An extra day in Havana and other news

Good news! Just found out from our travel agent that our flight time has been moved up from 5:30pm to 6:20am, effectively giving us another day in Havana. Since our flight goes into Varadero, we'll now be taking the 2 hour bus trip to Havana during the daytime when we can actually see some of the countryside. This should put us into Havana by early afternoon, so we'll be able to check out Habana Vieja, have lunch/dinner, and even hit some bars. Much better than arriving after midnight!

We've booked a one day tour with a local guide for the 2nd day of our trip to orient ourselves to the city, learn more about it's culture and history, and hopefully experience a few things we wouldn't on our own. The plan is to start at 10:00am at the Museo de la Revolucion, then take a walking tour of Habana Vieja.

I've been in touch with Not Just Tourists again, and it's confirmed that we'll be able to take up to four suitcases (1 each) of medical aid. We've submitted a request to Sunwing for an exemption to their baggage weight limit. We're allowed 20 kg, and the NJT suitcase is 10 kgs. With a fee of $10 per excess kg, this could be an expensive proposition if we don't get the exemption. Hopefully we'll get a favourable reply soon.

Spanish class goes well. My vocabulary, pronunciation, and written comprehension are progressing nicely, but I'm beginning to realize how difficult it is to converse in a new language. When asked a question, I will normally have a long pause with a blank look on my face while I translate the question internally to English, try to formulate some type of reply in English, then try to convert it to Spanish. As often as not, what comes out at the end of this long process is, "No entiendo". Sad.

Cuba photos

Here are some great sites with photos of Havana and other Cuban places of interest - stunning - can't wait to see the real thing!

Rado Vleugel: http://www.cuba-photos.net/category/havana-i

Kees Terberg: http://www.pbase.com/terberg/cuba&page=all

Atsushi Tsunoda: http://flickr.com/search/show/?q=cuba

Donde esta el bano?

In my quest to expand my Spanish vocabulary beyond "dos cervezas por favor", I signed up for an introductory Spanish class at the local college. Last night was the first of eight three hour classes - I'm certain to be fluent by the end. OK, maybe not, but I should at least be able to order three beers.

The class of approx. 25 is comprised almost entirely of Anglos vacationing in Spanish speaking countries, except for one young couple who is moving to Costa Rica. Ages were mainly early 20's or over 50, not alot in between, about 75% female.

Anna Maria, our teacher, is originally from Columbia and very enthusiastic. She has that happy, easy-going personality that is typical of Latin-Americans, and is one of the reasons we frost-burned Canadians like to travel there. Having only learned English during the past 4 years, she seems patient and understanding of our comical struggle with the rolling rrrrr's and different vowel sounds.

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How we chose our casa - Casa Antigua

There were several factors we considered while deciding where to stay. What do we want to be close to? What do we not want to be close to? What features were we looking for, i.e. number of rooms, cleanliness, view, balcony or patio, single storey vs. multi storey? Price did not seem to be a factor, as the going price for rooms seemed to be in the $25-35CUC range for anything we'd be interested in.

With four guys, we'd need a place with two rooms, two beds per room, and our own bathroom. Of course, clean and well-kept was preferred. We had visions of sipping rum and smoking cigars in the humid tropical air while enjoying the view, so a balcony or patio was important. I generally avoid apartment buildings if I can, despite the potential for view - just don't like the impersonal feel, weird smells, and the awkward confinement of elevators. Having never been to Havana and with none of us speaking any Spanish, hosts with a reasonable command of English and a willingness to provide advice would be a bonus.

OK, so, we now have a pretty good idea of what we want - time to figure out what district makes sense. There are four main Havana tourist districts : Habana Vieja, Habana Centro, El Vedado, and Miramar. Miramar is out - too far away from the action, and too posh - we were looking for a more "authentic" experience. Vieja seems like the main tourist centre, with the Malecon, tons of clubs and restaurants, and many historic tourist attractions. Great place to eat and party, but it's old and crumbly with mostly apartment buildings from what I can tell. Centro is similar to Vieja, except older and poorer, with not as many attractions, and more potential for crime.

Vedado looks like the place - a great compromise between the history, sights, and action in Vieja, and the upscale, more modern, and safe Miramar. Vedado was the pre-revolution upper middle class section of Havana, centrally located, and largely developed by Russians and Americans between 1930 and 1960. There's still plenty to see and do, particularly in the La Rampa section.

We began checking various casa listings on-line and found some promising apartments, but it wasn't until I stumbled across a fantastic article written by Al Dieste that we knew we'd found our casa: Casa Antigua. His favourable review was echoed by others on websites like Trip Advisor, so after checking with the guys, we decided to book it. I sent an email to Horacio and Marta, and held my breath while waiting for them to advise on availability. A day later, we got the good news that the rooms were ours. $30CUC per room per day, plus another $3CUC per person for breakfast if you want it. If you've read my previous posts, you may remember that we also have 2 hotel rooms at the Montehabana hotel - we don't plan to use them except for the first night, but they'll be there for backup.

For more information on Havana's districts, click here: Where to Stay in Havana - Districts
For more information on finding a casa, click here: Accommodations - Casas Particulares

Previous post on this discussion

Terry’s Havana Pub Crawl

Source: Terry, aka cheersterry

1.) Start in the rooftop bar at the Inglaterra Hotel – great view of Parque Central, the theatre, etc. Quiet, no one to bug you. Great mojitos. Have one and move on.

2.) Go down to street level and have another cocktail at their sidewalk patio bar, the Galeria La Acera del Louvre. Watch the street action. Lots to take in, but again, you're slightly removed from it.

Head directly across the street, through Parque Central, past the large groups of shouting men who are just about ready (it appears) to kill each other. Don't worry, they're simply discussing baseball. If you really want to see some drama, put a video camera on them - their decibel level (and hand gestures) will double.

3.) Continue straight ahead past the Art Museum until you get to the famous landmark (and tourist trap) the El Floridita where Hemingway spent a lot of time slurping back daiquiris. Wander in, have a look, have an overpriced daiquiri if you must.

4.) Exit, turn left, and at the end of the block (corner of Monseratte and Obrapia) there's two good bars, the open air Castillo de Farnes, and the Bar Monseratte where you enter through an old fashioned saloon style swinging door.

5.) The Castillo de Farnes is a great people watching bar, the Bar Monseratte will be less hassle, and it has decent pub food and usually a pretty good band.

6.) Now, head back a couple of blocks to Obispo and take a right turn. There's several bars along this lovely stretch. Go into any of them that are rockin'. One of my favourites is the La Lluvia de Oro. Lots of tourists and well connected hustlers, and many times a good band.

7.) Continue down Obispo to the Café Paris. It's similar to the La Lluvia de Oro with good music and decent pizzas.

8.) Exit and make a right turn, south from Obispo, and enjoy a leisurely stroll down San Ignacio for 4 blocks until you reach Plaza Vieja. It has a lovely fountain (quite rare in Havana) in the centre. In the southwest corner is a trendy European style place that has its own micro-brewery. I forget its name. They have beer drinking contraptions that are about a metre high – you have to still be in a real beer drinking mood. Check it out as an example how Cuba can really screw-up a good idea.

9.) Go the northeast corner of the Plaza and you'll find one of my favourite classy places, the Taberna Beny More. Wonderful place.

10.) Exit and turn right, following one of my favourite restored streets, Mercaderes, back 3 blocks to Obispo, then another block further to O'Reilly. Turn left, and one block later slip into the O'Reilly Pub, and carefully negotiate the antique winding wrought iron staircase up to the second floor. Enjoy a moment of peace in the noise of Havana.

11.) After the 10 cocktail warm-up you've enjoyed to this point, you should be ready for some serious drinking by now, so turn left on O'Reilly and continue west for a couple of blocks until you reach the Bar Bilbao, one of the few truly Cuban bars left in the tourist section of Old Havana.

It's a dump. They don’t particularly encourage tourists, but once you’re there, its great. Have some real Cuban Pesos on you (not Convertible Pesos) and enjoy a double rum for 8 pesos, and a cigar for 1 peso. (1 Convertible Peso = about 25 Cuban Pesos. Do the math. We're talking cheap.) The decor - if you can call it that - is sort of interesting. The bar has been discovered by the professional soccer club from Bilbao Spain, and they have left all kinds of stuff all over the walls. Check out the poster of the Canadian Women's Soccer Team over the bar - in the bottom corner it says "We Love Terry and Wild Bill."

Go one block south, back to Obispo, and walk back to Parque Central.

At this point you've had a decent tour from Parque Central, down Obispo, through a few sections of Old Havana and back to your hotel. It's only a thumbnail tour though - there's a ton of great places I haven't mentioned.

The night is still young, and you have loads of time to start some serious drinking and dancing.

Have fun.

Wild Bill’s Havana Pub Crawl

Source: Bruce Hughes, aka Wild Bill

Check out Potato’s video of the pub crawl here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8689510088893672521

This pub-crawl has been used several times and is totally reliable in obtaining the desired result – a moderate state of inebriation. One crawl included my sister’s family, two of her friends’ families (including one Canadian Provincial supreme court judge and a couple of teenagers) and still yielded satisfactory results.
This can be either an evening, or an afternoon (this write-up assumes an afternoon).

We usually start in the bar at the Inglaterra Hotel – ideal because everyone knows where it is, the architecture is great (Arabian tiles), and it simply is a good bar. Plus the wimps can have a coffee first to line their stomach.

Then head out directly across the street, through the Parque Centrale through the groups of shouting men. These fellows act like they are about to kill each other – what is actually happening is they are debating baseball….who has the best pitcher etc.

Continue straight ahead past the Art museum and you see a busy street and a pedestrian mall (simply a street where traffic has been banned). At that corner, is the famous Floridita bar/restaurant. This is where Hemingway actually spent a LOT of time and where tour buses now unload tourists to be fleeced. Wander in and take a look – interesting pictures on the wall –but outrageous prices …$6 for a daiquiri.

OK, now time for a drink – continue alone the busy street (Monserrate) one block south and you come to 2 good bars:
- One is open air – one of the best “people-watching” bars in the city

- The other has an old-fashioned swinging bar door (I think this is called the Monserrate bar). Actually there are some good snacks here….I recommend the garlic shrimp. And there often is a band.

One block east, at the corner of Brazil and Bernaza is the Hanoi Restaurant – this attracts both Cubans and budget travelers…..a complete mea for $3, and its very good for the price. Plus one of the cheapest places for mojitos in Havana Vieja.

Now back a couple of blocks north to Obispo and take a right turn. Several bars but the most activity is probably in the Lluvia de ora….lots of tourists, but usually a good band.

Then continue on Obispo to the Café de Paris ….similar….usually music and decent pizzas.

Now head south 5 blocks to a big square (I think this is the Plaza Vieja) which has recently been totally renovated with E.U. money. Very nice. At the south-west corner is a fairly large bar/restaurant. Good BBQ and other food, and interesting atmosphere (they have a beer drinking contraption that is about a yard/meter high – you have to be in a REAL beer drinking mood.

Now head back north, one block PAST Obispo to Calle O’Reilly (a good Cuban name). Turn left and there is O’Reilly’s on O’Reilly. Downstairs is nothing special, but head up the winding metal staircase. A moment of peace in the noise of Havana. Unique.

Now we’re getting our second wind so time for something serious. Continue west on O’Reilly and you come to a dump named Bar Bilbao. This is the only true Cuban bar left in centeral old Havana. It’s fun to watch tourists stop at the door, look in, and then decide "nope". Actually the “décor” is interesting – this bar has been discovered by the professional soccer club in Bilbao Spain and they have left all kinds of stuff all over the walls.

They don’t particularly encourage tourists but once you’re there, its great. This is where I bought the adults in my sister’s group of 7 adults a round of double rums and a cigar – total bill was $1.75. AND THOSE WERE REAL DOUBLES. A single rum is 5 pesos and a cigar is 1 peso (that’s non-convertible pesos). A peso is equal to a nickel.
The trick here is to have some “nationale” money….non-convertible. So when he brings your order you have those pesos out. Otherwise they might try to ding you tourist prices in convertible pesos – just act like you know what you’re doing.

About this point, the organized tour tends to kind of fall apart. You can find your own way from here.

One restaurant recommendation however. Head back over to “the Prado”, that the street that runs in from of the Inglaterra (where you started) and runs north up to the ocean. The real name of the street is Paseo Marti, but evryone calls it Prado. Anyway there is an Italian restaurant (not the one at the corner of Neptuno)….it’s farther north….I think the number is #168, its on a corner. Anyway it has VERY good pasta and pizza for about $3.50 each. Highly recommended.

Medical Aid – Not Just Tourists

Source of first hand experience: Freedom Ryder

Not Just Tourists is a non-profit organization providing much needed medical supplies for Cuba and other countries in need: http://www.notjusttourists.org/. Canadians traveling on vacation or business deliver these supplies to a hospital or clinic in their travel destination.

The last time we brought NJT suitcases on a Sunwing flight the rules had changed. We were told that we would be charged $100.00 for a 10kg suitcase for the Humanitarian Aid.

All we had to do was deliver the suitcases in Cuba and get a letter signed from the Doctor, Clinic or where ever the suitcases were being delivered to prove it was actually Humanitarian Aid and it was delivered.

Once you return home you submit the receipt and letter to Sunwing and a cheque will be sent to you for the $100.00 you were charged by Sunwing. Rainbow has done this also and submitted the bill and was reimbursed just as they said they would. The last trip Rainbow and I took on Sunwing we were prepared to pay the $100.oo fee. The nice lady at the check in counter put it through as dive gear along with my dive bag and did not charge us. The NJT bag went with the clothing and the scuba gear went off to a separate loading place.

Prior to traveling with Sunwing again notify them that you would like to bring a NJT case and they will tell you what their policy is regarding that.

Additional first hand experiences and information here: http://debbiesreviews.proboards88.com/index.cgi?board=NJT