Habana, Cuba
It’s 8:15am EDT and I am waking up from a second night of terrible sleep. I quickly get ready for the day and meet up with Laura and Andrew at approximately 8:50am. They did not sleep well either.
By 8:55am Manny is cheerfully serving us an enormous breakfast spread. We spend most of breakfast trying to figure out our plan for the next 2 days. We would like to go to Vinales tomorrow morning, but we need a driver. We also need somewhere to stay. On Monday we need somewhere to stay in Habana before we leave for Trinidad on Tuesday morning. These are a lot of logistics to work out with no Internet and a poor grasp of Spanish.
By 8:55am Manny is cheerfully serving us an enormous breakfast spread. We spend most of breakfast trying to figure out our plan for the next 2 days. We would like to go to Vinales tomorrow morning, but we need a driver. We also need somewhere to stay. On Monday we need somewhere to stay in Habana before we leave for Trinidad on Tuesday morning. These are a lot of logistics to work out with no Internet and a poor grasp of Spanish.
When Manny arrives to clear our breakfast, Laura starts the conversation. Manny speaks very slowly to us and uses lots of hand gestures. He assures us that he will have a driver pick us up tomorrow morning and take us to Vinales and the same driver will bring us back on Sunday. Also, our same rooms are available on Sunday night, so we can stay here again. The nightly rate is even discounted, since we are booking directly! Manny also assures us that our driver can find us a place to stay in Vinales. This entire conversation took place in Spanish and we are 80% sure of what just happened.
We start our day off at the snack stand down the street. A small child sells me 2 1.5 liter bottles of water. Laura and Andrew think that I am acting paranoid about running out of water and I have to admit they have a point.
Our next stop is the Museo de Revolucion. Having learned about the revolution in Cuba in middle school, I am pretty excited to see this. We wait in a short line and have to pay the tourist entry fee, which is totally fine with us. It takes me a few minutes to realize that we need to check our bags at the front desk, but eventually we are all checked in and ready to enter the exhibit.
The inside of the museum is pretty basic. Especially compared to the outside, which is literally a palace (the museum is housed in the old Presidential Palace, where the Presidents lived before Castro took over and moved into the Palace of the Revolution, which is a much less ornate building). We walk through multiple galleries featuring blown up photographs and the story of the Cuban revolution. There is a big focus on Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos and Jose Marti. Parts of the explanation emphasize America’s role in creating a trade embargos, our attempts at assassinating Castro and the Bay of Pigs. I am feeling a little uncomfortable, but continue silently through the galleries. After the story of the revolution is complete, we find a few more rooms dedicated to artifacts, including an old transmitter used to communicate with Russia during the Cold War. I think this is particularly cool. There are also a handful of statues and a large cut out of a boat with a mural of different people painted across it. I mainly take pictures of empty rooms and windows; the early afternoon light in here is stunning.
After the museum, we head back over to Plaza Viejo. Our plan is to find coffee, exchange more money and grab some lunch. As soon as we find the money exchange, Laura announces that she left her passport back in her room. This is fine with me, as I secretly wanted to refill my water anyways. Back to where we started! As we weave through the narrow streets we are suddenly overtaken by tourists. It looks like the cruise ships have arrived.
Once we grab Laura’s passport, we walk back to Plaza Viejo. On the way, we find a small bank that has no line for money exchange. I wait outside for Laura and Andrew and try not to look too closely to street performers. I strategically move back and forth from one side of the street to the other because I don’t have any bills small enough for tipping. I feel bad, because it’s literally a circus out here. There are women dancing on stilts, a man singing opera in a wheelchair and lady with a large cat that is wearing a small dress. By the time Laura and Andrew emerge from the bank, I am ready for lunch.
We do a quick lap around the plaza and eventually settle on a little restaurant with balcony seating that overlooks the square. We are seated right away and the sun is punishing. I am still committed to coffee, though and order a hot Americano. The server looks at me like I’m nuts and I really can’t blame her. For lunch, we all order sandwiches. It’s time for our first real Cuban sandwiches!
The sandwiches are good, but not as good as Cuban sandwiches in LA. I can tell the bread is fresh and appreciate that the cheese is extra thick, but it's just not as flavorful as I am used to. After lunch we are tired and bordering on sun stroke. We head back to our rooms for a siesta.
Around 4pm we reconvene for our evening activities. Our first order of business is to take a city tour in a classic car. We walk over to the cab area and quickly make friends with one of the business owners, who affectionately tells Andrew that he looks like her father. I think this is a compliment, but Laura can’t stop laughing. Andrew seems mildly irritated. We pick out a pink convertible for our tour, negotiate the driver down to one hour, and we are off!
I have to admit that I had my doubts, but this tour turns out to be totally awesome. The breeze is cool and we easily cruise through more neighborhoods that I can count. I am surprised by the lack of traffic, but quickly realize this is a result of major restrictions on cars (on our first day, our tour guide told us that cars can cost as much as houses!). At one point, our tour guide points out that we are in Chinatown, but says “there are no Chinese”. When Laura asks why not she replies, more slowly, “there are no Chinese”. The whole car is confused and we all laugh heartily.
Halfway through the tour our driver stops at Plaza de la Revolucion. There is a large tower-shaped monument in the middle, which is a tribute to Jose Marti. Across from the memorial, large outlines of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos grace the sides of 2 government buildings. Most of the plaza is empty space; later I’ll learn this was an important gathering area during the revolution and, at one point, Fidel Castro addressed over 1 million people here.
On the way back into town we pass a large hospital, which has a picture of Che on the front. We also stop at Parque John Lennon and take pictures, with the famous statue (Cuba has a weird fascination with The Beatles and we’ll continue to hear Beatles covers throughout our trip). On the way back into town we drive down a quaint street that is lined by large houses. Laura asks if this is where wealthy people live and our guide starts laughing hysterically. She manages to sputter that these are not houses; they are embassies.
The last leg of our drive takes us down the Malacon, which is the street that runs next to the ocean. There is no coastline, just a tall seawall which is only blocking some of the incoming waves. The sun is starting to set and I am getting some amazing photos.
After our tour, it’s time for Laura’s official birthday dinner! Earlier Andrew set a reservation at Havana 61, which is one of the best restaurants in town. We arrive right on time and are seated immediately (I am loving the punctuality of Cuba!). We start out with a round of their signature drink, which is a canchanchara. It tastes like a sour mojito and is delicious! We order a few appetizers and our entrees. I have the ropa vieja, which does not disappoint. We get a few more rounds of drinks and thoroughly enjoy the food, drinks and conversation. Andrew has budgeted 100 CUCs for all 3 of us to have a nice birthday dinner and, despite our best efforts, the bill only comes out to 52. Damn, Cuba!
After dinner, we decide to take some of our personal rum stash to the Malacon to walk by the water and, possibly, socialize with other people. When we arrive the path is darker and emptier than we expected. We have a few conversations with people who are passing by but they are just trying to sell us stuff. Eventually we leave.
On the way back, we pass an adorable little rooftop bar, which is right next to our Airbnb. We duck in for a quick beer and are greeted by a very friendly server. He quickly brings us 3 Bucaneros and 3 chilled glasses. He sets the glasses on the table and then pours each beer in a way that the stream of beer hits the upper part of the side of the glass and then runs down into the glass without creating any foam. These Texans stare in amazement and simultaneously comment on his excellent pouring abilities. This guy is amazing.
Just as our first beer is done a little band starts to play and we have to order another round. One round turns into 4 and we are having so much fun that I swear I could stay all night. Around midnight, we finally pull ourselves away and head back in for the night. Laura and I still have energy, however, so we pour ourselves little glasses of rum. Our conversation quickly turns into a heated debate about the girl scouts, which only ends when I stomp off to bed. It’s okay though, heated debates over one-too-many is a vacation tradition for us!
Tomorrow we will head over to Vinales and I am already excited!
We start our day off at the snack stand down the street. A small child sells me 2 1.5 liter bottles of water. Laura and Andrew think that I am acting paranoid about running out of water and I have to admit they have a point.
Our next stop is the Museo de Revolucion. Having learned about the revolution in Cuba in middle school, I am pretty excited to see this. We wait in a short line and have to pay the tourist entry fee, which is totally fine with us. It takes me a few minutes to realize that we need to check our bags at the front desk, but eventually we are all checked in and ready to enter the exhibit.
The inside of the museum is pretty basic. Especially compared to the outside, which is literally a palace (the museum is housed in the old Presidential Palace, where the Presidents lived before Castro took over and moved into the Palace of the Revolution, which is a much less ornate building). We walk through multiple galleries featuring blown up photographs and the story of the Cuban revolution. There is a big focus on Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos and Jose Marti. Parts of the explanation emphasize America’s role in creating a trade embargos, our attempts at assassinating Castro and the Bay of Pigs. I am feeling a little uncomfortable, but continue silently through the galleries. After the story of the revolution is complete, we find a few more rooms dedicated to artifacts, including an old transmitter used to communicate with Russia during the Cold War. I think this is particularly cool. There are also a handful of statues and a large cut out of a boat with a mural of different people painted across it. I mainly take pictures of empty rooms and windows; the early afternoon light in here is stunning.
After the museum, we head back over to Plaza Viejo. Our plan is to find coffee, exchange more money and grab some lunch. As soon as we find the money exchange, Laura announces that she left her passport back in her room. This is fine with me, as I secretly wanted to refill my water anyways. Back to where we started! As we weave through the narrow streets we are suddenly overtaken by tourists. It looks like the cruise ships have arrived.
Once we grab Laura’s passport, we walk back to Plaza Viejo. On the way, we find a small bank that has no line for money exchange. I wait outside for Laura and Andrew and try not to look too closely to street performers. I strategically move back and forth from one side of the street to the other because I don’t have any bills small enough for tipping. I feel bad, because it’s literally a circus out here. There are women dancing on stilts, a man singing opera in a wheelchair and lady with a large cat that is wearing a small dress. By the time Laura and Andrew emerge from the bank, I am ready for lunch.
We do a quick lap around the plaza and eventually settle on a little restaurant with balcony seating that overlooks the square. We are seated right away and the sun is punishing. I am still committed to coffee, though and order a hot Americano. The server looks at me like I’m nuts and I really can’t blame her. For lunch, we all order sandwiches. It’s time for our first real Cuban sandwiches!
The sandwiches are good, but not as good as Cuban sandwiches in LA. I can tell the bread is fresh and appreciate that the cheese is extra thick, but it's just not as flavorful as I am used to. After lunch we are tired and bordering on sun stroke. We head back to our rooms for a siesta.
Around 4pm we reconvene for our evening activities. Our first order of business is to take a city tour in a classic car. We walk over to the cab area and quickly make friends with one of the business owners, who affectionately tells Andrew that he looks like her father. I think this is a compliment, but Laura can’t stop laughing. Andrew seems mildly irritated. We pick out a pink convertible for our tour, negotiate the driver down to one hour, and we are off!
I have to admit that I had my doubts, but this tour turns out to be totally awesome. The breeze is cool and we easily cruise through more neighborhoods that I can count. I am surprised by the lack of traffic, but quickly realize this is a result of major restrictions on cars (on our first day, our tour guide told us that cars can cost as much as houses!). At one point, our tour guide points out that we are in Chinatown, but says “there are no Chinese”. When Laura asks why not she replies, more slowly, “there are no Chinese”. The whole car is confused and we all laugh heartily.
Halfway through the tour our driver stops at Plaza de la Revolucion. There is a large tower-shaped monument in the middle, which is a tribute to Jose Marti. Across from the memorial, large outlines of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos grace the sides of 2 government buildings. Most of the plaza is empty space; later I’ll learn this was an important gathering area during the revolution and, at one point, Fidel Castro addressed over 1 million people here.
On the way back into town we pass a large hospital, which has a picture of Che on the front. We also stop at Parque John Lennon and take pictures, with the famous statue (Cuba has a weird fascination with The Beatles and we’ll continue to hear Beatles covers throughout our trip). On the way back into town we drive down a quaint street that is lined by large houses. Laura asks if this is where wealthy people live and our guide starts laughing hysterically. She manages to sputter that these are not houses; they are embassies.
The last leg of our drive takes us down the Malacon, which is the street that runs next to the ocean. There is no coastline, just a tall seawall which is only blocking some of the incoming waves. The sun is starting to set and I am getting some amazing photos.
After our tour, it’s time for Laura’s official birthday dinner! Earlier Andrew set a reservation at Havana 61, which is one of the best restaurants in town. We arrive right on time and are seated immediately (I am loving the punctuality of Cuba!). We start out with a round of their signature drink, which is a canchanchara. It tastes like a sour mojito and is delicious! We order a few appetizers and our entrees. I have the ropa vieja, which does not disappoint. We get a few more rounds of drinks and thoroughly enjoy the food, drinks and conversation. Andrew has budgeted 100 CUCs for all 3 of us to have a nice birthday dinner and, despite our best efforts, the bill only comes out to 52. Damn, Cuba!
After dinner, we decide to take some of our personal rum stash to the Malacon to walk by the water and, possibly, socialize with other people. When we arrive the path is darker and emptier than we expected. We have a few conversations with people who are passing by but they are just trying to sell us stuff. Eventually we leave.
On the way back, we pass an adorable little rooftop bar, which is right next to our Airbnb. We duck in for a quick beer and are greeted by a very friendly server. He quickly brings us 3 Bucaneros and 3 chilled glasses. He sets the glasses on the table and then pours each beer in a way that the stream of beer hits the upper part of the side of the glass and then runs down into the glass without creating any foam. These Texans stare in amazement and simultaneously comment on his excellent pouring abilities. This guy is amazing.
Just as our first beer is done a little band starts to play and we have to order another round. One round turns into 4 and we are having so much fun that I swear I could stay all night. Around midnight, we finally pull ourselves away and head back in for the night. Laura and I still have energy, however, so we pour ourselves little glasses of rum. Our conversation quickly turns into a heated debate about the girl scouts, which only ends when I stomp off to bed. It’s okay though, heated debates over one-too-many is a vacation tradition for us!
Tomorrow we will head over to Vinales and I am already excited!
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