Havana, Cuba

Wow, Mexico city had been amazing. SO much culture, amazing food and definitely amazing people. Don’t believe what people tell you when they say Mexico City is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, so is Sydney if you’re in the wrong suburb at the wrong time of time. On the spur of the moment we decided to see Cuba and today pretty early 830am we were headed for La Havana Cuba, Cubana Airlines and Cuba, Here we Go.

We flew over the Gulf of Mexico and before you knew it we were over the island of Cuba and touching down in La Havana. Steve Colton one of our very good friends from back in Cairns was also staying in Cuba but leaving that day and we had a small window of opportunity to catch up with him and we were on a mission. In and out of customs was the plan, rush to accommodation and head to see Steve for a catch up. Plan Fail…………..

Not only did we not get the in and out of customs we had hoped for but one border control official definitely had his sights on me. From the moment we got off the plan he was eyeballing me watching my every move. Firstly he moved towards me and called me over for a brief chat and had Bec and Maddie come over also. We believed he would not have blinked an eye towards them. A couple of questions about where we were from, how long we were staying in Cuba and the purpose of our trip he sent us on our way to collect our bags. In our minds he was done with us and we would be able to continue on our merry way. This was not the case. The man continued to keep a very close eye on me while waiting for our bags. Not the fastest process in the world and after waiting around 15-20 minutes our bags sprung out of the shoot and we placed them on a trolley headed for the door. Boom!!!!! there was another official sent over by the previous man to ask further questions about our bags and our intended plans in Cuba. We were still having difficulty with our spanish and the border security lady was not great with her english but was better than our spanish that’s for sure. She grilled me and turned me a few times keeping me warm and sweating a little, before we think she received the answers she was looking for. Asking about why do I have a professional camera, why and who are the two girls I’m travelling with, do I have a computer and hard drive? She looked slightly confused when we told her we would be taking photo’s for memories. I don’t really see how that is suspicious but maybe I was a porn photographer, in another life maybe. However from what people had told us if you’re white and have a beard they believe you may be hiding something and go straight for you. Time was ticking by, Steve would soon be leaving and we were yet to leave the airport. We were out the doors of customs and into the main departure area of the airport. We hailed down a taxi guy, asked how much the taxi would be and made our way to the ATM for some cash, money. EEEEEERRRR no cash money. WHAT THE HELL. ATM would not accept either of our cards so getting money out was going to be very difficult. Our first impression of Cuba so far, not having fun.

We exchange what money we had left over in US dollars and Mexican Pesos and in total we had $45. Assuming the taxi would be about $30 we jumped in the little yellow cab and made our way towards our accommodation in Old Havana. The meter continued to run, we had no GPS and no idea how how away the accommodation was. We were zipping through streets and seemed to be still no closer. The meter kept ticking over $35, $38, $42, shit shit shit.. We gave the Taxi driver the $45 we had and he stopped at the end of a street, pointed us down the street and we started walking. Please don’t be to far away we all thought as it was super humid and around 26 or 27 degrees. 

After stepping out of the car, it is as everyone says. You feel like you have stepped inside a time machine, headed back to the fifties and time has stood still for nearly 60 years. Due to the embargo of the Americans in the late 1950’s early 1960’s no trade has been done with the US for over 50 years. However there are plenty of Japanese and Korean imported cars and equipment just nothing from the USA. The old Chevvies or Cadillacs have been converted into Taxi’s and some are done up to the nines. These ones are more expensive to travel in but still a fun ride if you have the cash. The streets are broken down and the buildings in some areas, especially Old Havana look like they have not been touched for e very long time. Cars puff out smoke and rubbish and rubble lie in the streets but no-one seems to care to much and just continue with their party attitude lives with big smiles on their faces.

Old American Cars

The revolution obviously played a major role in shaping Cuba as to what it is today and it continues on strong as ever. Posters of Fidel and Che are all over the streets, on t-shirts, fridge magnets, hats and much more. Little did we know that the week before we arrived Vladamir Putin the president of Russia was in Cuba paying off all their debt as the word on the street is that Russia want to put a Naval base somewhere in Cuba. Oh, Oh theres trouble.

A small knock on a door we assumed was our accommodation and the friendliest of welcomes from our house host Maritza.

Many people in Cuba have converted their houses into backpacker style hostels to make an extra income or benefits including better hot water, and electricity. These places are known as Casa Particulares (Particular houses).  After being shown around the house and settled our bags down time had passed us by and seeing Steve was unfortunately not going to happen on this particular day. But as good friends always do there will be somewhere in the world where we will se each other. 

First priority Money. The thing that apparently makes the world go round was making our heads go round and causing our world to basically stop. We really wanted to chill, have a beer and watch the world cup finale. As we were searching for ATM’s or a bank we hear a voice “where are you guys from?” We all look and see and tall, Cuban gentleman standing outside a cafe inviting us to come over and speak with him. We explain that we are Australian and his response was “ Ah Kangaroo, Skippy”. Skippy, really in Cuba that’s amazing. Continuing on, the man introduced himself as Alesis/Alexis and asked what our plans were in Cuba etc. He then offered to show us where some ATM’s were and even the bank (the only one open on a Sunday in Cuba) if we needed it. He also offered free (yeah that’s right, free) tourist advice on places to go. Yeah it was free but like other places we have travelled there is always a price. 

Cuban people have two different currencies, the CUC and the Peso. The CUC is one to one with American dollars and also worth 25 pesos. Pesos are general used for eating at family run restaurants and buying food etc and the CUC is for more of the touristy stuff and taxi’s. 

So the price for Cuban people was one of two things. For Alexis is was that maybe on the off chance we would come back and eat at his friends restaurant and he may get some sort of commission out of it or you give him a couple of CUC for his trouble and it goes a long long way.

So he showed us some ATM’s still no luck and we were running out of options. Not only that but the world cup final was on and we were super keen to see the game. So after no luck from the ATM we headed back to the Casa Particulares to watch the game as we couldn’t even sit in a cafe.

After watching the game we headed to the only bank that was open on a Sunday and wouldn’t you know it, right before we get there they close the doors. So….. what to do know. We have no money, no food and we were all getting kinda hungry. Desperate times could for desperate measure. With a heart of gold our host Maritza lent us $10 CUC and took us to a small eatery in a house around the corner. Yep $10CUC can go a very long way in a place like this. We ate a full meal, with rice, beans and meat for 35 Pesos each so a total cost of around $3. The cheapest and best food we have had so far on the trip. We then headed down towards the promenade which runs along the north side of Havana. In search of ice cream a young gentlemen was sitting on the wall of the Malećon, an 8km stretch of seawall, road and esplanade heading north of the city, with two girls and an ice cream. 

The Malecon

We asked him as best we could in spanish where we could get some ice cream. The kind young fellow took me straight over the road to a small café/bar where he helped and bargained a cheaper price for a tub of ice cream. We attempted to have a conversation with this young guy, Harold as he stated his name was, but unfortunately his english was about as good as our spanish so we didn’t get very far. We left him and his two friends before heading along to watch the sunset somewhere along the promenade. But it wasn’t long before we were chased down by another fellow asking where we are from and what we were doing in Cuba. This guy did come across a little creepy as he stated that I could buy or have a cuban woman for $10 CUC and if the deal went ahead he could have Maddie and Bec as they were both beautiful with gorgeous eyes. We quickly said “No, Gracias” and headed in the opposite direction not before attempting to steel my hat.

With our bellies full we headed back home and pondered on how we could manage to find some funds and activities for our time in Cuba. 

We headed straight to the bank in hope of being able to get money out, by using our passports instead of just inserting the card into the ATM. The trouble with the ATM’s was that they are all run by the same company so if one didn’t work, none of them worked. Heading into the bank with hope Andy came out with a grim look on his face and also no money. However Bec on the other hand was successful so at least we had some form on money until heading into Costa Rica. 

Wherever we went and all along the way the Cuban people would stop us in the street, ask us where we’re from, where we’re going, would we like cuban cigars etc etc. Although it continually happened their positive attitude and smiles on their faces as we walked past made up for the constant stoppages. Everyone was always in party mode and today it was time to head to the beach. After making our way back to the house we collected our beach attire and headed back to the bus that was a $5 CUC round trip per person to Santa Maria Tropicoco. Arriving at the bus terminal and gentleman yells out “ TAXI TAXI” calls us over and asks where we were heading to. We reply “The beach” but we are taking the bus. He states that if we pay $10 CUC, an older style taxi cab could take us to the beach. So why the hell not..

Across the street from us another gentlemen offered us a 1 hour tour of the city in a horse and cart. A generous offer but non the less we still opted for the beach. In the main square of the city there were many men shouting and having what seemed to be a heated discussion over something. The man with the horse and cart asked us if we knew what these men were yelling about. Of course we didn’t so he went on to inform us that all these men were here, at this point, around the same time each day discussing baseball. A very popular pastime in Cuba and still producing some very good players in the MLB.

Jumping in the old chevy we headed 25-30 minutes, slightly east of Havana on our way to Santa Maria Tropicoco beach. It was beautiful. We jumped (literally) over the white and very hot sand down towards the beach. When we finally hit the beach the water was crystal clear and amazingly blue the further out you went towards the ocean. Being greated by a cuban gentleman on the beach he showed us a couple of options of umbrellas. We opted for the cheaper option but it provided us with some needed shade from the sun after cooling off in the water. The water was so inviting and being on the Caribbean side it was so warm. Everyone around the beach was having a great time. People were swimming, on peddle boats, throwing each other in the air off their shoulders and most people just soaking up the warm summer sun. 

Santa Maria Tropicoco

We spent a good couple of hours at the beach before heading back to La Havana once again in an older style taxi for the small price of $10 CUC. The beach had been lovely but the sun was still scorching down on our skin so we headed back to the house and chilled out in the air con of our room. 

The area where we were staying had a few little restaurants around so we strolled the streets and found a nice place to eat. Although a little on the expensive side once again another meal which we could not fault. Perfectly cooked with a great taste. 

Waking the next day the stomach bug that Maddie had possibly picked up in Mexico was not subsiding so we decided to take the day to just relax. After feeling a bit peckish around lunch, leaving Maddie to sleep, I met another guest in the house Elif, a turkish lady who was cycling around central and south america. She pointed me and Bec in the direction of a pizza shop just down the road. It was awesome. Once again a hole in the wall with a family cooking fresh small/medium sized pizzas. They were so good. Fresh crust, mountain of toppings and even a glass of mango juice. All this for less than $2. Winning in Cuba. After the small pizza shop Elif took us around to another food shop a short walk away to get a Bebidos Helados or an ice cream smoothie. They were also so good, cheap and refreshing in the hot weather. Maddie was not keen to do too much due to feeling unwell so we just chatted with Elif about her expeditions and took some photos of the streets of Havana. 

Streets of Havana

Looking towards the Malecon

After a restful day Maddie perked up a little and we decided to take a walk along the promenade but in the opposite direction from the previous night. We walked down and got a great view of the Malecon and of the main road ways in and out of the city centre. The sun was still beading down so we often stopped in shady spots watching children playing soccer, people playing music and the typical cuban smoking a cigar somewhere before heading back for some dinner and sleep.

Walking to the main square of the city we hopped on a double decker tour bus for the small fee of $5 CUC each. The tour took us around some of the major standpoints in Havana including the José Marti Memorial in the Revolution Plaza, Verdado where in the 1930’s during the great depression was a hot spot for gangsters such as Al Capone, a few beaches but all in all the tour was a little disappointing. Getting off the bus feeling a little disappointed we headed to the Museo de Revolution to indulge in it’s history. Wow, what a place, to learn and see how the revolution came about and all that has happened after was eye opening. 

Jose Marti Memorial

Off to work in Cuba

Street Market

The Richer part of Havana

Fidel and Che near Jose Marti Memorial

A Line of Old cars. So cool

We took in all that we could from the museum before heading to one of the hotels for wifi to attempt to make further arrangements out of Costa Rica as it stated we needed a ticket leaving from the country. We came up with nothing and the internet was very slow so we decided that hopefully our tickets out of Rio would be enough. 

Dinner was upon us and why not go back to a place that you know is cheap and good. So we headed back to the little house for another delicious and cheap meal before heading back to the Casa to pack our bags. 

It was an early start the next day around 4am and even Maritza our host woke up to call the taxi for us. She was so amazing throughout the whole stay, so if you’re ever in Cuba go and stay with this Lady on San Miguel st. We made our way to the airport a little nervous that we may not get our tickets as we were yet to have a departure out of Costa Rica. We arrived at the desk and the man behind the counter asked exactly that, “Do you have a date and ticket to leave Costa Rica?”. We stated “NO” explained the situation and showed him our ticket from Rio to Australia. He seemed happy and we were away. Costa Rica here we come.

Peace Out

Love Andy and Maddie