We were sad to leave our lovely Casa in Playa Larga but it is nice to be back in Havana after two weeks on the road. Maura greets us like long lost members of the family.
We head out on the now familiar streets where the vibrancy and energy, the smells and the sounds of the city tantalise our senses. People rattle small musical instruments to draw our attention to their tiny shop, otherwise missed in the mass of other sights crowding our vision.
A beautiful old building housing a gallery is worth a look. Attendants wave us in but soon make a feeble attempt at guiding us round the art in hopes of a tip.
A young man claiming to be a Canadian Punjabi attempts to befriend us as we sip our generous limonade frappes. His English is perfect and his spiel is beguiling but I am sure it is a scam of some kind so we deter him from joining us. I had seen a man claiming to be a Mexican try the same thing with two other foreign women on our first stay in Havana.
Beautiful old pharmacy, Havana
The local young men trying to befriend and help you are much easier to spot but it does require persistent head down walking on to deter them. Do not engage, is my catch phrase for these occasions.
We meet so many wonderful people though, generous, helpful, happy in themselves.
El Morro
Our last full day is finally the excursion to El Morro, the massive fort on the other side of the channel entrance to Havana Harbour. Built in the 16th century to try to protect Havana from pirates not to mention the French and the English invaders.
Havana skyline from El Morro
We walk in the footsteps of so many in this long history of Havana. Those who tried to protect the city and where fierce battles were engaged, but also where many more friendly visitors came to visit the massive fort and to admire the Havana skyline from the other side over the centuries.
El Morro from Havana
In a bookshop in tiny Remedios, I found a book called Travelers’ Tales of Old Cuba. Fascinating letters and diary entries the first being from 1678. There are many descriptions from travelers in the 19th century most of whom include their visit to El Morro.
Cuba has a rich and often bloodthirsty history. The original trusting inhabitants were wiped out. It was the haunt of pirates and the location of a slave trade triggered mainly for the sugar plantations.
The English finally took El Morro from the land side in tne 18th century after failing to breach it from the sea. There is a very good history of that bloody battle located at El Morro itself.
There are so many memorable things about Havana and Cuba. At dawn, men call out in the street, sometimes with a whistle in the city to attract attention, selling fresh bread and other produce. The jolt to your senses as the cannon belts out its regular 9pm round, so loud from where we are staying in Havana Vieja.
Patience is the word here for so many things. I love the road courtesy, seeing no evidence whatsoever of road rage. A horse and cart or a bicycle taxi blocking the way is no problem at all, no matter how long it takes to pass safely.
Life has freed up in the last 7 years or so and in general many people have a little more than they did. However it is expensive and still hard to get many things. Absolutely anything could be repaired on the street by someone in Havana is my memory from 10 years ago. Now it is rarer to see a repair man on a pavement stall.
Street repairs
We met Antonio working one of his three jobs as a carpark attendant who was struggling to make ends meet. Another lovely man, a Doctor, waiting to collect tourists with his beautiful 1951 classic car, shared a little about his life. No matter your occupation, everyone is paid the same, so any connection you can make with the tourist dollar will help to make life easier.
Perfecto, we seem to be finishing our 21 days in Cuba with a bang.
If I could start again knowing what I know now, I’d shave a day or 2 here and there and add a couple to Playa Larga. Still, I’m grateful we didn’t spend the night in the park in Vinales for want of being fancy free, the absolute ideal.
Caleton, the little town we stay in is also a place where virtually every home is a Casa offering rooms. It is right on the beach and would be unpleasant in a hurricane I imagine. Our hostess is totally gorgeous, a great cook and is familiar with gluten free, thanks to travellers who have come before.
Our number one goal is to visit Las Salinas, home to up to 10,000 flamingo along with many other birds, Cuban and American crocodiles plus a variety of other creatures. The park is massive and starts just at the end of village.
We are in the back of mini moke type vehicles and head off early with our guide and fellow travellers for a fabulous morning. The rain last night has left puddles on the firm dirt road. So straight, it seems to stretch infinitely ahead through dense shrub that eventually becomes mangrove, then savannah. We will drive about 23 kms, occasionally seeing the sea on our left, then fresh lagoons begin to appear.
Finally flamingo. They are a different species to the Galapagos flamingo and exceptionally pink. The lagoons are massive in parts, so at some spots, masses of flamingo are in the distance, and at others we are lucky to get great views. Seeing a flamingo spread it’s massive wings and take to the sky from close quarters is quite awe inspiring.
On this trip, we have to date only seen brown pelican, here however there are white pelicans and they are very big birds, bigger than the flamingo. Storks, tern, cormorant, Heron – our guide points out a Blue Heron in flight. I did clearly see the pink Spoonbill in flight, that was stunning. We have several variety of fabulous Spoonbill in our very own wetland at home, but this was a new one.
The wind has picked up and it’s not a day for swimming though the water looks fabulous. Lots of sea grasses which is why this is also home to the manatee. We opt for a very long walk along the narrow strip of sand following the bay around till we turn back in case the incoming tide forces us into the mangroves.
Boys play with kites, one snorkels looking for bait fish, and we pass just a few other walkers. With a variety of cocktail bottles set up on a tiny table on the sand, an enterprising bartender demonstrates right there on the open beach his talent for juggling bottles a la Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown in the movie Cocktail. Another man taps a rhythm on his small bongo drum to attract attention to his hummingbird wind chimes suspended from the bongo. This is the home of the world’s smallest bee hummingbirds.
Like a miracle, we can pick up WiFi on the terrace of our Casa. Very poor quality as everywhere else, but it is usually only available in a park or in a big hotel in a city so this is total luxury, even though we still have to use the purchased login cards.
Things are under construction everywhere in Cuba. Especially in smaller towns, one level, sometimes two, of a house is constructed and clearly another level will be added when funds are available. In some places, the builders were much more rough and ready with rusting iron protruding untidily from almost every house creates a decidedly unattractive effect. Here in Caleton, there is no rusting iron, but there are mounds of dirt and gravel scattered along most streets.
Not too much in the way of eating establishments in Caleton so we are happy to take up the offer of dinner each night. Last night chicken, tonight pork.
The food process is pretty similar everywhere and is an added extra option to the cost of the room. Breakfast is a plate of fresh tropical fruits, papaya, pineapple, guava, maybe watermelon or banana in some combination of at least three. There are bread rolls and usually some sweet pastry or muffin with a main dish of eggs as you like them with ham and cheese plus usually some salad. Thermos of coffee, hot milk and hot water are on the table plus there is a large jug of juice. Occasionally a large amount of added sugar makes the juice undrinkable for me.
Dinner will be soup, followed by a large salad, cabbage seems to be popular, but nice tomato and cucumber. Then the main meal, a good cut of whatever you have chosen. Chicken, pork, shrimp and in some places lobster or crab are options all served with rice, sometimes black beans, and vegetables. Then there is a dessert of a flan or something nicely preserved fruits. All of this for CUC$10 or Euros10 and a bit more in Aussie$. A bit more if you get lobster as well.
Today we enjoyed street food snacks of churros and for me maize fritters. A bit of a mini dough binge after no gluten free bread like products of any kind for weeks.
Getting from place to place has not proved problematic. The Viazul bus didn’t really work out for our itinerary so we have used taxi collectivos exclusively. Costs a little more, but they leave in the morning and do a pickup plus delivery to your next casa.
How auspicious is our very last collectivo back to Havana in the morning? We are approached by a guy on the way back from the beach. Havana tomorrow? No but seems like this is time to tee up our onward journey. His name is Kenny and he is from Australia, which amazingly, is a town just down the road from here. We seal the deal with a handshake, feeling a special bond with Kenny, especially when I tell him my brother is also Kenny. He is super impressed.
Casa Ileana has just been a gorgeous if brief stay. She is such a warm, happy soul who clearly loves having guests in her home, making us feel quite special. Warm hugs all round on our departure.
Onward transport out of Vinales. This was the travel style for the next fortnight.
The journey out of Vinales feels like we are either in a National Lampoon Vacation movie or perhaps a Mafia movie. A long line of 9 seater 50’s classic cars packed with foreign travellers, roof racks loaded up (maybe not Mafia) chugs up the 5km climb trapped behind trucks and slower vehicles. We suck in the fumes and feel fairly confident in our drivers ability.
Packs off one roof rack onto a nearby bonnet till the changeover car is organised
About 2 hours in, we pull over to a scene of highly organised chaos. This is the changeover spot and there are dozens of vehicles just like ours who have arrived from Vinales and many other places. People and packs are disgorged to be reallocated to another vehicle for the final destination. We are heading to Cienfuegos so we get loaded into the last 2 seats in a big Chevy.
The klaxon, definitely not a horn, is activated by a taut string suspended from the top of the door down to the dash. A tapetty tap tap of fingers or a nifty forearm jab achieves the desired effect on passing vehicles, pedestrians or whatever takes the drivers fancy.
Definitely a meaty arm
A waggle of a meaty arm out the window acknowledges passing friends, or a thanks to a headlight warning flash from an oncoming vehicle. We are entertained by music videos. As the car absolutely flogs down the open road I realise we are dead if a tyre was to blow. Best just to relax and let the wind rip through your hair from the permanently open window.
After a couple of hours we stop at the turnoff to Australia for a snack and the bano. We will be back in this area in our last week, for a beach break in the Bay of Pigs.
For the record, the signpost to Australia in Cuba which is on the way to the Bay of Pigs
Sunlight really does sparkle like diamonds on Cienfuegos bay. The water is shimmering in the light and not a ripple breaks the spectacular effect on this hot morning. Boys throw fishing lines in off the decaying cement jetty. We can see the water is teeming with tiny fish.
Cienfuegos Bay is sparkling
A pedestrian boulevard lined with shops leads to the beautiful Jose Marti Square with its strong French influence in the town planning and design. Unlike Havana, the majority of the major buildings are in pretty good condition. We pay CUC$2 to go into a building that is in bad disrepair internally and looks a bit like a construction site. It feels like the construction will be continuing for many decades.
Beautiful Cienfuegos
Bicycle taxis ply up and down the Malecon offering their services. Many of the locals use these and others pile into carts pulled by horses to get around town. For longer distance travel, people often cram into large covered trucks and are transported standing up.
Looks amazing but pretty derelict and dangerous in some parts.
At the other end of the Malecon is La Punta. A great place to stroll and catch the fabulous sunset over the bay. The sugar barons had their homes in this neck of the woods. Some spectacular places remain. On this quite small strip of land, the grand homes have a double water frontage on their east west aspect. Many are now Casas renting out rooms.
Our Casa is nicely located close to the Malecon and about a 10 minute walk to the centre. We have our own entrance in the spacious home that is a bit of a menagerie. They have dogs, caged birds in several locations, chickens wandering freely outside and a pond arrangement in the large open dining area that houses amongst the fish and a turtle, a small crocodile.
I asked Santiago, the Grandfather what would happen when the crocodile grew. He made a cutting motion across his neck which seemed a bit of a violent end for an occupant of the premises. Still, I suppose it happens to the chooks.
The grandmother of the house prepared a lovely breakfast every morning. She reminded me of Dorothy from the Golden Girls with her stature and voice.
Tropi Sur is tempting for a night of Cienfuegos entertainment. Only CUC$3 (less than A$5) for a show but the doors don’t open till 9.30 with showtime at 10.30. We are pretty tired after walking 27kms today, according to the smartphone pedometer, so retire for the night. We saw a little bit of rehearsal and while nothing like Tropicana in Havana for about about 25 times the price, would have been fun.
We enjoy the feel of Cienfuegos, getting a little more laid back and quite beautiful in parts. After a long hike towards the bus terminal, we meet Carlos who turns out to be the go between to organise our next taxi collectivo ride on to Remedios.
Pretty cute light switch in our Casa
No need to panic about getting from A to B in Cuba, there is always a solution. There is a system, not always visible, but it’s friendly, reliable and trustworthy.
When your horse is called Coco Loco, this cannot be an auspicious start to a three hour horse riding trek.
Many people, few horses – an exclamation from the owner, gives the game away. It goes some way to explaining why I am lumbered with a horse called Coco Loco! Also the name of a local cocktail.
Vinales is packed to the eyeballs with foreigners all wanting an experience of some kind and horse riding is one of the very popular experiences.
View from the roof Vinales
The clip clop of horses hooves down the street is in fact a bit of a signature note for Vinales. That along with people sitting in their metal or slatted wooden rocking chairs either out on the porch or up on the flat roof enjoying the cool of the evening.
About a 3 hour bus ride out of Havana, the trip was comfortable, but the day has been hot and we are a little travel weary. That can’t last too long though as the horseback excursion on Coco Loco and Mojito awaits us in the morning.
Limestone outcrops are impressive.
As a non horse rider, a horse riding trek, no matter how short, is unexpected even for me. Maybe not quite up there with snorkelling with sharks, but it can certainly go on the list.
After about half an hour, my pommel clutching grip starts to loosen and I worry less about having bruised hands from hanging on so tightly.
Red dirt tracks meander around the surrounding farmland where tobacco farms operate, I suspect in this area at least, deriving their income mainly from catering to the tourist experience. The limestone outcrops make for a spectacular backdrop. Birds of prey are prolific in this area and they hover and swoop wherever we are.
The campesino we talked to, a short but striking man, explained that farming is highly regulated and that 90% of his crop had to be sold to the Government.
The campesino explains how tobacco farming works in Cuba
Part of the horse riding experience is to stop at a little bar on a hill to enjoy a cold drink or a snack and enjoy the live music.
It appears that the vast majority of Vinales residents have long ago forsaken farming to be part of the tourism boom. Street after street is lined with houses offering rooms to rent. There are hundreds of Casas operating here. Even so, last night Vinales was full and people slept in the park.
Cocktails and live music are even available right out here
In spite of the hordes of visitors, it doesn’t feel as bad as it sounds. Reminds me just a little, of experiences in Australia where people might travel for a couple of hours on a Sunday to throng the streets of a popular and picturesque village. Quite different of course, and here it is a daily event. But all of us are here with a common purpose, to participate, eat, drink, enjoy and in general spend a bit of money. Most importantly of all to enjoy Cuba.
Patience is the word in Cuba when it comes to the internet. Bars, restaurants, Casas have all moved a reasonable distance into the 21st century catering for travellers. Etecsa is still grinding along in another bygone century somewhere far away.
We queued for a good hour in the sun waiting to buy a login and password. In Havana, we paid top $ but got a card in seconds. Here in Vinales, you have to explain what you want even though odds are pretty high that every foreigner is after the same thing. The process then involves tediously taking passport details before handing over the goods in exchange for money. It explained why it took a good 5 minutes or more before someone emerged from the door and one more person was allowed to just get inside the building.
As it turned out, the first login I tried did not work, the second barely lasted 30 minutes out of the supposed hour. Woe betide if you only purchased one ticket.
Vinales is super full of tourists and numbers swell even more with day trippers, certainly over this Christmas season at least. While travelling onward as the mood strikes is the way to go in an ideal world, in the busy season booking your Casa well ahead could save some heartache and tears. In spite of that, Vinales offers yet another window onto the diversity that is Cuba and is worth a look if you have time.
The breeze off the Atlantic Ocean is brisk but pleasant in the warm night air as we take our first evening stroll along the Malecon. We are in Havana.
A warm introduction to our home for 6 nights. Si, we would like a Cuba Libre. How pleasant sittting out on the 2nd floor balcony with our Casa host, Maura, sipping drinks and enjoying a lively conversation in broken Spanish and not bad English from her. We talk about everything from sharks to life in Cuba.
After barely any food all day, the Cuba Libre starts to make my head swim so we head out for a meal about 9pm.
Wow! Cuba has changed in the 10 years since I was last here. The restaurant Maura has suggested is totally trendy. Habana 61 sits on a little cobbled street a few minutes walk away in our neighbourhood of Old Havana or Habana Vieja. The decor, the staff, the food – none of it would look out of place in the latest Sydney venue. The only difference – it is at a fraction of the price.
Habana 61 feels a bit special seeing as we live right by Habana in Mackay.
In the main tourist area, home to the larger hotels, prices could be twice the price and more of the restaurants close to our lovely Casa. Local food would be vastly less expensive again but we are enjoying this really top quality food for a few days.
Walking the streets of old Havana is an architectural pleasure. No work has been done on many buildings since the revolution. However a surprising amount has been done. Change is under way in Havana. Buildings have been cleaned and restored, others demolished to make way for new hotels, occasionally with what was once a fabulous facade retained. Clearly it will look magnificent if restored to its original glory. Some of the newly cleaned buildings have not had their decorative features restored. The colours and other features that can still be vaguely observed in the old, crumbling untouched buildings are missing, rendering a more stark structure that has lost that fabulous grandeur of once what was.
This place would have looked mind blowingly amazing in the 1950’s and prior decades.
5 Corners, site of a popular restaurant
Los Nardos opposite the Capitolio provides a memorable lunch experience. We share an enormous plate of meats grilled Cuban style with rice, black beans and a plate of salad vegetables in a very atmospheric restaurant. Two fabulous operatic tenor voices resonate throughout the high ceilinged room adding to the cultural experience and thoroughly enchanting the entire restaurant.
A bride is led across the cobbled Plaza to the Cathedral. Men who drive fabulous old American cars offer us a taxi service. At the other end of the scale, we could opt for a horse and cart, or a ride in a small buggy pulled along by a bicycle, a bicitaxi. Women dressed in traditional style brandishing giant cigars tempt the tourist cameras, musicians play lively Latin music – all in search of the tourist dollar on the promise of an exotic photo to take home.
We prefer to walk and observe. The Hemingway bar is teeny, tiny, and packed with maybe only a dozen people trying to drink a presumably outrageously expensive cocktail, musicians crammed into one corner. We squeeze in and then move back out again into the narrow cobbled street.
Casa Victor Hugo is a beautiful old building housing a photographic exhibition of the Paris Dance company.
Our little corner of old Havana seems to have many restaurants and bars. An evening stroll to choose where to eat on a balmy evening is a people watching opportunity. A brief sprinkle of tropical rain is not enough to drive the diners away from their tables set out on the cobble stones.
We meet a Welsh guy who like us, has spent quite a bit of his day at the bank. Our experience, unlike his, was quite straight forward, just time consuming. His card was cancelled and with minimal cash, he was very lucky to be able to talk to his bank, at a cost of over £100, and get it restored.
Step one in our bank saga, wait for the ticket issuing operative to return from a break to her desk just inside the door. Tell me what you want, she asks in Spanish to ensure we get the correct ticket.
Ticket in hand, we join the waiting crowd.
Two people are not allowed to attend the counter at the same time. Kerri’s turn to change money so it becomes a Spanish language test as I am forced to wait 3 paces back. The teller has to relent at one point and allows me to briefly approach, then return to my spot.
One of the most fascinating parts of Havana street life is watching the giant American cars that ply the streets. Many are beautifully chromed up and lovingly cared for. Others look dull and dinged, still waiting on their owners to presumably be able to afford to render a lot more attention. Packard, Chrysler, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge … and many more, all looking like they have rolled off a Hollywood film set.
Havana Malecon is a must.
Waves crash against the retaining wall of the Malecon, splashing on to passers by. It’s a fishing spot, a place for lovers and anyone who wants to stroll.
Enormous cruise ships slip almost noiselessly along the picturesque channel to the harbour, literally tying up right on the street. Looks like you could just jump into the facing building.
The channel into Havana Harbour is so beautiful
Equally beautiful by night, the sound of live music draws us to an outdoor restaurant on the Malecon where members of the band are happy to salsa with willing patrons.
The Cuban Art Museum stood out like a glistening jewel in its surrounds 10 years ago. Now it looks a little more jaded and blends in with the surrounds. The art work inside is still just as interesting though.
Mojitos, just one of the popular Cuban rum cocktails
We meet some Australians who tell us about restaurant Van Van. Tapas and a A$2.70 Mojito that could put you on your ear in a venue obviously dedicated to music. We are holding out for a Christmas Eve feast at our Casa but will return one night for the full experience.
Christmas breakfast buffet. Happy restaurant owner as people crowd in.
Dinner with the family on Christmas Eve is a delight. Food is abundant and delicious. Alcohol is even more abundant. Mojitos, red wine, beer, pineapple liqueur, coconut liqueur, several types of Cuban rum or Ron as it is here. After all that, a little salsa is inevitable.
The young man from Baracoa cuts a mean dance step as he waits for his his Italian girlfriend to fly in Christmas Eve
Sunday is when the rhumba drums come out in the African art street. The tiny street is worth a visit any day of the week just to absorb the amazing art. The Sunday action starts around noon, so it’s good to get there a little earlier to get a look around as the crowds build phenomenally. Drinks are not outrageously priced which makes it easy to sit and people watch.
We detour on the walk back to take in Chinatown. Precious few Chinese around, but there are some restaurants and evidence of what was before socialism scared the enterprising Chinese out of the country.
WiFi Hotspot Havana. Not free, not great.
After WiFi on tap in South America, the system here is largely unchanged over the past 10 years except you can use your own phone instead of a terminal. It’s a bitter shock for tourists who arrive expecting just to be able to do their research and book ahead as they go along. The internet system involves firstly buying a card, available only in a very limited number of places. The card has a login and a password valid for a set period of time. Slow is the key word and don’t count on being able to do anything complex, especially out of Havana where things seemed to me to be a little more difficult.
One of our last excursions is to the Museo de la Revolution. It is a little chaotic and being able to read some Spanish is a big help. My knowledge of the Bay of Pigs incident is not comprehensive, but interesting to read from the Cuban perspective.
Absolutely classic images as you exit to the tanks, other militaria including remains of a US spy plane, is the life size cutout cartoon figures of Battista and three Republican presidents, Reagan plus Bush senior and junior. The adjacent sign is slightly different for each man, but about as blatantly uncomplimentary as you can get. I wonder if mostly Democrats would ever want to visit Cuba anyway. Can someone please let me know what they do for the next US president in due course?
Six days in Havana is definitely a relaxing amount of time and we have 2 more at the end. We feel lucky, many people only have a week or maybe two for their entire trip.
Lorna On The Loose 