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Monday 13 June 2016

Havana,Cuba


Cuban National Flag (from google)
Oh Cuba...
You just have to...
Possibly the quickest flight I've ever had in my life. From Cancun to Havana is about 1hr 10mins flight, we flew air Cubana.

So many water fountains, but this was the only one with water in it! 
When you get off the plane in Cuba, you are surrounded by flight staff all wearing stockings that reminded me of my childhood. You know, the thicker ones with patterns all over them, in black or white? Then you walk outside and are immediately hit with the smells of gas and cigars.

Downtown near the hotel zone, take note of the cars!
You need to change your money to Cuban dollars right there. Maybe not all of it, but you'll need it for your taxi into the center, ours cost us about $25 CUC from memory.

Havana Cathedral
Havana Cathedral

Making friends outside Havana Cathedral
There are 2 different currencies, the CUC, which is about the same as the US dollar, and the CUP which is a local currency and can't be used many places. We found a cafe, that if you sit in and have a coffee and lunch it's tourist currency (CUC), but if you walk around the corner, they sell sandwiches from their side door using local currency; we bought 4 burgers for about $1 US.

La Boelm
La Boelm, Hemmingways hotspot 
We had friends who had visitied Cuba previously and who still had contacts for places to stay. A lot of people will rent out their apartments or even their rooms to tourists. We had a whole apartment in a building that looked like we were in the 70's. I was a little unsure about taking the elevator sometimes...

A fun way to get around...Coco Taxi
The malecon, is the main strip along the ocean where a lot of locals will come and sit and meet in the evenings, especially the weekends. You'll see families gathered, vendors selling snacks, teenagers meeting passionately, kids running around, it's actually a nice atmosphere. Perhaps we weren't bothered much though because people would assume that Cleyon was Cuban!

One of the many Mojitos! 
There are so many places to eat and drink. You can do it at a reasonable cost or spend a bit more as you like.

Outside the university
We took the double decker bus around Havana to see the sights and stop off along the way. This has now become a bit of a tradition for us when travelling around.

Plaza de la Revolucion
Che: Plaza de la Revolucion
We visited the museum, which had a few tankers and fighter planes outside. The information inside attached to the photos and items were all in Spanish, so it was a pretty quick trip through the museum.
Museo de la Revolucion
Museo de la Revolucion
Obviously we were in Havana, and I can never pass up a rum tour, so we ventured down to the Havana Rum building. It isn't the factory, it is not where they make it but they do show a video, and go through the history of rum in Cuba. They also have a replica of the factory made into a train set.



Relaxing on the Malecon

Meeting the locals
 
Havana Club Rum tour!

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