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Wow, Cuba has really gotten under my skin.
I arrived in Habana late on Sunday 20th January and left on Thursday 24th January 2008. I joined a tour on Monday evening. I was staying in the Hotel Lincoln in Centro Habana, which gave me an insight into the reality of Cuban life as opposed to Habana Vieja which is in better condition and contains the more luxurious hotels. When I first arrived I was a little irritated to find that my airport pick up was not there but even at the airport I was chatting to a couple of British backpackers in the queue for currency exchange and it was easy to get a taxi to the hotel which is what I did when the contact numbers for the pick up went unanswered.
The intial couple of days was pretty surreal. I knew that this trip would mean encounters with more poverty than i´ve encountered before, but although people do approach tourists asking for money, you just say no and ignore them and they leave you alone. They are not particularly persistent or intimidating which is what I was prepared for. I feel very safe here. Of course I would never walk around alone after dark and I keep a very close eye on my belongings (the padlocks on the zips are getting monotonous already but I know that they are necessary) but I feel confident walking around.
Although a lot of the population are financially poor, the culture and people are very rich. Everywhere you go there´s music, and although theres more in English than I expected, (there´s been a fair share of Mariah Carey, Backstreet Boys and Beyonce etc) generally its Cuban and it really gets you in the spirit. Theres a real sense of community and strong family ties here which is probably what makes it safer.
As for the tour group, there´s 11 of us at the moment plus the tour leader, and I think that 4 other people are joining later on. We all speak English so my Spanish is not getting much work at the moment. Its mostly Brits and Australians, with a couple from Switzerland and a girl from Ireland. I´m sharing a room with a girl called Annora (she´s Irish). Everybody in the group is really nice and we are getting on very well. Starting the trip with the tour was definately a good idea, when I first arrived and was on my own I was little intimidated, but the group tour is giving me a chance to adjust and build my confidence. Its good being around familiar faces and there´s always a few of us going out together.
Monday was a quiet day. Breakfast was included and was an interesting experience. The weather was not good, there were fairly regular downpours to start with, so instead of being on the terrace it was inside. There was fruit, sweet things like biscuits and cakes and hot food. I couldn´t stomach eggs etc so stuck with the fruit and biscuits. Did get slightly embarassed with the hot drinks though. I was aiming for tea, but ended up with hot milk instead of hot water... it didn´t taste good. Communication was pretty difficult at this stage, generally people here only speak Spanish, or know a few English words and I only know a few Spanish words but continue to instinctively use English. Still its amazing what you can convey with body language and hand signals. On checking with reception on the meeting details for the tour that evening, I was asked to switch rooms and then met Annora. I instantly found my travelling feet when I met her and the rest of the group that evening. We all went for dinner, and thats when I learnt that if you order chicken, you have to be prepared for all of it. I wasn´t, and the grizzle and skin and pink meat were pretty unpleasant. The food here is not great, and if in doubt, I am not touching it. That night I stuck to the rice.
On Tuesday we all went on a walking tour of Habana. There are steady streams of locals trying to make money from the tourists, artists and various entertainers and as long as you don´t take it all too seriously, its quite amusing. I pàrticularly liked the guy that came over with white paint on his head and just stood with the group who were in a circle around the tour leader, who was explaining the surroundings at Parque Central. We all struggled to keep straight faces until he left. (If you laugh and pay them attention they ask for money or tips for entertaining you). After the tour we spent some time in a great little bar drinking Cuba libres (rum and coke) and absorbing the atmosphere with the live music and dancing before dinner.
Wednesday saw 5 of us go on another walking tour which took us along the sea wall and to the National Hotel. The weather was back on form and was hot and humid (although its technically winter here- its still in the mid twenties) so the trip to the well-known ice cream parlour Coppelia was very appropriate. Today was also the day of taxi rides in an old Cuban car, a ride in a coco taxi, and the markets. If you ever go to Cuba- make sure you go to the markets, the arts and crafts are fantastic. I did curb my enthusiam with the realisation that I´d have to carry my purchases so I bought a small souvenir- a bracelet. Then we went on cigar factory tour to finish off the days sightseeing.
I didn´t realise that I had so much to tell you all and I´ve left out so many things! Anyway, I am keeping a journal as I go to try and remember everything. (Thanks Alex- its filling up quickly!) I´m in Santiago de Cuba today so that will be the next chapter. As for now, I´ve used up all my time, so be reassured that I am alive, happy and well and hope that everybody is doing well back home.
I´ll add more info soon and hopefully some photos!
Sarah xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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