Nearly there!

Camel bus, public transport

The old beauties

Tropicana dancers

Tropicana gymnast

Dancers outfit

Rubbish man on the Malecon

The Malecon in the morning

Building in bad shape

Beautiful building

Dominos!

Girls with hair clips

My artist

The Grand Theatre

Local Cuban man reading the paper

Back streets in Havana

Everyone's a mechanic!

The Europeans I met

Local ladies with their cigars

Cuban boys playing at the water

Cathedral de San Cristobal de la Habana

Playing the Cuban "guitar" El Tres

Markets

Havana, Cuba

        I spent 5 days hot, sweaty, dusty, with tired legs and burnt skin, and had one of the most AMAZING experiences of my life! I can honestly say I fell in love Havana! I really wanted to see Cuba as it is now, before anything changes (and as it's future is somewhat uncertain change is fairly likely). Following is a day by day account of my experiences, with photos to give a visual description. Those 5 days under the Caribbean sun helped me recover from the endurance block of training, and freshen up ready for race prep! so the trip was wonderful in more than just the adventure of Havana!

Day 1: (through customs and in the city around 5pm)

I've just had a fabulous night at the Tropicana! What an experience! the dancers were so smooth and sexy in their movements, with even almost a primal passion in their dancing. The energy was upbeat, exciting and intense, and I was awe struck through the entire performance. I met some lovely people at my table, Li-Ann from Barbados, and Alexandras and Stephanos from Athens. It was fun to have people there to enjoy it with, and share a cigar with! The club is outdoors, and the star covered night sky was spectacular. After the show finished I got up on the dance floor for a bit of Salsa. I can't say I really know how to Salsa dance well, but I felt the music, swung my hips, and moved my feet to that amazing Cuban Salsa beat!

   It started to die down a bit after midnight, so I rang Lester (my trusty taxi driver of 3 rides already) and headed back to the hotel. on the way I questioned him about Cuba, Castro and the US. though his English was incredibly broken he tried his best to convey his point through words, gestures and body language. I found over the next few days this willingness to communicate regardless of the language barrier was a quality many of the local shared. Lester explained that to him, Cuba was home. There was something deep within him that resonated with Cuba, at a level far deeper than words (he made gestures over his heart to explain). He said that he has family in America, and described the situation as a government head butt, with the people not being too concerned either way. They love Cuba, and they have family in America, thus holding no ill will towards the US. He described the feeling of Cuban people towards Castro by comparing it to anywhere in the world; some love him, some not so much, and most sit in the middle somewhere. Similar to sentiments in the US, Australia, anywhere really! On June 26th, Cuba's day of dedication, hordes of Cubans meet at the Plaza de la Revolutionaries (he exaggerated saying the whole of Cuba!) to celebrate and listen to Castro speak for sometimes 2 or 3 hours! So they must be fairly fond of him!

   The buildings in Cuba are old, many are terribly run down, but some have managed to maintain their beauty. The side walks and roads have holes everywhere, and water randomly drips (kind of disgustingly) from rooftops even when it's a hot sunny day. Yet people are smiling, incredibly friendly, willing to help, and proud to show off their capitol city. Everyone has been so kind and helpful. it's almost like the energy for life here is deeper and more pure than in consumer societies. They experience a freedom from material wealth (which can be a burden in some regards, but a huge blessing in many other!) and a freedom from the idealistic void that can sadly sometimes go hand in hand with materialism.

   People here are poor, there is no doubt of that, but their passion for life is immense! I'm sure I'm speaking in terrible generalizations right now considering I've only had a brief look into the capitol city and having seen the desperation of the slums; but then again, that desperation is present everywhere. What I've thus experienced in this brief time thus far is a real zest for life. it's beautiful. 

   Wandering around looking for somewhere for dinner I met two lovely ladies. Whey spoke very little English, yet they walked with me for several blocks telling me of their life long friendship and how they'd grown up together. Naty (with slightly better English) is a vet and asked me to write her about veterinary societies in Australia. I don't know of any, but I'll certainly try to find out! They understood that I was looking for a vegetarian restaurant, and wrote an address down for me because I was struggling to pronounce and remember the name! I hailed a cab (it was a little ways away), and that's when I met lovely Lester the cabbie.

   How odd Cuba is. So poor, yet so friendly. It's such a wonderful experience. Mind you, I've been very fortunate to meet such kind caring people all over the world, the difference here being that I has some slight expectation (thanks for US propaganda and news) that people here are miserable, poor and unhappy. So far, I haven't seen that at all! The cultural arts are present everywhere. There is live music at many cafes, over 200 theatres in Havana, and operas and festivals for next to nothing! The government heavily subsidizes the music and art events, and even I, as a foreigner, walked straight into an Opera tonight in a beautiful theatre with nothing but a pleasant exchange of "bon noiche" with the door ladies.

   I do have to keep in mind that I am a white woman walking the streets alone, and that may account for the interest and pleasantness of the men on the streets, but the women have been equally as friendly if not more so! Still, experiences do depend on many factors, and I do make an effort to greet people with a big smile, so that's more likely helping. And also I think they are just very kind! My first day/evening in Havana have been amazing!

Day 2:

   Today started with a jolt to wake up. I'd originally planned to sleep in a little after Tropicana the night before, but I figured that was time wasted, and I wanted to get out and walk around. So I headed down to the Malecon to watch the city wake up. It was about a 30 min stroll into town because I kept stopping for scenery and photos. When I first started walking I was amazed at how littered the street was, but within about 1km of walking I saw the street cleaners at work. Mind you, it wasn't a machine or a man with a petrol powered blower, but rather two men with brooms and a rubbish bin slowly making their way down the sidewalk and street.

   When I reached the old town I was on a walk towards the capitol building when a lovely woman named Emily stopped me. She stopped me to ask where I was from and what I was doing there (in broken English). She was heavily pregnant yet sprightly on her feet, and told me of a Salsa disco later on that afternoon/evening. I didn't really have any plans except to experience as much as possible of the "real Cuba" not just the tourist destinations, so I walked with her and spent the next few hours being toured around the city. I fired similar questions at her as I had Lester, and she was more than willing to share her opinions. She openly stated that Cuba has problems, and the embargo with the US was making life harder, but that they make do. She spoke to me about the monthly rations of beans, rice, fruit etc, and how if they run out then they must buy the rest. I asked her if it was usually enough or nearly enough, and she said it was. She showed me ration stores (which are on nearly every second corner) and spoke of how beautiful Havana is. her brother met us soon after (can't remember his name...) Although he was friendly also, and his English was slightly better, he has the energy of a hustler and was pushier. Emily was just all smiles, laughter, and salsa steps to teach me! Together they took me to a Cuban church deep in the traditionally Cuban section f town. I have NO idea where I was by this stage as I'd entirely lost my already weak bearings; but the streets are safe and very well policed so I wasn't at all concerned. They took me for a coffee on the street in traditional style (shot of coffee in a water glass). We walked all around town with Emily pulling me aside to show me different points of interest, such as a music recording studio etc. We stopped for a non-alcoholic Mojito outside the recording studio, and I paid with my Convertible Pesos (the Cubans use National Pesos, we have to use Convertible Pesos - which are about 25x in exchange as local money) It cost me 12 Pesos for we three, but after I left Emily stayed back inside, and emerged with 6 Pesos to return to me! I guess because they were local we got it cheaper! They told me that it was possible for me to take Convertible Pesos to the markets and exchange them for National Pesos so everything would be cheaper for me from then on. We tried to find an ATM that worked so I could swap at the markets, but alas no where accepted my card! Good lesson learned for travellers there, you can ONLY withdraw off Visa, not from a savings account! I'll never know if it truly was possible to change money at the markets, but something tells me that being foreign I HAVE to use the Convertible Pesos.

   Emily kept inviting me for dinner at their house, which was a lovely offer, but there was a catch! They assumed that my being a white Australian tourist travelling I must therefore have money (which compared to them I probably do!) and they were hoping I'd buy the groceries for dinner and she'd cook. I realized the tour was coming to an end, and it was time to part ways. She asked for a small donation to help her with her coming baby, and I gave her some Pesos and went on my way. I figured it was a fair trade for the wonderful morning and tour I'd been given!

   I continued to walk around alone looking for the cigar factory and me another local, Junior (yes that was his real name, he even showed me his license!) we chatted, and he told me he taught singing to children. He became my new guide. I told him I wanted cigars so he took me to his friends house who worked at the factory and sold cigars cheap. I purchased a box to take home to friends for next to nothing per cigar, and then he took me to a pub he tried to convince me was in Boueno Vista Social Club movie (it had an Asian decor, so I somehow doubted his sincerity). I paid for his drink (as I realized is expected when you head out with random locals) and he kindly gave me a beer bottle opener for a local beer. Again, it was a fair trade! We headed to the actual cigar factory and parted ways. I wanted to go in, he had things do so. Inside the factory I couldn't afford the tour (I now only had 40 Pesos for the next 2 days because I couldn't withdraw money! Holiday on a shoe string!!) because everything is paid in cash (credit card has 11% surcharge on it so almost nowhere accepts cards). The cigar shop was the only place that DID accept credit cards, and they informed me that to exit the country through customs I'd have to have official receipts for my purchases. Uh oh. So I began trading and sharing out the cheap cigars I got black market, and purchased some to take home from the official store. Slight difference in price.. less than $1 per cigar to nearly $6!!

   On the way back to my hotel I found an art dealer. He had beautiful and colourful canvasses and I was especially drawn to a stunning piece depicting two musicians playing. He only wanted 10 Pesos for it, but I couldn't afford it, food being the priority! I tried to trade him cigars, but he obviously wasn't too interested. He asked me if I had some clothing, and I remembered the heels I'd worn to Tropicana. The blisters I had on my feet were reason enough to trade them, and his sister was thrilled with the idea (they were nice heels, silver, strappy). So I made my first real trade, shoes for a painting. I threw in some cigars anyway, hey, I had 25 cheapies to give away!!

   I passed 5 school girls on the final walk back to the hotel. I tapped one on the shoulder and gave her some hair clips I brought with me from England. They were SO excited; shy at first, and they all play fighting over who got which colour! it was really gorgeous to see.

   That evening I headed out for dinner and then Salsa around 6. I ate at a Cuban restaurant (which meant yummy and cheaper!) named Hanoi, and then headed to Casa de la Musica. On the way a local man stopped me and said he was headed there also. He hailed us a bicycle taxi, and we went on our way. We payed our admissions and went in and danced. I saw a group of foreigners after a while, and figured I'd go say G'day and see where they were from. I went over, chatted, and found out they were from all over Europe, Canada and had an Australian in their midst. They were there on a course to learn Spanish and salsa. We laughed, chatted, danced, and went for dinner when the club closed from 8-12. I was still full, so just enjoyed my Bucanero beer, and their company. At midnight we headed back to Salsa. at 10 Pesos entry I couldn't afford it, but the lovely Ralf from Germany was my knight in shining armour and paid for me to get in. We danced, Ralf (who was the best dancer of us all) taught me some salsa steps, and I realized that I'm REALLY bad at following!

   By 2am I was tired and rang trusty Lester for a ride back to the hotel. My 2nd trade, the free bottle of Rum from Tropicana for the taxi ride. He was pleased with the exchange, and it meant I could afford to eat the following day! Bonus!

Day 3:

   Again, I followed my feet into the city to walk around. I wanted to be a bit of a tourist a check out the Cathedral de San Cristobal de la Habana in town, but for some reason it was closed when it otherwise would have been open. The markets were only a couple minutes walk away so I headed over that way to check it out. I purchased a Cuban army style hat for 2 Pesos and a small pack of hair clips, and ran into Ralf. Ht was shopping for gifts for people at home, but ended up buying me a coffee instead. We drank our cafe con leche, enjoyed the live music, and he took photos while I played the base and the Cuban guitar. We ventured out to the Palace de la Revolutionera, and I talked him into walking there saying it was about 30-40 mins (more like 2 hours!!). it was a really special walk though, and we were both so glad for having done it. it took us through local Cuban sections where we were truly the only white foreigners present. The children I gave crayons to there were more shy in taking them, but their gorgeous eyes lit up when they realized it was a free gift for them. We headed up to the lookout, and the view was amazing. We, along with a horde or Chinese tourists, snapped photos in every direction!

   We jumped in a coco taxi for the ride home (little funny looking yellow cabs with no windscreen) and within 200m she had a flat tired. We helped our lovely driver change the tired, and had to hoist the cab up as she had no jack! We eventually made it to our respective hotels.

   I wandered back into the city after a short nap to meet Susie and Alina (Hungarian and Swiss students). We walked around for a couple of house, sat on the Malecon wall, and looked at the stars. Havana may be the only city I've ever been to that in the centre the stars are still visible, bright, and beautiful. We realized we were hungry and headed to my dining spot from the previous night for some cheap yummy food and live music. We met some of the others on route to a club called El Chevere. The locals had recommended it as a fantastic dance club, and we were expecting Salsa. I supposed has we wanted top 40 we probably would have enjoyed ourselves there, but we only really wanted local music, so called it a night reasonable early and went to sleep. El Chevere was on the far side of town from my hotel, and Alina was kind enough to let me crash at her host families house. The generosity of the host family was touching, and I woke up to a plate full of fruit for breakfast. They were exactly rich, but they were kind and generous, and it was a beautiful gesture.

Day 4:

   My morning mission was to find the anti-Bush propaganda on the Malecon, so I walked in the direction of the US embassy. Right outside there were billboards depicting Bush as a vampire, and saying he is equal to Hitler etc. It was blatant and quite amazing! There were police every 30m on the embassy perimeter, and a forest of black flags with the Cuban star on them out front. I figured I'd found was after, and still had a couple hours left to relax. So out came the bikini, and I enjoyed some last rays of sunshine before checking out of my hotel. it was fantastic!

   These 4 days have been fantastic. the energy, the people, the dancing, the history, culture, sunshine... It's an amazing city. Where else in the world can people live on the water front and dance all night for next to nothing? There may be many restrictions and limitations forced upon the Cubans, but they also enjoy life and have such a kindness within them. They recognize the need for change but also that all countries have problems. The beautiful thing about Cuba was, to me, that they people interact so much. they don't (mostly) have televisions, internet etc, so in the evenings they spend their time socializing, outside playing dominos, dancing, or just handing out. it's wonderful to drive down the Malecon at night and see thousands of people enjoying the evening.

   Honestly, I didn't seen any aggressions between people, or car accidents (though the classics probably can't go fast enough to risk an accident!), and the police presence makes the streets very safe.

   Ralf told me his Spanish teacher had said she loves spending time with her family, and has to see them every day. They are so close, and she couldn't imagine spending time without them. Western society sometimes demands/allows (depending on perspective) that families spread out to earn their livings, or follow their dreams. Although we may have more luxuries and freedoms of travel, perhaps the Cubans have something we don't? Who knows. What I do know is that Havana was a most wonderful experience!

Day 5!!!!

   Virgin flight delayed for 30 hours, hello Havana for one last day or touring, relaxing, sunshine, and enjoyment... and all on Virgin Atlantic's tab! SUPER! We were put up in a 5-star hotel, and meals were included! i think it may well be the best I ate the entire trip, even if only because I actually ATE!