Habana - Cuba

After a very long flight from Buenos Aires, we arrived to Habana late afternoon, hot, sweaty and slightly jet lagged. Our taxi ride from the airport gave us our first taste of Cuban people - extremely friendly and eager to talk. We learned all about the son of our taxi driver as he showed us photos of his son's art work from his cell phone camera. He also pointed out all the major sites as we drove to our destination in Habana Vieja (the old town).

In Cuba, you are required either to stay at a state-run hotel (expensive and overrated) or a registered "casa particular," which is essentially a homestay. Families can pay a monthly government tax to rent out one or more of the rooms in their house to guests. Many also pay a small extra fee to the state in order to serve food. We had made arrangements to stay at Margot's - a lovely casa in the heart of the old city with high vaulted ceilings, antique furniture and the home to the cutest dog called Mia. When we got there, Margot was out at a hair appointment, but we were warmly greeted by 2 Cuban women who were friends of friends staying with Margot for a couple days. Once we got settled and had a much needed shower, we decided to go explore our surrounds.

First Impressions
Our first impression of the city was almost surreal - like we were transported back in time. The old Spanish buildings and churches from the last couple centuries give the place a European aura. Some are beautifully restored, many others are just barely staying together (but somehow they do), but all are lovely in their own way. The streets are narrow, some more recent pavement and some cobblestone filled with old 1950's cars, a few modern vehicles and bicycle taxis. There are a plethora of small and large plazas lined by leafy parks, historic buildings, cafes and restaurants. The residential streets are filled with kids playing baseball with whatever stick and makeshift ball they can find, old men sitting over a table of dominos and women gossiping on the corners. It's hot and humid, but it cools down a bit in the evenings and then everyone emerges out of their homes. The plazas tend to have more tourist attractions and nicer restaurants that are typically state run with lazy service and mediocre food, but nice ambiance. And wherever you are - in the plazas or the streets - you can almost always hear live Cuban music emanating from the many bars and cafes throughout the afternoon and evening.

After our little stroll, we settled down at a table in Plaza Catedral in front of the old Cathedral and ordered our first mojito - the country's famous cocktail with rum, fresh mint, and sugar. We met a couple nice British girls just finishing their vacation and they gave us some excellent advice on what to see and do. One of them (Rebecca - a.k.a. Becks) was staying a few days more so we invited her to join us the following evening for dinner since she'd be on her own. In the end, we hung out with her quite a bit and had some fun adventures. When we got back to our casa, our hostess Margot had dinner waiting - lobster, fried plantains, fresh salad, rice and guava juice. Can we say heaven? Eric smoked his first cigar on our balcony and enjoyed every puff. An excellent start to our Cuban travels.

Over the course of our two stays in Habana (several days at the beginning of our trip and several days at the end of our trip), we got to see many sights, listen to a variety of music, sip our fair share of mojitos and smoke a plethora of cigars (well, Eric did anyhow). Here are some of our favorite highlights:

Our Casas (i.e., "homes")
While in town, we stayed at two different Casa Particulares...Margot's place and also with another family, Luis and Chicha. Margo's featured the classic architecture, fantastic food and she herself was a very open and talkative host. We learned a lot from her about the culture and opinions of the people. We also got to practice both our Spanish speaking and comprehension. Luis and Chicha's was a homey environment - they were a loving family with one daughter still at home and a son our age who came over with his girlfriend and other family members on the weekends. The food here was also very good and they were extremely helpful about sight seeing. Their young daughter also had a blast playing cards with Eric...and changing the game every time he started to beat her. :)


Sight Seeing
There are three major areas to explore in Habana - the old town, the city center and a nearby suburb called Vedado. During our stay we visited...

Partagas Cigar Factory: This was a highlight of the trip. Because Eric thoroughly enjoys a good Cuban cigar on occasion (and enjoyed many while in Cuba), it was very cool to actually go see where and how they make these "tobaccos," as they call them in Cuba. We were quite impressed with the amount of quality control and care that goes into the cigar making process. While it's a bit easier to get a job sorting the leaves, preparing the wrappers, or packaging the finished product, to actually become a cigar maker (the one who rolls the cigar), it takes almost a year of intensive cigar school where less than half of students graduate. Being a cigar maker is one of the more lucrative jobs in Cuba because you get the basic wage, in addition to commission depending on production. In addition, you get to smoke as many as you want, and take a few home every day. The work is a bit mind-numbing after awhile and the work environment comparable to a sweat shop, but they counter some of the downsides by hiring someone to read to the cigar makers in the mornings (the newspaper) and afternoons (a novel chosen by the group). The rest of the time they listen to music that is chosen communally and talk among themselves. They also get a few breaks, a lunch hour, and have weekends off. We learned one interesting tidbit during our tour...the cigar brand "Montecristo" was chosen because during the time that cigar was developed, the novel being read was "The Count of Montecristo"...so the cigar makers decided that's what they should name the new cigar. We wish we could have brought home some souvenirs from the factory, but unfortunately no Cuban cigars allowed through customs. :(

Habana Club Rum Factory: While we can't buy this brand in the US, the Habana Club label is quite popular in other parts of the world. The tour took us through the history and rum making processes and we even got a sampler at the end. Personally, straight rum is not my favorite, but mixed with some OJ or in a mojito, it's quite refreshing on a hot day.

The Revolution Museum: This museum tells Cuba's history from the time of the natives up through Castro's Revolution and beyond to the early 1990's when the USSR fell and Cuba went into a major depression. Of course the main focus was on the revolutionary period of the 1950s when Castro along with Che Guevara and General Cienfuegos overthrew the US-supported (mainly by the mafia) Batista. While we knew a bit about Cuban history from the US perspective going into the museum, we learned a lot more about the details and also found it interesting to view it from a different perspective. Of course the museum's history was very much one-sided (as is the US version), but knowing a bit of both sides helped to give us a more balanced perspective.

The La Ciudad Museum: This museum houses relics, classical art and furniture from different time periods (Spanish, American and Cuban)

The Capitolo Building: A replica of the US capital constructed during the 1930's when the US had heavy influence in Cuba (now it houses the Science and Technology Department).

The US Interests Building: We don't have an official embassy in Cuba, but this place represents American interests. We didn't go inside, but the outside was quite a site to behold. It's situated along the seaside and is a modern building surrounded by gates and guards. In front of the building stand more than 100 flag poles flying black flags erected by Castro in memory of the Cuban civilians killed on the flight blown up by a Venezuelan terrorist supposedly supported by the CIA. In truth, we were told the "memorial" was erected when the US Interests building put up an international news screen big enough to see from the street, hence, 100 plus black flags to block it. Tit for tat..that seems to be the bottom line of politics between the US and Cuba. Behind the flag memorial is a huge plaza with stage, lighting, sound system and patriotic propaganda known as the "Protestadrome" - it's where all the huge protests against US actions (i.e., the Iraq war) are held.

The Malecon Boardwalk: This more than 8km boardwalk borders the city's seafront and is a lovely place to take a stroll in the evenings or to see young lovers at night. It's not highly recommended to stroll here in the extreme heat of the afternoon (as we did), unless of course, you are one of the local boys jumping in to take a swim, snorkel or fish. It's too bad we didn't have our swimsuits when we walked by here...the aqua blue water was soo tempting!

Cristobal Colon Cemetery: Habana's largest, most prestigious and most crowded. It's 140 acres with more than 800,000 graves sites. The architecture and monuments within are impressive, but it's not as well kept as one would hope. A number of the tomb "covers" are coming undone and cracked. There were even a few you could see inside and down to the coffin. The most disturbing part though was seeing a truck filled with labeled boxes of human remains (yikes!!) since due to over crowding they remove the remains from their tombs after 3 years and place them in a storage building. Never seen that one before in broad daylight.

Habana Vieja: By far our favorite area of the city to roam around. This was also the area where we stayed. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering the streets and checking out old buildings, plazas and churches. Our favorite past times included: sitting at The Patio Cafe on Cathedral Square sipping mojitos, visiting the Chocolate Cafe that served up hot or cold liquid chocolate for about a dollar, posting up at the brewery in Plaza Vieja to have a home brewed beer and a cigar while people watching, and relaxing on Margot's terraced rooftop to take in the sunset and all the evening city sounds.


Beaches and Sunbathing
Cuba is known for great beaches, and we did visit some nice ones on our excursions to other parts of the country which we'll share in later blogs. Around Habana, we found 2 good options for some sunbathing. The first was a posh hotel in central Habana that had a pool on the roof with excellent city views. Our friend Becks introduced us to this place and we snuck in a few times when we needed a break from the busy city and some poolside tranquility.

The second experience was the stretch of beaches just east of Habana. We initially wanted to save ourselves the taxi fare and take the local bus. When we got to the bus stop the line didn't seem too long, so we asked who was the last in line (as is the expectation in Cuba) and staked out our place. When someone else arrived, they did the same and you basically are expected to remember who is in front and behind you. Then, you are free to leave the line knowing your place is saved. The problem was when the bus arrived, pretty much everyone in the small park across the street came rushing over to reclaim their place...so the line quadrupled in size! Long story short, we waited for more than an hour (in the blistering heat) and still were no where close to the front. So finally, we gave up and pulled the tourist card and caught a cab. Our cab driver was a hip, young guy studying Physical Education and Health at university. He uses his dad's car on weekends to make some extra money as a cab driver. He dropped us off at the section of the beach where he knew there was a big party going on.

And he wasn't kidding...there was techno and house music, a dance "floor," drinks and food and plenty of local teens, twenty-somethings and a few families to enjoy it. We roamed around until we found a place to sit and people watch. We were conscious that as tourists we were quite a target in this crowd for petty theft and couldn't go frolic in the water together because one person always needed to watch the bag. And good thing too...a group of guys did try and distract Eric while I was in the water to grab our bag (luckily there wasn't too much inside, except our camera and a bit of money). But Eric was the wiser and knew exactly what was happening so they had no luck. However, after that experience, it was a bit difficult to feel relaxed and laid back, so we cut our beach trip short and chalked it up as a good local experience. Suprisingly, this was the first time we even came close to getting robbed...we have been very lucky and blessed on this trip considering everywhere we've been.

The Cuban People
Ironicly, while the Cuban government has tried to minimize the locals' interaction with tourists, Cuba was one of the countries where we found it easiest to meet and socialize with the people. They were all quite eager to talk, especially when they found out we were American. Probably 90% of Cubans have some relative or another who lives in the US, and almost all either want to talk politics or explain they hate the politics, but love the people. In general we found the people to be extremely friendly and hospitable and we truly enjoyed the many conversations (mostly in Spanish) we had with cab drivers, waiters, people on the street, tour guides, and a few friends we met while there. At Margot's we befriended the two Cuban women who were staying there our first 2 nights...we all went out one night (with Becks and a German gal who was also staying) for drinks and to listen to music, followed by a stroll on the Malecon. We also befriended a local band that we loved to go hear and were invited on a couple occassions to join them and their friends to hang out in the plaza after their gig. Like the Argentine people, Cubans are very affectionate, so hugs and kisses are the norm at first introduction and thereafter. The people were certainly the highlight on this trip.


Music
You can't come to Cuba and not enjoy the music - it's everywhere. Cuba prides itself on it's musical and artistic traditions..."It's part of our blood," one Cuban friend explained to us. The styles vary from classical music to all varities of Latin music with considerable African influence. These people know how to feel the music - dance, move, play - it's wonderful. Pretty much every restaurant, bar and cafe in the old part of town have live bands from 4PM til midnight. In addition, there are many specific shows and concerts you can attend. During our visit, we attended an excellent classical concert by a popular string orchestra in one of the old churches and we also went out daily (or nightly) to hear music at the different bars/cafes around town. Our favorite band was a group called "Santiago de Habana." This group of 6 guys of all shapes and colors playing all different instruments had a great vibe and a ton of talent. This was also the group we befriended and went to see more than four times during our stay. Another musical highlight of the trip was our visit to the famed cabaret show at the Tropicana. This place has been up and running for about 70 years (yes, this was also the inspiration for the Vegas hotel) and the show is still a top attraction. The combo of music, singing, dancing and especially the costumes made for a thrilling experience. It was also cool to go because Eric's grandfather had been to this show more than 50 years ago before the US embargo was in tact.

To conclude...our time in Habana was amazing. We truly loved this city - the people, the places, the music, and the home-cooked meals from our wonderful hosts. It's really quite sad that it's not easier for Americans to come and enjoy this city and its people. We, and all the Cubans we met, hope that someday our countries (i.e., our politicians) will be able to get along so that we can more easily visit this cool place. We did have many interesting conversations, observations and insights that we want to share about Cuba, but this blog is long enough, so we'll save that for a separate blog.

Coming up, we plan to write a few more entries to finish sharing about our Cuba experiences, and then will write about our final impressions from this incredible trip. As always, stay tuned!

Mariah and Eric