After leaving Isla Mujeres, we spent a night back in Cancun, before the next day catching a flight to Cuba. Only a day before we arrived in the country, the period of mourning over Cuba’s infamous leader Fidel Castro, had ended. Meaning things were back in full swing.
After only a brief 90 minute flight, we had arrived in the countries capital, Havana. Then the fun began. The customs section at the airport was possibly the most unorganised operation I had ever experienced. Once we had our passports stamped and got through immigration, the ten gates which handled this, then merged into two. Not only this, but there were no actual lines set up, which meant that it was every man for themselves, trying to squeeze through customs. One thing I have noticed is, Latin Americans are not overly fussed on waiting their turn. It’s basically a case of the quick and the dead. So it was a lot of push and shove and after about an hour we had made it to the next section.
Just when we thought we were home and hosed, we got to the last gate and realised we didn’t receive a form that needed to be handed in on the way out the door. So we trudged back to the customs area, filled out the form and once again headed for the door, only to be turned back once again. This time we were told that in order to enter the country, we needed to have those sticky luggage tags that the airline puts on your bag at check in. Thankfully we had chucked them into a makeshift bin which, luckily, they were still on top of. With these finally back in our hands, we again made our way back to the exit. This time, success! We were allowed to leave the inside of the airport and enter Cuba.
Once we made it outside, we still couldn’t leave the actual airport. We now had to wait in another long line in order to exchange cash. See, Cuba has a rule where you cannot access their currency outside of Cuba. They also do not have very easy access to ATM’s. Therefore in order to get cash, we had to first withdraw enough money in Mexico, enough that would last us a week in Cuba, then exchange the Pesos to CUC’s, which is the second currency of Cuba and one in which most tourists use. Anyway, after an extensive wait, we eventually exchanged our money and found a taxi which would take us to our Casa.
Our accommodation was in the heart of Old Havana. It was a Casa or apartment which is owned by a Russian and his Cuban wife. The room was clean and nice and the people who owned it were also lovely. The area around the Casa seemed a little dodgy at first, but we were soon informed that the area is very safe. I think it was just the fact that a lot of Havana is very run down. It appears that not a lot of money has ever been spent in the maintenance of much of the city.
As most people know, Cuba has had a very chequered past, especially under it’s now deceased former leader, Fidel Castro. Since he took over the country in 1959, it has been a communist led state. As a dictator, a lot of Cuba’s funds were misappropriated by Fidel, leaving it’s residents with very little. Cuba’s relations with the USA have also been troublesome, with the Bay of Pigs (the Cuban missile crisis), being the most well known point of contention.
One of the key things to come out of tensions between Cuba, the US and it’s European Allies, was the many different embargoes placed upon Cuba, which have been lifted and reinstated right up until the current day. The embargoes mean that it makes it very hard for Cuba to often gain even the most basic of supplies.
So not only has Cuba been poorly maintained structurally, but a lot of basic items, such as chocolate, were either supremely expensive, or impossible to get. The supermarkets had very little variety and appeared to be just aisles and aisles of spam and other canned goods. There is also no home Internet (presumably due to government monitoring), so people sit in public parks and use prepaid Internet cards, which from experience, we know them to be a waste of time. Strangely though, alcohol there is super cheap.
Anyway, enough about the economics and other such stuff. Cuba, beyond all of the ugly history and politics, is a very beautiful place, with very welcoming and friendly people. So more about that.
Although the neighbourhood looked a little rough, on closer inspection we found we were right near the Central Plaza and beautiful Grand Theatre, the Malecón and Old Havana. On our first night in town, we wandered past the Grand Theatre and down to part of the old town. On our way we saw many of the iconic old cars and were kindly offered some genuine Cuban cigars. Of course the cigars were only on special for that one day, so we’d better get in quick. We politely declined with our new favourite phrase , ‘No Gracias’, and continued onto a cute little restaurant, where we had a nice dinner and enjoyed some local music.
The next day we walked down to the Malecón. The Malecón is a walkway, roadway and seawall which runs for 8 km along the coast of Havana. From there you get great views across the harbour to Morro Castle and the army barracks, on a stretch of peninsula known as, Casablanca. It was a very beautiful sight.
We walked a fair stretch of the Malecón, admiring the harbour on one side and the old cars and buildings on the other. As it was pretty warm there, we soon got a bottle of water and began to make our way back to our Casa. After a cool down and a couple of rums, we made our way, once again to the Old Town for dinner. We found that, although simple, the food in Cuba was delicious.
The following day we decided to catch the Big Red Bus around. This allowed us to gain an understanding of the city and it’s history and to also get a feel for the layout and what other things we would like to do while we were in Cuba. The things that really stuck out on the bus was the Plaza de Revolucion, Old Havana, the beaches, and many of the impressive government and historical buildings.
So after a quick tour of the city, we hopped off at the Plaza de Revolucion. The Plaza is 72,000 square meters and is known to be where many political rallies take place. Fidel Castro often addressed more than a million Cubans here. It contains the Jose Marti Memorial Statue and is one of the tallest points in Cuba. From the square you can also see wire sculptures on government buildings, of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Of course there are many old cars touring people in this area, so it is a cool place to visit and one of the most visited attractions in Havana.
From the Plaza we walked back to our Casa via many cool old houses, a lot of graffiti of Che Guevara and other beautiful city buildings. One that impressed me most was the Museum of the Revolution. Unfortunately we did not have time to stop in there, but the facade was beautiful.
Our next day in Havana involved heading out to the beaches. From Havana it is easy to catch a bus out to three beaches. Thankfully our Big Red Bus ticket was valid for two days and allowed us on the bus to the beaches. Otherwise it is only about 10 CUC for a return ticket. The three beaches are only about half an hour on the bus from the city and are known as, El Abro, Jibacoa and Playas de Santa Maria del Mar. Due to advice by the lady on the bus, like most tourists, we got off at Santa Maria. Oh boy are we glad we did.
The sand was some of the whitest we have seen. The water was so clear, blue and warm. There were palm trees lining the beach. There was also a sand bank out in the middle, which for reasonable swimmers like ourselves, was accessible. Thankfully it seemed most people were not confident swimmers, so we basically had our own little slice of paradise for a while. It was bliss.
The bus ride back was a little like a cattle truck, with wet smelly people crammed on. I was lucky enough to score a seat, but Adrian almost got left behind. I hopped on thinking he was right behind me. Little did I know he had stopped to wipe all the sand off his feet. This meant the lady thought he didn’t have a ticket. So in my limited to non existent Spanish, I convinced her he was with me and he got a seat, right next to the bus driver, where the tour guide normally sits. Anyway we got back safe and sound after a magical day at the beach.
For our last day in Havana, we decided to thoroughly explore the Old Town and go across to Casablanca. Old Havana is very beautiful. It is also quite reminiscent of the Spanish parts of New Orleans. The houses and buildings had the overhanging balconies, with flower pots hanging on them. This combined with the vintage cars and cobblestoned streets, made you feel like you had stepped back in time.
Old Havana also had many funky little restaurants. One we stopped in played all Beatles covers, to the tune of Reggae. Another one we stopped at was along the waterfront near the ferry docks. Only reason we stopped, was to cool down and have a drink. The Cuba Libre went down a treat. However, my favourite food I found in Old Havana, was the churros from a little street vendor. Cheap and delicious, I had them twice!
After fully exploring Old Havana and taking in the beautiful old churches, statues, and street vendors, it was time to catch the ferry across to Casablanca. Here we checked out the prominent statue of Cristo de la Habana. It is a giant white statue which can be seen pretty easily from the other side of the harbour.
We then walked down towards Morro Castle. Along the way there were a couple of Army Barracks and an open air, free museum of sorts. It explained the Bay of Pigs, from Cuba’s standpoint. Naturally the Bay of Pigs incident was entirely the USA’s fault, according to Cuba. It was certainly an interesting perspective. Also cool was all the relics from the incident, including artillery cannons, missiles as big as a house (slight exaggeration, but you get my point) and the wings and a wheel from the US spy plane shot down over Cuban waters.
After checking out that unexpected surprise, we finally made it Morro Castle. In Spanish, "morro" means a rock which is very visible from the sea. As the rock is so big it is a great navigational landmark. Positioned on the morro, on the opposite side of the harbour from Old Havana, it can be seen from kilometres around, as it is the most visible thing in the port entrance. Built in 1589 to try to stop raids on Havana harbour, el Morro protected the mouth of the harbour.
For the average tourist, however, el Morro provides a look in to Cuba’s very early history, as well as spectacular views of the ocean and Havana. On some points of the castle, it really feels like you could be on the edge of the world. It’s a definite must do when you visit Havana.
Once we were finished, we hailed an classic car. For 10 CUC, it took us back to Havana and our Casa. It was a fitting end to our time in crazy, beautiful, Cuba.
Holly.
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