With much anticipation we arrived in Cuba for the last stop on our Latin American leg of the trip! Not really knowing what to expect as its still quite a closed country, run under one of the few remaining communist states. The government is still led by the Castro family, now Raul. Most tourists go in and out via a beach resort so rarely see the more local places, even Old Town Havana!
We were led to expect big queues for basic products, the legendary old 1950's style cars everywhere, very bland food and simple buildings. Some was true and some not but Havana quickly proved to be one of the most interesting and favourite places we've visited so far!
We were met with our first big queue at the airport money exchange as none can be exchanged outside of the country! About an hour and half later and we were ready to head into town! What was immediately interesting were so many of the old 1950's American cars that drove through the airport picking people up!
When we arrived in Havana we were staying in a Casa Particular. Basically a room or apartment owned by a local with government supervision as a tourist provider. The locals are able to help out and it means you stay in the more residential areas of town rather than in a big hotel.
We were staying in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, it looked very run down and somewhat dangerous (if we were in any other country) but it had a really good vibe. Everyone had their apartments open onto the street, people were socialising on every corner, children playing on the street and going about their daily business. Definitely what we would imagine life and the streets would have been like back in the East End type area of London before much of it was renovated after the war.
The poor maintenance of the area isn't a reflection of the people but the lack of money available from the government, combined with no private investments for the upkeep of the buildings and streets. Cars are also few and far between outside of the centre due to their cost, so this made the streets even more quiet. Apparently the more run down vintage cars normally used for taxi's can go for over $10,000 and the luxury vintage cars (mostly convertible) used for city tours can go for $35,000 and more!
We spent most of our days in Havana just seeing the city and taking it all in. The streets, locals going about their business, the buildings and mainly the cars! It's interesting just walking around and watching how people go about their lives! A very different city to the rest of Latin America.
It's like going back in time! Old shop fronts, 50's cars, no supermarkets, no famous brands everywhere and all small locally ran places. The shops were very simple inside, basic fixtures and fittings and with produce few and far between. When the shelves were full, it was normally of just a few varied products unlike at home! The locals do have to queue for everything and unlike the west where all can be bought in one place, each shop has limited bits so queueing and going from place to place would be part of daily life.
Back in the 1990's the government authorised private ownership of restaurants so this has increased since then with some of them offering great food at really cheap prices! We had a list of 'must have' local dishes that we were working our way through as well!
Many of the buildings are old colonial or Art Deco style and those that have been renovated are amazing. Those that haven't are just as interesting but most are nearly to the point of disrepair.
Local street food is also everywhere, we tried a good few bits and most were really nice! The comments that most people make that food is bland and horrible is complete rubbish! Both restaurant and street food in Havana at least proved to be better than much of what we got in Latin America over the last 8 months! Not bad for a very strictly run socialist country! Lots of chicken & pork, bread and sea food all with good seasoning.
Although the locals and especially the younger generations are moving towards the West in terms of dress style and use of smart phones, you can still tell the big differences.
Pay box phones are still the main communication method. The government is relaxing the Internet availability with minimal wifi spots in the city but apparently the cost to use mobile networks is so high, many just have a mobile as a status symbol without using it many for calls. An interesting black market of street guys has developed who offer use of 'dodgy' wifi spots, not sure how they do it, maybe through hacking into the hotel wifi?! We tried once but the speed was painfully slow so we gave up and going without World contact for the rest of the time in Cuba!
The currency is split in two. CUC and Peso. 1 CUC = $1 and 25 Peso = 1 CUC. Prices are crazy when you can use the local currency, the CUC is meant for 'luxury goods' and for tourists. If you have some local money, an ice cream would be 2p and a double rum 14p!! Even using the CUC a decent meal would be the equivalent of under £5 and a cocktail between 70p and £2! While bottles of rum would only be a few quid!
Whilst we were in the city many roads were closed off and film crews everywhere, only for us to find out later that they were filming the new Fast and the Furious movie! One to watch when we're back home!
One day we took a trip to one of the nearest beaches, there's a few just over 30 mins away. The sea was amazing, one of the nicest shades of blue we'd seen. As with all of Havana the costal communities were interesting. All the houses and buildings were in a retro 50's style. Apparently most were holiday homes for wealthy people back in those days and then after the revolution haven't changed much. Sad to imagine how thriving it must have been at the time but interesting to see them all the same. Especially when you see a cool, retro car parked outside of a very 50'a style home, like looking back in time!
With 10 days in Cuba we were going to rush through and see as much as possible but to make the most of what may change, now that the tourism laws have been relaxed for the Americans, we wanted to make the most of Havana and one other place, the tobacco region of Vinales. Once tourism booms for US tourists, the influx of money and desires will inevitably take some of the charm out of old Havana...