Cuba

After some of our previous flights the 10 or so hours across the Atlantic does not seem too exhausting. As we leave the airport on the outskirts of Havana our taxi driver, who is friendly and speaks a little English, points out things of interest as we whiz past them in the dark. Upon reaching our accommodation the owner, Ana Maria greets us at the gates, she is not expecting us to arrive as it is getting late and I have not communicated with her in some time. She speaks quite good English and introduces us to her husband and son. Ana Maria runs what is known as a Casa Particular, literally a ‘private house’ which is open to tourists as accommodation. In order to do his she is subject to strict government controls (the same strict controls which govern all private enterprise in this last refuge of communism), which include taking all our passport details along with a scrupulous tally of every dollar she takes from us so that the government can then charge her exorbitant taxes (up to 80% in some cases). Despite this heavy taxation the amount of money she earns from letting two rooms to tourists still far dwarves her and her husbands government salaries as high school science teachers. She shows us to our room which is decorated in pink and also has a small kitchen and bathroom as well as a noisy but effective air conditioner.

For breakfast the next morning Ana Maria serves us bread (fresh and hot), fruit, fresh juice and scrambled eggs. In a motherly fashion she explains that we should leave our passports at home and not take more money than we need. She also gives us one peso (about six cents) to catch El Camello, the camel (presumably so named due to the shape of the trailer), into Havana Vieja, the old part of the city. The camellos are justifiably described in our guidebook as “jugernaughts,” and are huge bus/truck combinations. A truck engine pulls a kind bus carriage which can apparently hold up to 300 very cramped passengers. Ana Maria says to Erin “you hold on to your bag. And you,” referring to me “hold onto your woman!” Slightly intimidated by the Camello we opt to walk. As we walk we pass stalls set up in the front of people’s houses offering a myriad of products and services; pizza, bread, ice cream, some strange looking drinks, bike maintenance, watch repairs, etc. We also pass buildings with counters or desks inside, some have long queues outside, presumably these provide the state rations. The purpose of some of the other building still mystifies us.

We have a wander round a shopping centre, many of the shops are empty but on the top floor there is an interesting phenomenon. There are four shops, a $1 shop, a $3 shop, a $5 shop and $10 shop. The queue outside the $1 shop is very long, maybe 200 people, and the queues get progressively shorter until there is no queue outside the $10 shop. The shops seem to stock a strange collection of items from chairs and household laundry items to inflatable dolphins and a vast assortment of dust collectors. This seems like an appropriate stage explain the dual economy that exists in Cuba. Cubans who earn a government wage earn Cuban pesos, but Cubans who earn money directly from tourists, earn American dollars. So the people in these shops must earn dollars in some way or trade their pesos in for dollars (26 pesos for 1 dollar). This dual currency situation provides Cuba an excellent mechanism for extracting far more money from tourists than from Cubans for identical products. For example, an ice cream bought from a street stand in Central Havana (a poorer non tourist area) costs 1 peso (about four US cents), where as an ice cream bought from a tourist stand in Havana Vieja costs US$2.50, 65 times more! However, many items are simply not available for purchase in pesos, so most Cubans, who don’t have dollars, live a class below those who do. To make the whole currency issue more confusing there are also convertible pesos, these are locked to the value of American dollars but worthless outside of Cuba.

As we walk past the capitol building, ironically a replica of the American capitol, we are hassled for the first time by a jintenero. We have had extensive warning about these people who try to sell you anything and everything including cigars, hotel rooms, rum, restaurants and women. On the whole though, these people turn out to be pretty harmless and easy to get rid of. The penalties for hassling tourists can be very strong, so this too helps dissuade them. Past the capitol we walk along narrow streets with old buildings on either side. The paint is peeling from most of them and they have big cracks down the facades. People stand in doorways talking and children run down the street playing. We emerge into the open again, Museo de la Revelución. Starting on the top floor we wind our way down through rooms full of Cuban history. The English translations are inconsistent and we get quicker as we go, but there are some quite interesting pockets of memorabilia and information. In the park out the back, the Granma (the ship the revolutionary forces landed) lives in a huge glass enclosure surrounded by tanks and armored cars from the revolution (many complete with bullet holes). Also of interest in this part of the museum are the remains of the American B52 bomber that was shot down during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. For years the US refused to admit it had lost a plane so the Cubans stored the pilot’s body. When they finally admitted they had lost a pilot, some 15 years later, the Cuban’s returned the body. Strange!

Outside the museum another couple sits down next to us on the step and we get talking. Gwen is from France and Loucas is from Cyprus, they have recently married and this trip is a honeymoon of sorts for them. Furthermore, they have hired a car for a number of days and invite us to join them, so we arrange to meet them the morning after next. From the museum we walk back through the narrow streets. In the fronts of some of the houses there are small art galleries which sell local artworks. We walk past a fort like building which seems to house some kind of police headquarters and on to a Havanan main street market.

Another day and another beautiful breakfast is served to us before we set out walking again, this time to the Plaza de la Revolucion. On one side of the plaza is the monument to the original Cuban revolutionary hero Jose Marti, who initiated the revolution against Spanish Colonial rule only to be killed in the first battle. Otherwise he would have almost certainly become Cuba's first president. A large statue of Marti sits behind a large Cuban flag and in front of a huge 139 metre marble steeple. In front of the monument is the podium from which Fidel Castro performs his infamous speeches to the crowds who mass into the bleak square below. On the opposite side of the square is a monument to Cuba's other famous revolutionary hero, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. Attached to the side of a large anonymous government building is a steel replica of the famous photo of Che. We pose for photos before walking down the Passeo toward the waterfront. As a richer area during the American influenced 20's and 30's, the street is lined with many large mansions, most of which are falling (or have already fell) into disrepair. Ana Maria has suggested we visit a noticeable exception, which has been restored over the past few years. She explains to us the Romeo and Juliet style story of the mansions original owner, and shows us a profile of the house which has appeared in a Slovenian lifestyle magazine (apparently Cuba is rather popular with the Slovenians!). Unfortunately when we try to visit we are confronted with a confusing array of people who eventually explain that the building now functions as headquarters for a hotel chain and it is not possible to visit (at least I think that was the gist of the conversation!).

The waterfront (the Malecon) is actually quite grey and bleak. There are a few tall expensive looking hotels in their own compounds, a four lane road, the concrete seawall and the waves crashing onto the sharp rocks behind. We have a look around a small market where Erin buys a bracelet made of wooden beads. Alongside the road facing the Florida Straight is a billboard picturing a Cuban revolutionary shouting across the sea at an enraged Uncle Sam, he yells: "Mr. Imperialists, we have absolutely no fear of you." As it starts to rain we take shelter in a restaurant for lunch, "Restaraunte de Amore." Big mistake, it is tacky as all hell, the music is terrible and all over the walls there are clichéd pictures of loving couples. Furthermore the food is ordinary and the service shoddy, but at least it keeps us out of the rain! We wander around to the Hotel Libre to try and get some money and confirm our flights, but the bank has closed for the day already and the Air Jamaica office has moved to another hotel. So we go to the very posh Hotel Nacional to get money instead, wondering just how much of Cuba the prisoners of these hotels really get to see.For dinner Ana Maria recommends a paladar named the Blue Ferret (a privately owned restaurant that is run from the front of a house. ‘Paladar’ is to restaurant as casa particular is to hotel). The staff are friendly and the food delicious, a stark contrast to the state run option experienced earlier in the day. I have roasted banana wrapped in grilled pork and rice with black beans and Erin has sweet and sour chicken with vegetable rice.

The next morning we have organised to ride with Gwen and Loucas, and after another fresh breakfast Ana Maria leads us out to the car and gives Gwen instructions to drive carefully. We have left one pack with Ana Maria, which proves to be lucky as our remaining pack only just fits in the back of the VW Golf with Gwen and Loucas'. As we drive out of Havana we pass underneath what I think is the right road (in this case the autopista to Pinar del Rio), I mention this to Gwen, Loucas agrees, we stop a couple of times for Gwen to ask directions. The autopista is mayhem, people on bikes, foot, horse, horse and cart, bus, truck, camello, tractor and speeding car. The road is a patchwork with no lines and some big potholes, it decays at the edges. At each intersection, and there are many, people stand trying to get a ride, piling onto the top of trucks or tractors, whatever. To make things worse there are people selling things all along the road, in the middle of nowhere. And when I say selling things- that typically means lunging at you with onions, or butter or whatever they’re selling, while you are speeding past at 100 km/hr.

Remarkably we find our way to Viñales, which sits in a valley surrounded by steep hills, covered with lush vegetation and often flanked with high cliffs. We locate the house of Oscar, who Ana Maria has recommended to us. He has two pleasant double rooms, Gwen and Loucas take the one upstairs while we take the one in a separate block out the back. Across from our room is a little area where there are some rocking chairs and a dinner table, it is open on one side and there are climbing posters on the wall (Viñales is the Cuban climbing area, and while Oscar is certainly no climber himself, he generally hosts visiting climbers from overseas)! After sitting at the table to discuss our plans we head for Las Cavernas de Santo Tomas, about 20km from Viñales. However, when we get there we are told that the caves will be closed for at least a month because of a collapse (at least we think that’s what the woman said). This is a shame because our guidebook describes them as the best caves in the area and they seem to be a bit off the tourist bus trail. Instead we head for Cavernas del Indio, which are firmly on the tourist bus trail. We pay $5 to share to the short walk and even shorted boat trip through the rather unremarkable caves with a bus full of Italian and English tourists.

Back in Viñales we wander along the main street which is refreshingly untouristy and nicely lined with tall pine trees. We visit a small blue church in a square and buy some peso ice-cream. For dinner Oscar serves Loucas and I pork and Erin and Gwen chicken, plus an assortment of vegetables. It’s a good meal. After dinner Gwen is not feeling well so they go to bed leaving Oscar, Erin and I to sit and talk for an hour or two. This is no mean feat, for Oscar speaks no English and my Spanish is limited at best. But with Erin’s help dictionary in hand, a fair amount of charades and an impressive amount of patience on Oscars behalf we manage. Oscar must be in his mid forties and is clearly well fed from his build (Gwen is obsessed with the size of his stomach). He lives with his wife and an assortment of extended family. He explains that it is difficult for Cubans to leave Cuba, but that he likes his lifestyle in Viñales anyway. He seems to have some knowledge of life outside of Cuba through the variety of people who stay with him. He seems happy, but he is clearly amongst the more fortunate of Viñales’ residents, having the opportunity to sell his hospitality has also brought the kind of wealth that most of his neighbours would not get the opportunity to see.

We are woken early by the squeals of a pig, most likely unhappy because it knows that today is the day of the revolution and as such, it’s dinner. After the pig is done the dogs, roosters and other members of the vast menagerie take their turns. Today we decide to head for Cayo Jutias, a small island with a beach on Cuba’s northern coast. First we end up in a small village by the beach, and then along a bumpy and neglected road that follows the rough path of the coast.

On the way we pass a rental car coming in the other direction, driving along with a flat tyre. We stop and try to help, but they can’t locate a special security wheel nut attachment designed to prevent the wheels from being stolen (coincidentally, the couple with the flat were in front of us in line coming through customs- the guy borrowed Erin’s pen to fill out his slip!). A passing car full of Cuban men stops and one of them locates the security nut thing, which is kind of ironic because this means that the very people the hire company are convinced are going to steal the wheels are the only people who can actually get them off! Further along the road we pass through another small town with some big factories. All of the factories like this that we pass everywhere in Cuba look run down and dormant, once upon a time they must have been full of workers slaving eagerly for their country, but now it seems the bubble has burst and their enthusiasm has waned.

The final causeway to the island is quite spectacular with swamps on one side and extensive views along the coast on the other. The beach itself is quite narrow with some thatch roved bathrooms and bar at one end and the decaying remains of a road stretching partway along. Past the road we find a nice spot under a tree. I swim one or two hundred metres out to a reef to do some snorkelling. The coral is not spectacular (although there are some impressive brain corals), but the fish are quite pretty, lots of different colours and shapes. When I hear thunder I head back to shore (longer than I remembered on the way out!) and we walk back to the bar for a mohito. We drive back to Viñales through some impressive thunderstorms. We have an ordinary pizza at an outdoor bar near Oscars. We had planned to see the cabaret in Pinar del Rio, but as Gwen and Erin are not feeling too well, we settle for a few hands of cards instead. When Gwen and Erin go to bed, Loucas and I sit up drinking some of the Cuban liqueurs we have bought and chatting. He has a degree in international economics and has worked for some interesting organisations, but now has taken over the family travel agency in Cyprus.

The next morning starts as the previous except this time the dog beats the pig to it. At this stage (5am), it becomes apparent that something has disagreed with Erin and I’s digestive systems. After taking some Gastro-stop we manage to get a couple more hours of napping in between pig outbursts. Late morning we set out for Cienfuegos, back past Havana. On the way we head for Cueva de los Portales where Che Guevara and an assortment of Russian and Cuabn army personnel had their headquarters during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The caves are now situated in the grounds of a holiday camp, and music blares at full volume from the speakers near the entrance of the cave. Only once we are in the caves can our English speaking guide be heard. The caves are quite large and despite the large entrances, quite well hidden by the surrounding vegetation (jungle). Apparently the Cubans could see the American planes flying overhead, but the Americans never spotted them. The guide was good, describing for us what each area was used for; communications, meals, high level meetings and the small bunker where Che and other higher ranking people slept. The $1 each that the guide charged us made this expedition far better value than the Cavernas del Indio.

I sleep most of the way to Havana and when I wake up we are at the end of the autopista. Gwen thinks we are driving north whilst Loucas and I think we are going south , I’ve been sleeping so we get out a compass to get back on the right track. We find the next autopista and after about six hours of driving and lots of direction asking, we finally arrive in Cienfuegos and take a nice room overlooking a park and the bay. For dinner we go to a restaurant down the street and have some awful seafood paella (Erin’s first meal in days) which does not help our fragile state. As we eat, cats climb through the window (which overlooks the bay) and scrounge for scraps. We watch the speco electrical storm taking place across the bay while waiting for the bill.

In the morning there are no pigs or dogs, only rooster and even they wait until a respectable hour. Mandy, the casa’s owner, it turns out is chef (he used to work for one of the biggest hotels in Cuba), and he serves us a delicious breakfast, including some strange fruit (green outside, red with pips inside) and some lovely eggs with tomatoes. As we compliment him on his cooking he remarks that we should have stayed and eaten with him last night, yeah, way to rub it in!

A bit before midday we visit Palacio del Valle which looks Cuban/European/Indian. All around the palace the ceilings, walls and doorways are covered in intricate carvings. The floors and staircases are all marble and we sit on the roof drinking mohitos overlooking the bay while the band plays just for us. Erin and Gwen both buy one of their CDs so their investment in us was a worthy one. When their manager comes upstairs to give them their paycheques I sneak a peek and understand why they are so happy to have sold a couple of CDs. We drive to the middle of Cienfuegos and walk up the main street. The square is quite pretty, nicely treed and flanked on all four sides by colonial era buildings.

The Main Square in Cienfuegos

Our room in Trinidad (note the flag on the wardrobe)

Next we head for Trinidad further along the coast, this time when we stop for directions the guy asks if we have room for him. It proves an effective way of having on the spot directions. We drop Michelangelo at his house and try and find somewhere to stay. Nowhere has two double bedrooms available and Gwen gets a bit worried about not finding anywhere and takes the first place she finds. Erin and I walk up the street a bit and take a much nicer place, with a huge room, beds for five, high ceilings and a cupboard made from different coloured woods including a Cuban flag in the top (it would be worth a bit anywhere else in the world - worth a jail term the American guy staying out the back comments). Despite yet more offers of lobster for dinner we opt for the chicken which is OK but not as nice as at Oscar’s. After dinner we go and sit on the steps outside ‘Casa de la Musica’ in the main square. The square lies below the church with a fenced area and some trees. Many of the streets are cobbled with brightly painted decaying old houses on either side. It makes me wonder what UNESCO hope to achieve by maintaining Trinidad, but not maintaining it also. Half way up the stairs a band is playing, leaving space in front for dancers to show off their stuff. Intimidated by the talent, we opt to watch.

Today we plan to head for Santa Clara, but first we decide to head to Playa Ancón (a beach) for a little while. It is quite picturesque with a wide beach and plenty of palm trees, but it is clear that the hotels which are springing up will soon dominate. The road toward Santa Clara (which is inland), is quite steep and Gwen makes me nervous in places by attempting to take run-ups at hills. At one stage we have to get out and walk a short distance because the car can’t make it up a steep section with us all in it. We attempt the previous days tactic and take on a navigator, he is very friendly and the girls are most impressed by his companion, Rocky, his three year old son. We talk (as best I can) for about ½ and hour before our tactic fails, he is not going all the way to Santa Clara, he asks to be dropped off at a house beside the road. With more directions we make it to Santa Clara where we have planned to get the bus back to Havana for our flight, while Gwen and Loucas travel further to some islands on the north coast (more in the style of a honeymoon). Finding the bus station we have a choice between a late night bus and an early morning bus, opting for the later Gwen and Loucas drive us around to find a place to stay and we say our farewell (after we leave it occurs to me that we have no photos of the four of us, which is why you wont see one!). We have a brief walk around Santa Clara which is unremarkable and quite dirty (I suppose that’s a remark, but anyway!). We negotiate a ride to the Che memorial (pretty much the only reason why Santa Clara is on the tourist circuit) on a bicitaxi belonging to an ancient old man. We see the statue but the city has no power and as a consequence the museum beneath is closed. When we get back to the centre of Santa Clara I give the man a hefty tip in the hope he can retire soon! The power returns at about eight.

In the morning the taxi driver drops us around the corner from the bus terminal because he’s not really a taxi driver and could get in trouble for carrying us. Every time you spend dollars anywhere that is actually allowed to take your money, they write it down, even if its only 50 cents. If they don’t write it down and pay the tax accordingly (which is often very high >80%, limited private enterprise, Communist country, etc.) then they can be shut down. On the advice of the casa owner we enquire about taxi prices, rather than taking the bus. The shared ride (four passengers in the car) back to Havana (260ish kilometres away) costs us a little more than half what the bus would have cost. What’s more it only takes about the half the time, very strange. Back at Ana Maria’s, Mercedes, the housekeeper, lets us in and we head straight back out to the tobacco factory. The guidebook says tours are available, but on arrival some touts tell us that they’re not and the security guards seem to agree. Instead we follow a big guy upstairs so he can sell us some fake cigars. We go up a set of stairs, around a balcony and into a back room. The door is closed, a curtain is drawn behind us and the goods are brought out from their various hiding places. At first I’m a little nervous, but I settle a bit. (Erin is very unimpressed). After some inspection and pretending we know what we’re on about, (to an audience of three big guys and 2 eager women), we buy some fake Cohibas and get out of there (we pay about a quarter of the Cuban shop price and about an eighth of the overseas price, granted their fakes, but good fakes I’m told!). Next we head for the rather less intimidating Museo Bella Artes. Over the course of a couple of hours we visit just one half of the museum, the Cuban half. There are some interesting works, especially from the later years across a range of mediums. I notice there are antigovernment pieces that predate the revolution, but no recent ones. It seems that Castro cannot be criticised, well, from prison or exile maybe. Everywhere we go there are billboards praising the revolution and selling government propaganda. Nowhere is there a billboard promoting private enterprise. The country is scattered with ambiguously named public buildings like “The Centre for Information” and “Ministry of Propaganda” (well maybe I made the last one up). After the museum we head back to the pizza place we had visited the first time. After attempting to find a post office and do a little poster shopping we finally manage to negotiate a taxi to take us home through the rain. Ana Maria lets us cook some pasta in her kitchen and organises a taxi for us for the morning.

Up early, Ana Maria gives us some juice and we say our farewells. She genuinely welcomed us into her house and did a great deal to make out stay enjoyable, we were very lucky. One last idiosyncrasy to go with all the other things I still don’t understand, the 15 minute taxi ride to the airport costs us more than the trip to Havana from Santa Clara. Go figure!