Finally Havana!
Colorful Havana
Havana, Cuba
Outward Bound Cancun to Havana
We got to Terminal 2 at the international airport around 1.30 to check in at Cubana. No wonder we were told by the Enterprise driver when we first got here to be at the airport 3 hours before boarding — the queue was very long at check-in! It’s reminiscent of Filipinos travelling — the Cubans are worse, they have loads and loads of baggage! Surely most of them would be exceeding the 40kg allowance? The senior couple in front of us, from Perth (saw the Qantas tag so I chatted them up — fellow Aussies!) said, maybe they bought stuff to sell back in Cuba. I read about that.
Checking In
The line wasn’t moving for a while and I was starting to get anxious.
Finally, they opened additional counters. Didn’t expect we had to pay $25USD each for travel tax. I withdrew another 4000 pesos from a nearby ATM. I drew 4800 in Valladolid. Mr Cowboy has around 6500 left. He reckoned we have enough between the two of us for our 8 days in Cuba. I hoped so. We’re stacking up on pesos as we won’t be able to use American debit and credit cards by the time we reach Havana.USD gets hit with 10% charges for currency exchange in Cuba.
We were meant to depart at 4.20 — we had around 20 mins to spare at a Priority pass lounge that Mr Cowboy got us in. Staved off any pangs of hunger for a moment with their limited snacks… and backed up photos. Rushed to the boarding gate on B12 only to find out gate was changed to A1. When we got there, we were told “30 mins more to boarding”. By the time boarding took place, some people just jumped the queue, no qualms about it. Sneak peek of the Cuban aggression and chaos? Or was it Mexican?
We didn’t take off till exactly an hour later than scheduled, 5.20pm.
Ascending, saw a great view of the Riviera Maya and Cancun from my window seat. It’s been a great adventurous week in Mexico and we’re excited to get to Cuba.
When we landed, people applauded. Sometimes happens, that pilot receives applause, but this was an even more enthusiastic crowd! I wondered if landings were typically choppy…
Crossing Cuban Customs
We’re still a bit nervous about getting in because of limits to American residents from the legacy of the embargo. When we reached Cuba, the first thing we did was go to a Cubatur booth where we bought the required medical insurance. It cost for both of us 1200 MXN pesos — they accepted the currency as we didn’t have CUC with us yet. For some reason, the guy said to go straight to counter 1 and 2 — they were the priority, fast lanes.
Can’t complain…I still had a teeny-weeny bit of nervousness getting through, but it was no hassle at all with Mr. Immigration. He did look at my passport photo and me, twice, then pointed on the eyes “I’m wearing contact lenses”. I told him, he smiled. I looked right into the camera. I quickly realized and told him “Please don’t stamp my passport.” He said ok, and told me he’ll only stamp my tourist visa card.
As I went through, looked back at Mr Cowboy and reminded him to request the same, not to stamp his passport.
Mayhem! That was the first thing that popped in my mind the moment we exited. Hordes of people, many with signs of names (waiting for travellers) greeted the exit. I smiled, the chaos of Cuba in the airport was so reminiscent of the Philippines. We went to the tourist information counter.
The lady in service didn’t seem too friendly.
“Pardon, habla Ingles?”
“Yes.” no smile.”where is the money exchange?”
”Outside, to the left.”
”Where are the taxis?”
”Outside.”
Gee, that was helpful!
Right outside, both to the left and right were money exchange counters. I’ve never seen a queue so long just to change money!
Mr Cowboy went in thinking he’ll change all our MXN pesos — I said just do half as airport exchanges are usually not good rates. He said, he’d rather change all. When he came out, he said he only got 70CUCs “The counter lady said exchange rates would be way better downtown.” (We found out later that was totally wrong advice with some painful consequences!)
Getting Around from the Airport
We were already getting touted for cabs. One lady said treinta. I said beinte cinco. Cabbie was good with that. Surreal!
There were so many classic cars on the road! I knew you’d expect to see those in Havana, it just never occurred to me that they’re all over — and is part of the day to day commute of locals! Even though it was already dark, can’t miss those colourful American classic rides.
Taxis of Havana
Finally reached our casa particulares around past 8pm. Latino music was blaring in the neighbourhood! It’s as though the neighbours were in competition as to who has the loudest sound system!
Guts of Havana
The moment we saw the house, I thought we got scammed. The ground floor was torn down in concrete rubbles. Only the door next to it was intact.
I didn’t realize, there was a staircase that led to the upper floors right behind the door. We later discovered a pathway behind that led to the upper floor where we would be staying for the night.
Alfredo, the host, was as Cuban a stereotype in my head as one could get. Booming voice, effervescent and headstrong. He showed us our room on the third floor. He said he’s coming back tomorrow for our desayuno (breakfast)… it’s 5 CUC each. Standard.
We settled in and then went back out to explore the neighbourhood, walking straight to the end of Jesus Maria calle. Along the way, we got hustled by a local for comida. We declined. We continued walking and ended up in Parque Almuneda — it’s a dock, by the bay.
“You’ll see lots of canoodling here.” I told Mr Cowboy.
True enough, there were few couples around.
From the Parque I noticed on the other side of the water, there was some sort of warehouse looking brewery with peopled drinking and dining alfresco. Serendipitous. We got there and found they serve dinner. And with seafood on the menu. Plus there was a live band too!
Havana for real!
The waiter set our table on what he said was a good spot by the water and far enough from the deafening sound system inside. He took the big placard on display, brought it to our table to show the menu. That’s pretty much what they use… I found it amusing.
I had grilled camarones (shrimps) with arroz (rice) and verduras (vegetables) and Mr Cowboy had the same but with pescado.Started off with mojito — can hardly drink it, was too strong, meantime, Mr Cowboy was enjoying the local brew. Negro. A live band began playing, and Mr Cowboy and I danced while waiting for our meal. He dances swing-step to salsa — I tried to make him look good and in step, hehe… Good to whet the appetite, not that we needed to. We devoured the meal once served, not only were we hungry, the dinner was good too. It was simple, but fresh and just comfort food!
It was already past 10 pm when we left, so we missed the cafeteria by the corner of the casa particulares where we intended to end the evening with cup of coffee and hot chocolate. There’s always another one… we’re going to be here in Cuba for another seven days yet.
]]>
