DAY 3 A DANGEROUS WALK TO OLD HAVANA

Dec 2011
Yesterday we started our day with a dangerous walk on the malecon.The guidebooks had flagged this as "must do thing " if your in Havana.Obviously this recommendation had been written by some travel writer peering down on the scenic ocean side walkway from the 16th floor of his hotel room, not by someone who actually did the treacherous walk on the slimy seaweed coated sidewalk. On a danger rating of 1-10 this was a nine. We did most of our walk on the road facing onrushing vehicles passing a few feet away from us . A grueling day of site seeing and mega walking lie ahead of us.First the Museum of the Revolution. Lots of pictures and letters but skinny on artifacts , this site was O.K but after awhile you got sick of the blood stained shirts being displayed like holy relics.The memorial room to Che Guevara featured a Che mannikin standing in front of a jungle background. Tacky and tasteless but the kids probably loved it.
The highlight of the day was the Hotel National , Havana's historic landmark mark built in the 20's ,stunningly magnificent, dripping with history the MUST SEE  icon in Havana.We sipped daiquiris in a beautiful courtyard overlooking the ocean and entrance way to the harbor .Inside, history and ambiance oozed from the ornate walls and high ceilings. Pictures of celebrities and dignitaries adorned the walls along with  prominent displays of Che and El Presidente 
Castro. shouted the fame of this grand old building. Back to our hotel this time by taxi, our bodies aching from our overbooked day. The 5 peso taxi ride was reasonable and included tip. A brief siesta and then off to old Havana for the Cuban Art Museum , Hemingway bar, and a rooftop restaurant. at the Hotel Seville
More rants about Tourism
                                          " Cultural refugees exchanging our soulless money for nuggets of real life.Thirsty vampires sipping the blood of a vibrant and alive society. We hunger for what the Cubans.have as their birthright, we want to gather their riches to take back with us at journey's end'

I told the girl at the hotel cigar shop " We love your country "
She said " you don't have to live here"

I coveted a poster in the hotel lobby of the jazz band we saw the first night we were here.I thought it would look good on the wall in my bathroom. BAD TOURIST! BAD TOURIST! I want to be different.

DAY 2 EKLECTRIC CUBA

 Dec 2011
DAY 2 ECLECTIC CUBA

 8:00 am Were up before sunrise and at our guide books fleshing out our itinerary for the next   few days. One week in Havana is barely enough to scratch the surface. Today some museums and the Hotel Nationale, tonight a Son show at the Havana Taberna 

(Buena Vista Social Club music A malecon walk will take us to the Hotel and then a taxi to the Museum of the Revolution  

  THINGS I LIKE ABOUT CUBA

- Consistent pricing set by government on most staples   

( including cigars )

- No signs or advertising billboards on street  (Commercialism knob turned way down )

- No garbage or dead puppies on side of road (like in Mexico )

- No Walmart people

Our first venture outside our hotel last evening was a stroll down some side streets

LOVED THE RUINED BUILDINGS AND UNEVEN SIDEWALKS

An eclectic blend of classical and 50’s architecture peppered but not crowded with Cubans dressed in colorful stylish clothes proudly walking down the streets ignoring the 2 tourists.

The building that looks abandoned has a dim light inside, some ones living there.

A giant tree root sticking out of the sidewalk, so what, step over it trees have rights too. A small curbside gathering of people singing and drinking rum,  You don’t need permission to party here. The blatant lack of commercialism here bestows an aura of purity and serenity which I have never encountered before. Humanity before materialism.

We found a few small shops located on the side of our hotel ( just small signs above the doors for identification )  30 pesos  about 35 dollars  got us a 7 year old bottle of rum, 4 beers,       2 decent bottles of wine and some water and fruit juices. The hotel mini-bar in our room was the greediest entity that we had encountered yet in Cuba and we would not be shopping there any more. Outrageously inexpensive premium cigars are becoming part of our kit and cigars shops easy to find. The throat lozenges we brought along on this trip would be life savers.

A sense of bittersweet melancholy has already descended on me as I realize that just by doing the tourist gig you start to spoil the magic of this paradise. I can see the proud Cuban people already showing signs of jaded lust for the materialism that tourists flaunt against a culture where egalitarian values still trumps greed. Unfortunately I can see this place becoming more like Mexico as the onslaught of foreign visitor erode the fragile social structure of this country.Ironically it is a totalitarian government that has protected the people from the cancer of unchecked materialism while withholding many basic human rights we take for granted. I told the waiter at a restaurant “ We love your country “ After looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening he replied “ Try living here “  

DAY 1 MELIA COHIBA, HAVANA

Dec 2011
8 AM Our first morning in Cuba, I’m looking out of a wide window from our room on the 11’th floor of the Melia Cohiba Hotel. The view encompasses the ocean, the malecon and many old rustic buildings surrounding our hotel. The absence of billboards and signs makes a strong first impression on me. Beautiful old cars, many repainted with tropical colors including pinks and bright oranges add to this surrealistic montage that is my first glimpse of Havana

 

.An eagle or a vulture circles overhead, a large swimming pool

lies below and to the right sits the Riviera Hotel a notorious mobster hotel built in the 50’sportrayed in the Godfather movie, as the location where the dons of the Mafia meet on an ocean side patio to divide up the spoils of Cuba with the dictator Batista. Castro and the revolution would have something to say about that. Cuda’s finished doing her make-up and its time for breakfast  I’am starving after turning down the airline’s excuse for food yesterday. I’m hungrier than a Cuban tree rat ( Yes they do exist

 3 pm Were back in our meticulously cleaned room after an epic feast, and some poolside time Breakfast included freshly baked croissants, smoked salmon from Chile, gourmet cheeses from Italy and Spanish chorizo. A full gourmet all you can eat buffet and I did eat all I could. Numerous visits to the smoked salmon plate and they just kept piling it on. The service was over the top as plates would disappear immediately from the table if a waiter noticed the slightest disinterest in its contents. Cappuccinos and fresh squeezed juices arrived continuously. I didn’t know it yet but this was just a warm-up for the food bacchanalia awaiting us in Cayo Coco one week from now. 

Last night we arrived at at our hotel lobby at about 10pm, after a transfer glitch at the airport. Sunway vacations had not included transfers from the airport to our hotel but kindly gave us a complimentary taxi to our hotel after a little dickering ( read the fine print in your itinerary before traveling) After checking in to our room and finishing our welcome cocktails in the lobby bar, compliments of the desk manager, we walked towards some live music coming from one of the bar lounges and we got our first taste of of Cuban bliss which we had waited so long for. I can’t remember the last time I was emotionally moved by a live performance of extremely talented musicians. This Cuban jazz quartet that we had the honor and high privilege to experience was red hot. I mean move over Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins…I mean a front man moving seamlessly between trumpet, sax and clarinet. A young kid all over the drums and a solid lead and bass guitar back-up. It doesn’t get any better than this. Sitting in this small bar surrounded by cigar smoke and sipping 7 year old Havana Club rum I was overcome by tears of happiness.These guys played their hearts out taking turns doing solo’s and each giving accolades to the other band members after playing. An appreciative mix of locals and tourists offered loud applause after each set. Excuse me, this is culture, this is life, real nourishment, not the fucking sterile pablum we are fed from our big screen TV’s. This was only the beginning of our Cuban music adventure and it only got better.

We had arrived in Cuba after leaving behind the drab gulag of a dreary west coast winter, and after only one day in Havana all the pieces were coming together why we had always wanted to travel here. So many new impressions,our senses overloaded, we reveled in the anticipation of the pleasures ahead of us.