La Habana
17th of May:
Having gone to bed around 2 in the morning, both of us (Lisa and I) slept very late, but when we got up, we checked out of the casa particular (wasn’t a nice one, and we both had reservations other places), and headed to where Lisa had a reservation, and then I would go to my place afterwards. But the location of Lisa’s place was infinitely better located than mine, so I forfeited my deposit (4 USD), for the advantage of a wonderful location.
After our check-in, we left the casa particular, and spend the rest of the day walking around the Vedado part of Habana. Walking around daylight, I quickly became aware of what Habana is like, it is a dreamlike place, nowhere isn’t beautiful. The buildings may be crumbling in a lot of places, but they look gorgeous anyway, the look and feel of the place is so genuine, and it fits perfectly with anything around it, no place has been more picturesque on my entire trip. Especially pictures along streets, the lada’s and the Yank Tanks (American cars imported prior to the revolution), all make the place exactly like in movies, nothing hidden or covered up.
Malecon is the sea barrier, running all the way along Vedado, and is a very nice place for a walk, but where Lisa and I first came out to it, is at the US Interest office, much like an embassy, but not officially an embassy. The US decided to set up a gargantuan news-ticker, showing international news that the Cuban government would normally censor, so Fidel Castro, had 50 enormous flagpoles set up, obscuring the view so the ticket can’t really be read. Walking along, I suddenly sensed how incredibly hot it was (38 degrees, a sudden change from the 10-15 degrees in La Paz), so I suggested one of Habanas famous ice cream parlors, and so we went to the most famous one, Coppelia.
Coppelia is a legend around here, the problem however is that tourists have to go to a special cafe there for their ice cream, instead of joining the real queue. As tourists the money we have is CUC (pesos convertibles) where as the locals have pesos (pesos nacionales). So we couldn’t get the real ice cream, but had to do with the tourists edition, which isn’t as good and has a smaller selection, so I made it a mission to buy some with pesos nacionales at some point, the problem can just be getting a hold of it.
After the ice cream, we walked towards the University of Habana, which is supposed to be very stunning, and on the way there, we came past the most beautifully made logo of the Communist Youth League I have seen so far, as well as a wonderful bus, driving for the 5 Cuban heroes, from DC to Habana.
After a lot of problems (such as getting lost), we finally found it, and it really is gorgeous, but the day being Saturday, most everything was closed, such as the museums.
Afterwards we made the way to the Revolutionary Square, with a giant statue of Jose Marti, and a giant face of “Che” on nearby hotel; followed by a trip to the graveyard, which in any case was closed. Walking away from there (looking for a taxi), we realised that we had approached the graveyard from the wrong angle, and that where we were, was actually a very bad neighbourhood, but we made it out intact, with all our possessions, and took a taxi back to our casa particular.
Back there, we were extremely exhausted and ate dinner in the casa, and just did nothing, except plan the next day (somewhat), and hear about what was going on. The dinner was delicious, and a mere 3 CUC.
18th of May:
The morning was much earlier then the previous day, and while taking a shower, I discovered that I had a beautiful view of the nearby church, but which was nothing compared to the view of the roof we had been shown the previous day, from the top everything worth something in Habana can be seen, it is truly amazing.
Yesterday was Vedado, so today was Habana Centro, which is smaller, but also more tightly packed with places and things to see. Yesterday we had been told that in a specific location (about 4 blocks away), there would be a sort of dancing competition with local music, and some performances, so we arrived just as it was about to start, and the music was so alive, and the dancers very skilled. It really was one of those things, you just hope to see while you are travelling, so after a lot of watching, we moved on. This part of Habana isn’t all that “different”, it is just that every is picturesque, and every picture seems better than the previous one, so stopping often for pictures is a passion of mine, as well as one of Lisa’s.
We made it to a pedestrian street which leads to Parque Central, where the Gran Teatro is, and which is right next to El Capitalo, the capitol building which was built to resemble the US capitol building in 1902, and which is a museum today, and very interesting to see, and some funny pictures were taken. Afterwards we walked down the main street Prado (Paseo de Marti), to the bastillo, which is quite broken down, and the main interest being on the other side of the bay, which isn’t accessible by foot, so some people watching was done, more specifically Cuban boys jumping into the water from the Malecon.
Afterwards we walked to the Plaza 13 de Marzo, where the Museo de la Revolucion is housed, which is almost a funny museum, I mean funny in the way, that some of the things displayed make you laugh to yourself, “This pen used by a soldier from the revolution when he was in Spain” and similar artifacts which hold little or no historic value, except for having some remote tie to the revolution. On the other end of the scale, the Granma boat that Fidel Castro and his 81 revolutionaries landed on Cuba with, still exists and is kept in a constantly armed glass building just behind the museum, and is somewhere between awe and weird.
Being extremely hungry by this time, we started looking for somewhere to have a bite, and finally found a place where I had a nice simple sandwich (saving my hunger for dinner), and Lisa had a big rice dish with chicken and some vegetables. We headed back to the casa, where I had about an hour till I was to be picked up at 19 o’clock, by Per, a friend of my fathers, whom I was having dinner with. He picked me up on time together with his Cuban wife (Cathrina), and they took me to a palladore, a private restaurant, which in theory can only house 12 people, and not serve meat of any sort, cow, pig, chicken etc.
But these rules are rarely obeyed, and in reality it could hold something like 50 people, and served all kinds of meat. I ate a wonderful chorizzo starter, a “mixed from the grill” main course containing meat, fish and some assorted shrimp/prawn like things, and for dessert a wonderful sort of cake covered in chocolate. But the really wonderful things was the company I had. Per is a very interesting person, who like me loves to talk, and his wife Cathrina is in all likelihood the closest I will ever come to talk personally with on this trip, regarding the government and the way of life for Cubans, as she speaks fluent English, and in private did not appeared bothered to speak about the government, but the conversation went on throughout the meal, and I very much enjoyed myself.
During the meal I had asked about the bar where Hemingway went to booze up (the only fitting term for Hemingway), as I wanted to visit it. Instead Per and Cathrina took me there, but it was absolutely stuffed, so we went to another place where he used to drink, at the sixth floor (top floor) of a very nice hotel, which has an extraordinary view. Per ordered mojitos for all of us, but neither Cathrina or I liked it. To me a mojitos apparently tastes like eating a spoonful of sugar, with some lemon squeezed on top of it, but who am I to judge?
Per and Cathrina then took me back, and I had had an amazing time, it really was pleasant to be in there company, and they gave me a lot of hints of what to do and see. At the casa particular I was exhausted and went straight to bed.
19th of May:
One of the earlier mornings, with a wonderful omelet. And the lady owning our casa particular, told a story about how people from Habana call people from Santiago de Cuba (where I am going next) Palestinians, because they are always making trouble, quite horrible, but still funny somewhere. We set out at 11 o’clock, and took a car (normal car’ stop, as well as taxis) to the Viazul terminal, with the objective of buying a busticket to Santiago de Cuba. We each bought a ticket for the 14 hour trip, for the 22 o’clock bus for the next evening, and then took a taxi to Habana Vieja, and at first did the Lonely Planet walking tour, which begins at Plaza Vieja, goes past Plaza San Francisco de Asis, Plaza de Armas and ends at Plaza de la Catedral, which is right next to La Boquedita, where Hemingway used to empty glasses of mojitos. And true to the spirit, Lisa had a mojito, which I tasted and still didn’t like, although it wasn’t as sweet as the previous night.
We then sat down for lunch, where I had a delicious cheese burger (although I had ordered a tuna sandwich) followed by a tuna sandwich, all of which worked out quite cheaply (4,5 USD). The nice looking places in many cases are the same price, as those places that look far worse, a result of everything being state-run/owned, none of which I am complaining about, as a tourist. And after lunch, we started hitting museums, old presidential palaces, chocolate museums as well as a closed museum, supposedly containing a lot of older cars (older than the ones on the street), but more interestingly (or not) a car that Che Guevera himself crashed. In one of the presidential palaces (which later housed the US governor (not ambassador), there was a peacock strutting about, as well as the guards, would swing the barriers aside, and guide us around the restricted areas, which really made all the difference, especially when they would talk about the different objects.
We then started heading slowly back towards our casa particular, taken in the look and feel of parts of Habana we hadn’t yet seen, and entered a supermarket, which adhered to all ideas of socialism. There were plenty of products, but just one of each. When we made it back to the casa particular, we had been walking for 8 hours (although, that does include when we had lunch, so maybe 7,5 hours), and gracefully ate dinner at the casa, which was very good, and for dessert included a sort of “risengroed”, a favourite Danish dish of mine.
Habana Vieja, is very different from the other parts of Habana, it doesn’t feel nearly as genuine, as in the last 8 years, it has been fully restored, as attracting more tourists there will generate more profit, so all the buildings look new and clean. But the real Habana, the Habana that Cubans inhabit is different, that Habana is more like Vedado and Habana Centro.
Jazz, Lisa and I went to a jazz club on the main street in Vedado, and so help me, I loved it. An amazing band played, and although I don’t favour the sound of the clarinet, the double bass player, and the drummer were fantastic, when they cracked at it, the roof lifted and the world rocked. The jazz kept playing, and after ttwo hours of appreciation, I was knackered and I had trouble getting back, although I eventually did. Speaking of that, finding the place was almost as fun as getting back; Lisa had found it in the Lonely Planet, but by the time we were on the street, she had completely forgotten where it was. And the casa being on the fourth floor, we tried to find it. All Lisa could be rememer was 4 or 5 blocks in a direction, and then to the left.
So after walking 5 blocks in one direction, we turned around and tried another direction. After 6 blocks we came to the main street, and I mentioned a jazz place that Per had shown me, and that was it. In all fairness, Lisa did remember that it was in the direction of the water, which limited it to 2 directions.
20th of May:
4 months out travelling (I’m not in South America anymore), and luckily I have so much to show for it, the places I have been, and the things I have seen, all add up to the wonder that is this trip, I feel truly fortunate to have been granted something like this.
On this the last day in Habana (on this stint, I am staying a night when I leave), we decided to do all the things, we hadn’t done. When we went to the cigar factory the previous day, it was closed. When we had gone to the cemetery, it was 20 minutes from closing, and the side we were on didn’t have an entrance.
So we started by going to the cigar factory, and got a brilliant tour there, it was very interesting to see how cigars are made in Cuba, and be ascertained that the conditions they are made under, are a far cry from appalling, it was well ventilated, and the workers seemed happy. There was also a lot to be leaned, how the leaves are treated, separated and made into cigars. Also what dictates quality, type and taste, and finally how much a cigar can cost, up to 375 euro, for the most expensive cigar produced, which is a Cohiba Behika.
That was followed by a visit to the Museo de Bellas Artes (the museum of beautiful art), which is a gorgeous museum, exhibiting Cuban art, all the way from the 17th century up to today, exhibited in chronological order. I must admit to liking the art from just before, during and just after the revolution, it really is the most interesting. The more modern forms of art do not appeal to me, and the older art, I unfortunately found a bit boring, except for paintings depicting naval vessels from the age of wooden ships, Napoleonic and such, I really do love those. Equally fascinating was the ham and cheese sandwich served in the cafeteria, wonderfully delicious, high quality bread, ham and cheese, with the ham and cheese liberally dealt out in the sandwich, at a low price.
Having eaten an entire sandwich each, Lisa and I headed to the Necropolis Cristobal Colon, like Recoleta in Buenos Aires, this is the place in Cuba to be buried. Hosting more than 2.000.000 corpses, this place is also extremely big, and plays host to several famous people. Maximo Gomez, general during the second independence war; senora Amelia Goyri aka. La Milagrosa (the miraculous one; named so, as she died in childbirth, and was buried with her child at her feet. When she was exhumed 12 years later, her body hadn’t decomposed at all, and the child was now resting in her arms), the 1890 monument to firefighters etc.
It isn’t as beautiful as Recoleta (I have never seen or heard of a cemetery to match it), but it holds its own air, the feeling of limitlessness is however absurd, the place is enormous, measuring roughly 700 by 300-400 meters, it actually takes quite a while to leave it. Having done so, we walked towards Parque Lennon.
When I had first mentioned Parque Lennon, Lisa had replied “Isn’t he the guy who killed millions?”. Having confused Lennon with Lenin, and Lenin with Stalin, she left me in a horrified state, which took a certain while to snap out off, but which later on caused quite a lot of laughter, although Lisa still insists on that I said Lenin.
The park is rather small, only takes up a tiny block, but features a statue of Lennon cast in bronze, although a guard is employed as his glasses would frequently get stolen. When we arrived, the glasses were in fact missing. “They say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one” is engraved in the stone the bench is set on in Spanish, and the compulsory funny pictures as well as some serious ones were taken.
Afterwards it was getting late, and we headed back to the casa for dinner before heading towards Santiago de Cuba, where Lily (the casa owner) served us the most divine fish, with a magnificent sauce, the dinner was spectacular, and once again it was followed by the risengroed like dessert, with cinnamon.
A taxi was taken to the luxurious bus terminal, with a luggage belt, a proper waiting room and air conditioning, all very nice. We were called to the bus, where I started the journey by watching “Into The Wild”, a movie I had had for some time, but which I was even more interested in watching now, as when I had been at the cigar factory, an English person had approached me and told me that I looked like the main character in the movie.
The movie is amazing, I really loved it, and it moved me. I have no plans of carrying out a similar plan, but his intentions were beautiful.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 20:54. It is filed under Cuba.
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