A day exploring Havana

Day 95/19 May

Phil's version: 

A morning spent trying to decide on whether to drive all the way to Santiago de Cuba at the eastern extremity of the island and fly back (which I want to do because I’d like to get a glimpse of the USA’s Guantanamo Bay ‘over the fence’ whilst it is so much in world headlines). 

there is a lot of Anti-US propaganda

Allie, on the other hand, is (not unreasonably) worried about the state of Cuba’s roads and wants to avoid hours en route every day. Her option is to go as far as Trinidad and then decide. I point out that to drive to Trinidad and back to Havana is almost as much of a challenge as the one-way trip to Santiago.

In the end we agree to buy the return air tickets and be prepared to throw them away if we decide we can’t face the whole journey to the east.

All this takes so much time that we have to drop our plan to go by ferry to the forts on Havana’s eastern harbourside. 

In any case the most convenient ferry is no longer operating, possibly because the Cuban government no longer trusts its citizens with boats at this, the closest point to Key West in Florida. 

Capitolia Nacional

We are thrown out of the Cathedral because some kind of private children’s service is in progress, so have to console ourselves with more mojitos, this time at the Bodeguita del Medio, a Hemingway haunt. It has lots of character (but a corresponding volume of tourist gawpers, most of whom do not even stop to raise a glass to the ‘Papa’). The enormous barman pours lines of mojitos simultaneously with great style as a three piece band squeezes in with a double bass to liven up the early evening atmosphere.

….and more propaganda

We are duty-bound to get a taxi out to the dreadful-sounding and enormous Hotel Melia Habana tonight to join our Belgian friends for dinner. The taxi drives along Havana’s famous Malecon promenade pas the US Interests building where the Americans inflame the Cubans by running anti-Castro LED displays and the Cuband have built a veritable forest of flagpoles with huge black flags with white stars superimposed to block the view of the offensive propaganda. Later as we drive through Miramar ,’embassy city’, I try to identify the dozens of individual flags fluttering outside each elegant mansion. Even the Belarussians have a reasonably stylish building and only their former masters, Russia itself, display tasteless ostentation with a multi-storey concrete block like an airport control tower.

At the Melia Jean and Fabienne suggest (much to our relief) going to the Havana Club, a pre-Revolution refuge for Batista’s elite and now serving the same purpose for expats and privileged Cubans. 

Elegant rococo architecture set beside the western beaches of Havana, where the lady chef is alleged to be Fidel’s personal cook.

She plays the cello for diners between visits to the kitchen to oversee a superb menu and wine list.

in one of the many Cuban bars

We are regaled with tales of the complexity of life in Cuba from the Cuban worker’s remarkable lack of dedication to the ubiquitous intervention of state interests in all activities including Jean’s brewery in Holguin away in the east. The USA’s remarkably unintelligent approach to foreign relations and national security has Jean confessing that, as a man who had the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ played at his wedding in the 80s, he has been driven to a much more sceptical position. Apparently an attempt to send money from Belgium to Uruguay for a private property purchase was intercepted and ‘frozen’ by an American bank because Jean is currently working in Cuba even though the transaction had nothing to do with that country.

Allie's version : A day in Havana city and a nice evening with our Belgium brewery friends

the inviting lobby of our old hotel

After a strange breakfast we have to sort out various matters like hiring a car, booking a flight from Santiago de Cuba back to Havana and changing money. Then we start wandering the streets. First stop at the revolutionary museum which displays relics from Castros take over 1958 (Aeroplanes for Phil and Castros famous boat in which he sailed across from Mexico).

aeroplanes at the revolutionary museum in Havana

Then past the Gran Teatro de Habana and on to the Capitolio Nacional. Everbody here proudly points out that this building is much bigger then the capitol in the States. And they are right. Built in 1928 it only took three years to construct this magnificent building. The standing statue of liberty inside the main hall is supposedly the third largest in the world.

People on the streets

Outside on the streets horse charts and camera boys try to catch our attention but we head straight for the oldest tobacco factory in town, the Real Fabrico de Tabacos Partagas. Unfortunately they are closed today but the shop is open and I buy a pack of Habana cigars for my Dad. At least something achieved. Time for a coffee at the Plaza Vieja discussing our further travel plans.

I am a bit in doubt of the distances and drives in this country considering the fact that even on good roads in Costa Rica it took hours to cover 200km. Our plan is to drive across to the other side and fly back, a 1000 km of bad roads in 7 days. Who knows?

I am enjoying my new dress!

We decide to have a break at our hotel with internet and writing. Later I head out again in search of slippers (I do buy the expensive ones this time) and a nice hand knitted dress.

Our plans to cross the Bahia de la Habana to visit the impressive Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana are sabotaged by the fact that the ferries don’t run from where the maps indicates.

Instead we end up having an ice coffee and a wander around a handicraft market. Phil is keen to have a mojito in the famous Bodeguita del Medio.

This small pub used to be one of Hemmingway’s favourite hang-outs and the walls are full with old pictures and signatures of other celebrities like Castro, Nat King Cole and Harry Belafonte. Alas now it’s a bit spoilt with tour groups popping in and taking pictures. But still, the place breathes history and the barkeeper is constantly preparing at least 20 mojitos at the same time.

At sunset we hire a taxi a drive along the 8km long Malecon. Water is splashing even now with a calm sea high onto the road.

No wonder that the past big hurricanes here nearly destroyed all the nice old houses along the seafront. We pass the embassy area, a long stretch of beautiful colonial style houses. After 20min we finally reach the Hotel Melia Habana, one of the 5 star hotels of this city, but what a sight!

It’s a concrete block that hurts the eye when looking at it. This is communist architecture at it’s best. But here we are supposed to meet Fabienne and Jean Stevenart, a nice Belgium couple that Phil had met in Burma during a balloon flight. He works for the beer company Interbrew and has been posted to run business here in Cuba.

modern Cuban architecture with a bit of Castro advertising

They have been living in this hotel for 18months since they are still waiting to move into a private house. Fabienne tells me that the agents here have only offered her really old and run down places (where you needed to invest at least 150.000€ to do it up) and it took that long to find a liveable house. Yesterday their container arrived from Bosnia (their last posting) and they were surprised to find even skies in it! But what can you do when you move with all your belongings from one continent to the other?

So far they like Cuba very much and they rate it as their preferred country next to Croatia and Moscow.

They invite us to dinner at the most prestigious club in Habana: the Habana Club. This lovely old mansion stands right near the beach a 15km out to the west of the city and used to be THE club in the early 1920ies. Sailing, Tennis, Golf, Swimming – you name it, all being offered here and taken up by the great and good of that time. We are introduced to the Chef de cuisine, another Belgium lady who turns out to be also the private cook for Castro! Since he is in hospital again, she has a bit of time to be around the club to cook – and play the cello for us! Dinner is very good but our conversation is even better.

dinner with Fabienne and Jean

 Fabienne and Jean give us valuable tips for our tour around the island and tell us the latest news about the country. There are obviously still a lot of restrictions for the local people. For example you need coupons to buy milk but you only get them with kids up to the age of seven. Then you have to live with milkpowder.

It reminds me very much of my experiences in Ulan Bator, Mongolia in the early 90is: no milk, no butter, no vegetables (at least this country has lots of that) and hardly much else in the shops. And they warn us about people trying to cheat the meal bills and other tricks. Life here is a matter of survival and everyone will try a little trick to make some extras. We could have talked forever but it’s already past midnight and time to go back. What a great evening and I am so glad to have bought that nice dress and those shoes. The club was a bit fancy and I would have looked so stupid in my trekking sandals!