First day in Cuba

We are finally here.  It is both more than and exactly what I expected.

First the flight - long wait in Miami international.  Finally left an hour late and what a flight.  The plane looked like any other but all rules were off.  We were taxing and roaring down the runway and passengers were still moving around.  Walking the aisles, playing in the overhead bins, using their ipads and phones, you name it.  The flight itself was also pretty crazy.  One passenger joked it must be the training flight for new pilots. But we made it with no events.

The airport was completely fun.  Deplaned on the tarmac through the the plexiglas covered plane steps. The airport was very small and colorful.  We walked the runway to enter the first check point. After the passport check we turned in our health card and went to wait for our luggage.  Jae's came first, M&M were nearly last.  Mine never came and I had a moment of panic, I was the only person on the tour without luggage! Thankfully a kind person in the airport noticed my bag had fallen off before it made it to the belt and brought it to me. And now, what you've all been waiting for, el bano!  Yes, I drank a full bottle of water and a cup of fanta on the plane and so took on the adventure of the airport potty.  As expected, you must tip and here is how they do it.  There is no paper of any kind in the bathroom.  A lovely lady holds the toilet paper and will give you 2-3 squares for 1 CUC (they took english or canadian dollar at the airport).  The stall is tiny, so tiny you have to straddle the toilet and, since there is no seat or lid, squat.  No paper towels either so she gives you another 2-3 squares of TP for hand drying.

We bypassed customs because we were with a tour so we never even turned in our forms.  Lots of cool old cars in the airport parking which was right in front of the terminal. The bus is super modern, air conditioned, and just like you'd be on in the states.  Our tour guide is Yovani (pronounced Joe vah nee) and our bus driver is Jorge (hor hay), both our great.  Yovani explained that he works for the government run tour guide service and only a few guides are cleared for American tours.  His english is excellent and he has read extensively on the history of his country.  Jae and I took several street pics on the way to our first stop.

Passing through Havana City

As we entered Havana (pronounced ha ban ah) City, the architecture overwhelms you.  It is an eclectic mix of russian, 50's european and american, lots of columns and arches.  It is amazing and beautiful in a crazy, mixed up, colorful hodgepodge of crammed together buildings and crowded streets.  Unfortunately they've not been cared for and many are crumbling into the ground, nearly all the glass is gone from all windows, the paint is peeling, rails rusting, it is like a movie where the earth is reclaiming a city.  Except there are people everywhere, balconies and streets filled with people going about living life.

Our first stop was the Museum of the Revolution.  Since we were late to leave Miami, and our luggage took forever (no, not just mine) we arrived 30 minutes before they closed. The museum is great.  Its housed in Batista's presidential palace so there are Tiffany chandeliers and elaborate ceiling frescoes, again most of it crumbling and unmaintained. Most of the glass is gone, no air conditioning so the windows were open but little to no breeze.  Temperatures here in the high 80's low 90's with 90%+ humidity.  Its hot and muggy.

The Museum of the Revolution, formerly Batista's Presidential Palace

I  wish we'd had more time in the museum, not only was the palace stunning but the documents, news articles, and historical record of the events from 1959 to present made for great reading.  Paired with Yovani's extensive knowledge of Cuban history, we could have spent several hours there. The museum extends across the street to a collection of planes, boats, and cars that played a role in the bay of pigs and the overthrow of Batista's government.  With the museum locking the gates we slipped out and returned to our bus for a quick ride to the hotel.

Relics from the revolution

We are at the Havana Libre hotel and it is large, generally well kept and interesting in design and layout.  It has over 8 bars including a 24th floor lounge that opens the roof at midnight.  We were met with a band (think mexican mariachi quartet playing guantanamera) and mojitos.  We signed for a packet with room keys and waited about 15 minutes for our luggage to be unloaded.  Jae and I are in room 1503 with an unbelievable view of the ocean and the heart of Havana City.  We managed to pry the balcony door open and spent the 2 hours before dinner enjoying the breeze and view.

Havana Libre lobby

Our room

The hotel exchange rate on CAD was $.93 CUC per CAD, USD was $.85 CUC per USD.  Also, the safe is not as 'safe' as we were led to believe before departure.  You must pay $2 CUC per day and it is room key controlled, not combination.  Jae and I decided to risk it on the safe.  The room has tile floor and 2 twin beds pushed together as you often see in Europe.  We had a standing room balcony and a great view of the city and the water.

Zoom on Havana City from our room

View from our room

Dinner was a 15 minute bus ride, scheduled to depart 7:30 but late arrivals had us heading out at 7:50 and arriving at Don Congrejos, a government run restaurant, just after 8.  The meal was casual dress, many people wore what they'd worn all day - shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, etc.  Yovani advised that Cubans are either very casual or very dressed up. Dinner was a fixed menu: bread & butter with mojitos, then fried platter with fish balls, fish sticks, batter dipped crab bites, green olives, and tasteless white julienne cheese strips. I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pics.  Jae took some that I will post later. It was all pretty blah and I found the fish ball inedible. We were all given a choice of a second drink: can of soda, can of beer, mojito, or bottled water.  The entree was a shellfish platter: unbattered and boiled calamari rings, one boiled shrimp with head and tail, a fillet of some kind of white fish, mussels in the shell, clams in the shell, scoop of seafood salad with green onions and mango.  A table plate of house salad was also served to eat with the fish.  Dessert was a cinnamon cake with whipped cream and a chocolate eclair with vanilla ice cream center served on a pink puree of something.  I sampled a Cuban white wine for $3 CUCs and a $1 CUC tip.  As with the hotel, a similar band serenaded us through dinner and sold their CD's for $10 CUCs that nearly everyone bought in gratitude for the dinner music.  After spending 2 hours at dinner the drive back to the hotel was nice with the full moon shining down on us and the city.  The bano at the restaurant was larger but the structure was the same as the airport.  It had a hand blower with the same air blowing power as a 95 year old smoker.

Then back to the hotel with tomorrow's adventure set to begin at 8:30.  We are on our own for breakfast in the hotel starting at 7 AM.  Yovani asked us twice to not be late for the bus trips.

View from our hotel room balcony

The full moon over Havana City.  The haze is created by smog

Regarding the gifts (school supplies, medical supplies) we are to unpack and bring them with easy access on Sunday, meaning don't bury them in our luggage and carry them on to the bus.  We are going to visit a children's project where we will leave both the supplies and the medicine with the exception of prescription medicine which must be given to Yovani.

Well that is it for tonight, Jae is already asleep and I could use some too.

Tips for future travelers:

Board near the end of the flight, several of the last to board were moved to 'first class' just because it was empty.  95% or more of the checked bags were completely wrapped in clear or kiwi green plastic. This is the recommended protection against picking up bed bugs in the plane travel holds.  Seriously I think our tour participants had the only unwrapped luggage. We saw this in Miami and Cuba.

Regarding the Museum of the Revolution: you cannot take any bags into the museum - nothing - so tuck your passport and money into something you can hide or you'll be forced to leave it on the bus.  If you want to bring a camera in it is 2 CUCs (cuban currency) which you won't have because you've not been able to exchange currency. Our tour guide covered us and we paid him back the next day.

At the hotel: you have to insert your room key into the slot next to the door to activate room electricity.  Also, no bottled water in the bathroom so visit the shops next door to the hotel for a couple bottles to brush your teeth.  Lastly, no irons, ironing boards, wash cloths or hand towels.  All towels are all bath size.  There is plenty of shampoo w/conditioner, shower gel, and hand lotion.  Water pressure is low.  The rooms are dirty, the fabric on the chairs and bedspread is stained and filthy.  The tubs are rusty.  We stayed at the Havana Libre and we saw roaches so do not leave any open food in your room.  The TV is flat screen and nice.  You'll get international CNN and ESPN in English along with a couple of other channels, the rest will be spanish.