Habana, Cuba
It’s 8:15am EDT and I am slowly getting out of bed for our first full day in Cuba! I didn’t sleep very well and am feeling groggy. The streets are loud and the walls are thin.
By 8:50, we are all congregating in the living room. Manny and Leyanis will be serving us breakfast at 9am. At 8:58 Manny is knocking on our door with a tray full of food. We are surprised by his promptness. Our entire breakfast spread takes nearly 10 minutes to serve. Every time we think he is done, Manny comes back in with another tray full of food. Eventually, our dining room table is full of eggs, toast, fruit, cheese, cold cuts and avocados. Leyanis tops off the service with a small pot of hot coffee. We are in heaven.
After breakfast, we take a few minutes to pack up for the day. I throw sunscreen, money, my camera, a hat and 1.5 liters of water into my day pack. Prior to arriving in Habana, Laura arranged for us to have a walking tour of the city on our first day. The tour is supposed to start at 10am and by 9:50, our tour guide is waiting patiently outside. Man, these people are punctual.
Manny makes a quick introduction to Pablo, our guide for the morning. Pablo’s English is great and we are all relieved. We start out the tour in Pablo’s row house. He instructs us to relax in the downstairs art studio (his wife is an artist) while he finishes getting ready for the tour. We take a quick lap and politely look at all the art. Soon, Pablo returns and gives us a quick introduction of himself and our current neighborhood, which is called El Angel. Just as we are leaving, we are greeted by one of Pablo’s friends. His name is Jimmy and he looks overjoyed to make our acquaintance. Pablo explains that Jimmy knows a lot about cigars and, coincidentally, also sells cigars. He gives us one as a free sample and we promise to come back to him later on.
Manny makes a quick introduction to Pablo, our guide for the morning. Pablo’s English is great and we are all relieved. We start out the tour in Pablo’s row house. He instructs us to relax in the downstairs art studio (his wife is an artist) while he finishes getting ready for the tour. We take a quick lap and politely look at all the art. Soon, Pablo returns and gives us a quick introduction of himself and our current neighborhood, which is called El Angel. Just as we are leaving, we are greeted by one of Pablo’s friends. His name is Jimmy and he looks overjoyed to make our acquaintance. Pablo explains that Jimmy knows a lot about cigars and, coincidentally, also sells cigars. He gives us one as a free sample and we promise to come back to him later on.
The tour starts in our own neighborhood. Pablo takes us to a small catholic church and asks if we are religious. We all say no and can immediately tell that we have disappointed him. He talks about his family’s devotion to Catholicism and its importance in the community. We smile and nod politely.
After fully addressing the topic of religion, we continue our walking tour through endless, narrow streets while Pablo points out his recommendations for stores and restaurants. He also explains that generations of barbers have lived in this neighborhood and even points out a large sculpture of scissors that marks the entrance into El Angel.
Next, Pablo takes us through the 4 main plazas in Habana Vieja: Plaza de Armas, Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza Catedral, and Plaza Vieja. Pablo is continuously pointing out important churches and statues, but we are so overwhelmed that it’s hard to keep up. At one point, he shows us La Bodeguita del Medio, which where Hemingway used to drink mojitos. It’s overrun with tourists.
By noon we are getting hot and tired. Pablo shows us to a microbrewery in Plaza Vieja. We order a tower of dark beer (which is still pretty light, by American standards) and settle in at an outdoor table. Pablo tells us about his family. His daughter is an artist and his son plays the piano; both have graduated University and moved out. Pablo studied linguistics at University and knows at least five different languages.
Soon the conversation turns to life in Habana. Pablo explains that the government provides rations for everyone and that you can you can live off of the rations, but it’s better if you work too. The rations are very sparse and include one bread roll per week (later this will prompt an unnecessarily long conversation about the translation of the word “roll”). As I continue to ask questions, I am met with a mix of pride and disapproval; I am trying to figure out what Pablo thinks of communism, but he is playing it close to the vest.
After fully addressing the topic of religion, we continue our walking tour through endless, narrow streets while Pablo points out his recommendations for stores and restaurants. He also explains that generations of barbers have lived in this neighborhood and even points out a large sculpture of scissors that marks the entrance into El Angel.
Next, Pablo takes us through the 4 main plazas in Habana Vieja: Plaza de Armas, Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza Catedral, and Plaza Vieja. Pablo is continuously pointing out important churches and statues, but we are so overwhelmed that it’s hard to keep up. At one point, he shows us La Bodeguita del Medio, which where Hemingway used to drink mojitos. It’s overrun with tourists.
By noon we are getting hot and tired. Pablo shows us to a microbrewery in Plaza Vieja. We order a tower of dark beer (which is still pretty light, by American standards) and settle in at an outdoor table. Pablo tells us about his family. His daughter is an artist and his son plays the piano; both have graduated University and moved out. Pablo studied linguistics at University and knows at least five different languages.
Soon the conversation turns to life in Habana. Pablo explains that the government provides rations for everyone and that you can you can live off of the rations, but it’s better if you work too. The rations are very sparse and include one bread roll per week (later this will prompt an unnecessarily long conversation about the translation of the word “roll”). As I continue to ask questions, I am met with a mix of pride and disapproval; I am trying to figure out what Pablo thinks of communism, but he is playing it close to the vest.
Next the conversation turns to me. Pablo asks me whether or not I’m married. When I tell him that I am not, he assures me that I am still very pretty. He tries to ask me why I’m not married in several different ways and my answers are mixed with diplomacy and honesty. I guess we are both playing it close to the vest.
Having successfully addressed the topics of politics, religion, marriage, family and public education, we decide it’s time to head over to Centro Habana. Around 1pm, we make a stop for lunch, which consists of rice with little bits of meat. Laura doesn’t eat meat and I don’t eat rice; Andrew is the only person happy about this.
Just as we are finishing up lunch, the afternoon rain hits. It’s pouring down and we are crammed under an awning with a large group of tourists and locals. We are getting tired and our shoes are waterlogged. Eventually, we agree to walk in the rain and head back to our side of town. Per Pablo’s recommendation, we make one more stop at the open air market by the water. Pablo instructs us to go inside and then meet him at the front door when we are done. We really do not want to shop, but sit inside for an obligatory 10 minutes to be polite.
After the market we head back to El Angel. Our tour has run over by 3 full hours. When we arrive back at our home, we thank Pablo profusely and happily present him with an American sized tip.
We are soaked and tired. We all vote for a siesta and agree to reconvene in 2 hours.
At 5pm we gather in the living room. It’s a little too early for dinner, so we decide to go to La Farmacia for a happy hour. We do a quick lap to look for our new friend, Jimmy, but he is nowhere to be found. We order a round of Bucaneros, which is the “dark” national beer and our new favorite beverage. I also order some cheese-based appetizers and a bowl of nuts. Cold beer is really the only way to handle the incessant heat and humidity in this place.
About halfway through our first round, Andrew ducks out to make one more pass by Jimmy’s house. They had agreed to meet up later, but no time or place was determined. When he doesn’t return immediately, we assume all is well and order another round.
Laura and I are having an awesome time catching up and achieving the delicate balance of an early evening beer buzz. By our third round, we’ve made friends with a couple from Canada and a solo traveler from Minnesota. The American is on a cruise and is only in Habana for the day and the Canadians are with a tour and staying in a large, national hotel. We are feeling very bad ass as we explain that we are traveling on our own and staying with a local host.
Just are we are finishing our third round, we are rejoined by Andrew, who is drunk and has cigars. While Laura and I were hanging out with Canadians, Andrew joined Jimmy and Pablo for rum, coffee and cigars in Jimmy’s 3rd story living room. They had a long discussion about the different brands of cigars and Andrew even got to sample some of them. When all was said and done, Andrew left with 10 cigars and 2 new friends. Laura and I are definitely jealous.
We hang around La Farmacia long enough to finish our drinks and then decide that it’s time for dinner. We unanimously decide on the blue restaurant that Pablo pointed out to us earlier. After dinner, we are planning visiting La Fabrica de Arte, so we take a few minutes to change clothes before heading out for the night. After only a few hours of sitting outside, I am big puddle of sunscreen and sweat.
At dinner we opt for a table outside and each order some version of protein, plantains and rice. My pork is a little tough, but I power through. One of the locals befriends us and is starting to get a little too attached when Andrew has to tell him to leave us alone. Unsolicited attempts at friendship aside, the atmosphere here is pretty cool. Once we are finished, we head over to the cab area and to get a ride to La Fabrica de Arte. We have a fair price in mind and are offered it immediately. Things are so simple here!
We arrive right at 9pm, when the venue opens. We are dorks, but also don’t want to stand in line. This place was described as an art gallery-restaurant-bar-club and we really have no idea what to expect. Upon arrival, we are given a paper card with a list of different bars and checkboxes next to each bar. It’s explained that we document all of our drinks on these cards and then cash out all at once, when we leave. This is just like a Carnival Cruise and I am so into it!
We decide to make a lap of the whole building before settling in. We start out on the bottom floor, which includes 4 different rooms of art, two bars, a dance area and a pop up store selling shirts and purses. When we head upstairs we find another bar, a stage, a large outdoor seating area, the entrance to the restaurant and 2 large rooms full of art. This place is so awesome.
We make a stop at the second floor bar, where Laura and I order sangria and Andrew orders a beer. The bartender marks our cards and we are off to explore!
There is some pretty cool art making fun of Trump and America in the upstairs gallery. I’m not entirely sure that I get all of it, but I am delighted, nonetheless.
Eventually, we are approached by a guy who explains that one of the artists is on-site and working on his next piece. He is looking for models to photograph and asks if we will participate. I think this seems like a bad idea, but Laura says yes and I don’t want to be upstaged. We follow the guy up another set of steps and each sign a waiver. Laura goes first. The idea is that you stare directly into the camera while pointing at your chest. Laura gets it on the first try. When it’s my turn, I mess up the first few shots by smiling. The artist’s assistant has to talk to me sternly before I can take the photo they are looking for. I undoubtedly look like crap, but everyone else seems happy. Back to the bar!
After another round of sangria, we notice a group of performers congregating in the stage area. We take a seat near the edge and watch what looks like ballet dancers flailing around for about 10 minutes. I find this fascinating, but eventually I am convinced to migrate outside.
We spend the rest of the evening moving in between art galleries, 2 different DJs, the rooftop patio and the performance artists. By midnight we are getting tired and order a big plate of fries. By 12:30 we are done. When I check out, my tab totals 12 CUCs. This is crazy.
We easily grab a cab and back at the Airbnb, we quickly retire to our rooms. We agree to meet at 8:50am tomorrow morning for breakfast and our 2nd full day in Habana!
Eventually, we are approached by a guy who explains that one of the artists is on-site and working on his next piece. He is looking for models to photograph and asks if we will participate. I think this seems like a bad idea, but Laura says yes and I don’t want to be upstaged. We follow the guy up another set of steps and each sign a waiver. Laura goes first. The idea is that you stare directly into the camera while pointing at your chest. Laura gets it on the first try. When it’s my turn, I mess up the first few shots by smiling. The artist’s assistant has to talk to me sternly before I can take the photo they are looking for. I undoubtedly look like crap, but everyone else seems happy. Back to the bar!
After another round of sangria, we notice a group of performers congregating in the stage area. We take a seat near the edge and watch what looks like ballet dancers flailing around for about 10 minutes. I find this fascinating, but eventually I am convinced to migrate outside.
We spend the rest of the evening moving in between art galleries, 2 different DJs, the rooftop patio and the performance artists. By midnight we are getting tired and order a big plate of fries. By 12:30 we are done. When I check out, my tab totals 12 CUCs. This is crazy.
We easily grab a cab and back at the Airbnb, we quickly retire to our rooms. We agree to meet at 8:50am tomorrow morning for breakfast and our 2nd full day in Habana!
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