watching the storm and taking in the live music on the steps with a delicious and cheap 1 CUC pina colada from one of the street vendors. Just as we had finished our coladas the rain came, so we made a quick dash for our Casa and enjoyed a rum and cigar in the courtyard watching the downpour. A pretty great day in a historic town in the Caribbean.

Cuban band playing in the park

Cocktails and dinner

Lightening storm over the square

Another, the storm was spectacular

Cigars and rum

For our final day in Trinidad we thought we would make the most of the conveniently located beach 'Playa Ancon' (playa meaning beach in Spanish). The beach was pretty stunning with little palm gazebos up and down the sand providing shade with perfect beach going weather, perfect because we had the shade of a little gazebo. There were folk walking up and down the beach selling fruit, small pizza breads, popcorn and other delights the we didn't really know what they were. All of this was well and good but we felt there was a market missing in that of beverage sales. Many Cubans were walking up the beach or swimming with a bottle of rum, taking a swig and then passing it around, but the source of such treats remained a mystery. We decided to ask one of the traveling pizza salesman, who told us we had to walk up the beach somewhere (this was in Spanish so we weren't too sure). However it seems that on his travels that he was passed one of the kiosks and told them that some foreigners were asking about drinks. An entrepreneurial guy from the kiosk approached us with the offer to bring us drinks! Now we did discover that it was a short enough walk, but far enough to question whether we could be bothered, so the promise of delivered beers was hard to resist so we accepted his offer and of course tipped him generously.

Naturally we didn't just watch the water but also swam in the Caribbean, during oneof the swims we were interrupted by a school of small fish that came straight at us, bumping into us and jumping out of the water and hitting us on the backs and shoulders! It seems this isn't a regular occurrence as the school moved straight past us into a group of locals who were equally surprised. Another irregularity we witnessed was just before our last swim we saw a guy in the water, presumingly local, proceed to vomit multiple times, and not involuntarily - he was sticking his hand down his throat! Perhaps he had partaken in too much rum earlier in the day, and mixed with seawater it left him a bit unpleasant, whatever the reason we decided it was a safe bet to swim up tide of him. After that we shared a cab back to town with some German ladies, and relaxed at our Casa with some cocktails and another great meal on the terrace. Afterward we attempted to go out, but were pretty tired after our day in the sun (made worse because we didn't read the sunscreen reapply instructions closely enough), so ended up sitting on the main stairs in the square watching 2 local dogs chase away the occasional car or bike rider who venture into the square, but not walkers, rather entertaining. We had seen the dogs sleeping/hanging on the steps every night, it seems it was their spot to guard.

Playa Ancon

And what would a trip to the beach be without cerveza

Santa Clara, Cuba

An early morning start for the bus to santa Clara, a small town 3.5 hours from Havana. Although we have been critical of other bureaucratic processes the buses are pretty spot on (once you know how to book tickets). Along the route we noticed a lot of people on the side of the road with their luggage holding out money. It is hard to tell for certain, but we were pretty sure these people could not afford the official fare so were trying to either fill the buses with their best offer or get a spot in a car making the journey. Probably a good time to also explain that in Cuba there are 2 kinds of currency, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), which tourists generally use which is close to parity with the US dollar, and the Nacional Pesos which are 1/24 the value. The dual currency has created a divide in Cuba; those who can earn and get tips in CUCs (taxi drivers, Casa Particular owners, wait staff and grumpy hotel workers), and those who cannot. The people on the side of the road were holding up nacional pesos, for them 18 CUC a ticket of convertible money (432 Peso) is just unattainable. To give you an idea a sandwich costs 0.20c CUC (5 pesos).

Anyway we arrived on time in Santa Clara around 12:45, where we were met at the station and taken to our Casa with the lovely hosts Mary (Ma-ri) and Raikol. After settling in we set about exploring the streets and found Santa Clara to be a pretty beautiful town with a very picturesque main street and central park. We wandered to the cigar factory where they hand roll Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo and Cohiba cigars. Unfortunately there was no tour running but we could peek in the windows to see maybe a hundred Cubans busy away rolling cigars with wooden presses, we imagine the process hasn't changed much if at all since cigars were first made. The smell of tobacco leaves was amazing.

We decided to buy a few sample of cigars at the attached store and will try to send them home (we can't transit through the US with them), time will tell if we got a good deal but either way it is a pretty impressive place to have your cigars sourced from! After a bit of lunch (and the obligatory bad service that goes with state owned places)  we headed to what is suggested as the top place for live music in the edgy Santa Clara. Although a bit early for the main event that started at 10 pm, we saw some freestyle Cuban hip hop and enjoyed a few cervesas. With dinner approaching we headed to the casa particular again where some 10 CUC home cooked lobster awaited, with just enough time to enjoy another cervesa on the impressive roof to terrace (to put it in perspective this pace is 25 CUC a night)

Around Santa Clara

The rooftop

Cristal - our Cuban beer of choice

The rooftop

Cigars! About as large as Paul was prepared to purchase

The park and main square of Santa Clara

Day 2 in Santa Clara and after our enormous breakfast of fruit, juice, rolls, cheese, meat, coffee and biscuits, we decided to wander along to the Che mausoleum and on the way check out some anti imperialism parody murals, I.e. anti USA. Typical of state run establishments, they required us to check our shoulder bags before going in to see the displays, and with very large signs saying 'do not leave valuables in bags' we decided we had probably seen enough Che stuff already (how different could it be?)  After briefly admiring the statue we headed back to town. Oh and people here love che, he is like a bit of a god.

Back in town we decided to hang out at the lovely central park and where the local kids were being pulled around by a goat and a mini carriage. As we were sitting a Cuban guy, Alberto, started chatting to us in Spanish. We fumbled away chatting with him and found out he was an electrician with a 2 year old son who had lived in Santa Clara his whole life, and we told him a bit about Australia, and where else we were going after Santa Clara. Generally when locals approach we are on pretty high alert for a scam or them generally wanting money. Alberto did want something, but it wasn't a scam, he was simply after any t-shirts we might have from Australia (hopefully one with 'Australia' on the front) that we could pass onto him, they don't get many clothes in Cuba and it seems like he had had some luck in the past getting travelers t-shirts, not new but hand me downs that the travellers didn't have much need of. We told him we had no t-shirts, as we were traveling light but did give him some pesos in exchange for a photo, which seemed like an OK deal. After chatting for 15 minutes 3 police approached and asked for his ID. It seems that locals like him chatting to foreigners is not a regular occurrence, or at least one which requires investigation, we had mixed feelings; on one hand the police are trying to make sure everything is legit, and that is a nice safety thing. On the other hand Alberto was clearly uncomfortable with 3 police questioning him and then taking down his details - of course who wouldn't! He told us they need to check that people aren't smuggling contraband both in or out of Cuba, we suppose because everything is government controlled, including the export of Cigars.

After our friendly chat we got out hands some of the local currency which we hasn't until this point so we could get some ice cream and cheap food from hole in the wall places which are generally all family run (in Havana these places took CUCs) We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the terrace and Paul lit up his first cigar, a Romeo y Julieta purito from the factory that cost about $1.60 each.Dinner was another great home cooked meal, this time shrimp! Over dinner we got chatting to an Italian couple also staying at the Casa who were up to day 17 of their trip, doing a similar one to ours but in reverse and concentrating a lot on the beaches of Cuba.

Post dinner we headed out to see the night life of Santa Clarato check out the nightlife and found a fiesta going on around the main square and hence most of the town. We found in one of the streets a stage where a great live 8 piece Cuban band were playing with a mojito bar at the side. Perfect. We decided it was a good place to hang and enjoy the goings on. Whilst enjoying the entertainment and out of compulsion to please the local folk Paul agreed to dance with, who in hindsight can only be described as a crazy alcoholic smoking possibly pregnant lady. Which was all fun and games for a while, she even got joss up to dance and tried to teach us a few moves... Then shit got weird. She kept yabbering at us in Spanish, even though we kept repeatedly telling her 'no entiendo', she wouldn't get out of our face. Seeing as the band had just stopped for a break  we decided to escape into the night. RANDOM, possibly not what we expected for our first live music gig. We will be on guard next time, we know her sort now.

Smart missile cartoon

Hanging in the park

Joss and Roberto

Some clever marketing by a local. We still couldn't figure out what they actually sold though. It seemed it wasn't burgers and fries.

The Fiesta, and Paul's head.

Havana - Cuba

Day 1 of our Cuba adventure also marked out 7th anniversary! We unfortunately did not get a chance to do much celebrating due to most of the day spent traveling from Playa del Carmen nursing a slight hungover from our night before activities. After touching down in havana we got taken for a literal and figurative ride by a friendly but obviously scheming cab driver to our stunning hotel the Nacional. Built in the 1920's the hotel has had it's share of interesting guests, including the us mafia in the 50's. While the hotel was stunning the staff were less so, with our dinner waitress treating us with what can only be described as contempt. A bit Basil Fawlty. After we had finished our pretty average dinner and got up to return to our room, the tone of her voice sounded more like she was to say 'fuck you very much' instead of 'thank you very much'. Perhaps it was because we paid on our room, which the staff seem pissed at, perhaps because they can't accidentally forget to bring your change - which we saw happen. Alas that is what you get when you stay in hotels that are state run (pretty much all are). Public service hospitality, not a good mix.

Palacio Nacional courtyard

Day 2, happy to check out of our hotel we went in search for some more appropriate accommodation (we only intended on staying at the Nacional one night so we had a confirmed destination on arrival) and checked out a few of the 'Casa Particulars' close by and checked into one hosted by the very friendly Eddie. Casa Particulars are essentially private accommodation, like bed and breakfasts where you stay in people's homes who have spare rooms and most include a private bathroom. After 'check-in' we tucked into a bit of lunch at waoo snack bar - a bar/restaurant we had read about in an age/smh article about the cuban food revolution. We were not disappointed, especially compared to the night before's mediocre offering. We then decided to try out luck with another hop on hop off bus, however this time it was a lonely planet mention so we felt reasonably confident it would make up for our poor experience in Mexico! The bus turned out to be a good decision and we got a good view of the areas of Havana whilst sharing the roads with the many 50s model American cars (imported before the trade embargo) as well as a lot of ladas, dating back to when there was Soviet support. An interesting mix, and a lot of smokey exhausts. The smog is so strong that you wake up open the window in the morning and immediately smell exhaust fumes, similar to the smell if you opened the door to a garage with a car running and we are staying a fair way from a main road.

After the bus we had a bit of a rest and clothes wash at our casa (for the studious ones you may notice we each only packed 5 shirts in the photos) we headed out for some dinner. After the success of Waoo we tried but failed to find another of the restaurants featured in the age/smh article. Undeterred we instead happened across a rooftop bar 'CJ encuentro', well the name wass something like that. Anyway we enjoyed some great tapas, cervezas, mojitos and daiquiris and ordered with the help of a very friendly waitress who surprisingly spoke English. After it started raining (remember rooftop) we made a hasty exit. The waitress apologizing 'for my weather' fantastic and a stark contrast to the 'fuck you very much' from the night before. How quickly things can change! Note, we made a hasty exit when it started to rain. It continued for the entire walk home and more, but what it a bit of rain in the Caribbean heat, ignoring all of the Cubans looking at us like we were idiots.

Drag race 50's style

Around Havana

Centro Historico cathedral courtyard

Che, he is everywhere, but this is probably the biggest

Day 3 in Havana called for a visit to the Museo de la Revelocion to read about how Fidel, Che and Camilo delivered Cuba to freedom from the tyrant Bastila. The Museo is housed in the previous presidential palace where many generations ruled, up to Bastila and then Fidel! Even with the expected anti imperialism and viva la revelocion slant it was still interesting. However being government run, we were met yet again with the public sector customer service, which is in such stark contrast to how people treat us generally on the street and in privately run business. At trip to Cuba really is not an accurate reflection of the purple if you do not go to private accommodation and restaurants ( which sounds easier than it is, all hotels and most restaurants are state owned)

After the museo we wandered around looking at some of the eclectic and magnificent architecture of downtown Havana. Typically the highlights were the people more than the architecture. One guy from a hole in the wall eatery which sold sandwiches (battered fish or hamburger) for 50c, he was friendly and had great English. We have been surprised how many people speak English, after reports that it was a hard country to travel in! 

During our wandering we also happened across a work yard where they were restoring stream engines (looks like a bit of money is going into them), we wondered in and took a few photos for some particular family members. Satisfied with our wandering for the day we walk back to our casa via the rather long 'Malecon' to look at all the colonial magnificent buildings in various states of decay and restoration. The government, with help from UNESCO is spending a lot to restore these old buildings which would make the promenade quite a feature... well if they also did something about the exhaust fumes! Just as we were near the casa we stumbled across a band playing live music with quite a lot of people gathered around. From what a few very friendly locals have told us, today is some kind of special salsa day.

That night we again went in search and the (privately run) restaurant La Chansonnier mentioned in the age/smh article. We found it well hidden on the second floor of an amazing colonial building/house nestled in a residential area. A lot of restaurants/bars and shops in Vedado are located in colonial residential buildings. At first it seems like a quiet area with houses until you start to realise there are places dotted around everywhere. We only found the place because we knew the number and when we were out the front a guy asked if we were looking for a restaurant! he then led us in, and it felt like we were in on some kind of secret getaway. Inside it was fantastically restored with unattainably high ceilings and fantastic marble sills. The food was absolutely fantastic, Joss had prawns and an amazing $15 lobster tail, grilled and served with butter. Paul had Spicy Crab and Rabbit with fine herbs as a main, and afterwards we shared a special Cuban dessert called Flan, kind of like a pancotta, but made as large as a cake and served in slices. Delicious! Over the course of the evening we got chatting to our friendly waiter Humberto and to the only other 2 people eating; Richard (A cuban living in Florida who was part of the Peter Pan exit) and his partner Antonio (from Venice). Once we had finished Humberto offered us some complimentary aged 'Santiago de Cuba' rum served in a brandy balloon from his home town. After dinner the restaurant transformed into a bar, and Thursday nights was gay night, Humberto encouraged us to stay as his 'international friends', so we hung out and had some more drinks before heading back to the casa satisfied after a great night out.

A 'hyper realistic' wax sculpture of Che and ... in guerrilla gear

The steam train yard

A car broken down on the Malecon

Le Chansonnier

Final day of Havana part one was a bit unsuccessful, after planning to go to the Jazz Cafe for some live music we ended up spending a lot of time stuck in a spiral of yet again poor public customer service trying to; book bus tickets to our next destination, get money out, and change some flights - more on the details later but the head sales office closed at 2pm because the air con wasn't working... c'mon people it's the fucking Caribbean, surely your used to working hot weather! Certainly the rest of the country is!

Anyway after abandoning the Jazz Cafe due to time constraints we looked for places closer to our Casa, which was also unsuccessful as when we arrived to what was described as a great live music venue, it was shut (perhaps the aircon was broken)!  A little disappointed we decided to have a bit of dinner accompanied with mojitos and daquiries at Gringo Viejo ( or old gringo, after a movie with Gregory Peck, whom the owner had an uncanny resemblance) and hit the hay ready for our early morning trip to Santa Clara. It is worth noting that our host Eddie has ended up hooking us up with accommodation for the rest of our stay with his friends who have casa particulars in the various cities we wanted to visit in Cuba, very useful!