Cuba

December 2017/January 2018: We arrived here from Colombia on New Year’s Eve. Since we’re not super “beachy” people, we decided to stay in Havana, in a district called Vedado, for a few days, then our last few days we spent at a resort in Varadero. Cuba felt very safe, but a bit eerie and odd…because communism I guess. Internet was an interesting situation, and giant, empty, decaying mansions (with people living in them) took up much of the scenery in Vedado. However, Cuba has an incredible history, so I’m glad we got to stay and explore the areas in and around Havana, and not just stay on a beach for a week.

highlights

. Havana . Inexpensive . Safe . History

lowlights

. Resort . Internet . Scams .

vedado, havana

Vedado is a neighbourhood in the city of Havana. It is mostly residential, with a few hotels in the area. We stayed at a “renovated” airbnb. Not what you’d think of as “renovated,” but it was a nice large space, with a balcony. We arrived on New Year’s Eve, and had no idea what to do or where to go. So, we just started wandering the streets. We walked for a couple hours, past the giant dark mansions all over, sometimes with people sitting in the doorways or windows. These were all the houses that were American-owned, before Castro nationalized them all and the Americans left. Now, multiple families live in them, except they are falling apart, as these families aren’t able to upkeep them or pay for any repairs. Anyways, we were back before midnight, and watched from our balcony as fireworks were going off and people were throwing water out their windows (apparently that’s a thing). What was the weirdest thing about staying in Vedado is that we had no idea where we were, or where anything was. We walked in the complete opposite direction of any major streets, restaurants, bars, etc… on that first night. Little did we know, if we had walked the other way, we would have hit Avenida 23, which is a main road and has plenty of restaurants, and things to see and do. We were lucky enough to meet an American staying in the same apartment building who gave us lots of directions and tips on what to see and do in Vedado. Below are some of the spots we visited or happened upon while exploring Vedado.

*One of the many empty mansions around Vedado.*

Hotel Riviera

This hotel is right on the water, and you can tell it used to be very fancy back in the 1950’s. It has 1930’s decor, and a very good restaurant with 1950’s table settings and chairs. It also contains the Copa Room (which was being renovated while we were there), where Fidel Castro held a press conference after the Cuban Revolution. I believe it is currently still being used as a live music venue. But like most buildings in Cuba, this hotel is quite rundown, and looks like it has not been updated since the revolution (although this may have changed since we’ve been there).

*Inside the restaurant at the Hotel Riviera.*

hotel nacional

This hotel is beautiful and well taken care of (at least from the outside…I hear the hotel rooms are still stuck in the 50’s and a bit rundown). The lobby is unique and gorgeous, and the grounds are incredible, as you have amazing views of the gulf. It is probably the most famous for being the locale for the meeting of the American and Sicilian mafia (referenced in The Godfather 2). Besides that, many celebrities and political leaders have stayed here, and there is a little “museum” you can walk through with pictures of everyone of importance who has stayed at this hotel.

Coppelia

Coppelia is an ice cream shop that was built when Fidel came into power. He decided that everyone needed more dairy, so he built this giant ice cream shop. It is very popular, and they have 2 lines to get in: a Cuban line, and non-Cuban line, and they lead to separate areas. The Cubans pay with Cuban pesos, and the non-Cuban line pays with CUC, the tourist money. We happened to have some pesos (we probably got ripped off somewhere), so we got in the Cuban line. No one speaks English in the Cuban area, so we had no idea what our server was saying, but we somehow got what we wanted? The portions are huge, we got 4 large scoops each (I don’t even know what the ice cream flavour was…but it was delicious), as well as a couple of cookies on the side. And the price? The equivalent of $1 Canadian. I assume the non-Cuban section is a bit more expensive, but I’m guessing it’s still pretty cheap. Hooray for Communist ice cream? Anyways, it’s a must-see-and-do in Havana.

*Underneath Coppelia (seating area is upstairs).*

other places in vedado worth mentioning

One day we walked about 9 miles around Vedado, and we stopped at a few interesting spots. We first had some delicious coffee at Belview Art Cafe. We were walking up to Lennon Park and just happened to pass by while walking through a neighbourhood. It looked cool, so we went in. And it was awesome. Very cool, hipster atmosphere in an old renovated house, and really good coffee. We’re not hipsters, but we love the hipster coffee shops. Lennon Park is nothing too impressive. Just a small, cute park in a quiet neighbourhood. There is a statue of John Lennon sitting on a bench, and someone is standing near by to make sure you pay them money to take a picture with/of the statue. I guess he owns it? Probably not. We then walked to the Plaza de la Revolution, which is a giant, empty plaza. And since Trevor loves cemeteries, we wandered around Necropolis Cristobal Colon. This is a massive cemetery with very elaborate mausoleums and statues. It’s very quiet and peaceful, which is a nice break in the middle of busy Havana. Down near the water is the American Embassy (near the Hotel Nacional). In front of it are a ton of empty flag poles. Apparently, at the height of tensions once Fidel took over, the American Embassy built a giant billboard, where they broadcast anti-communism quotes. And being right on the water, on a major road, it was visible to many people. So Fidel put up over 100 flag poles with black flags, to block the billboard. Obama shut the billboard down, and the black flags came down. So now all that’s left is a whole bunch of empty flag poles right in front of the US Embassy.

*The empty flag poles in front of the American Embassy.*

*Wandering around the neighbourhoods of Havana.*

*Walking around the Necropolis Cristobal Colon.*

Old Havana

We took a taxi into Old Havana from Vedado (about 10 CUC). We started at El Capitolo, which is quite impressive from the outside. Then, we continued walking through the back streets of Old Havana, where the music was blaring, and locals would be sitting in the front door/entry of their houses, in the dark, looking out at all the tourists. We walked in the direction towards the water, where there are a lot of cute squares and great restaurants. We were recommended to go to Mojito Mojito. This is a delicious restaurant with great food, and, of course, mojitos. It is one of the more “expensive” restaurants in Havana, but I’d say it’s one of the best. Old Havana is great for just wandering the streets, getting lost, and visiting all of the lively coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. I suggest looking up some popular spots and wandering over there. We didn’t spend the evening here, so I can’t comment on the nightlife, but I imagine it’s quite lively and amazing.

*A square in Old Havana with a cathedral.*

varadero

To get to Varadero, we asked our airbnb host to book us a taxi/driver. We thought it would be the smartest and least-scammy (?) way to get there, instead of trying to book it ourselves. WRONG! This guy picked us up in one of the old American cars. Cool right? Wrong again! It was so old, barely ran, and it was so hot, so we kept the windows down, therefore we were breathing in exhaust for the entire 2.5 hours it took to get there. It. Was. Awful. I would much rather have taken a normal taxi, in a newer car with air conditioning, and paid whatever ridiculous price they wanted. Before we got in, we had checked with our airbnb host and the driver, and was told it would be 90 CUC for the trip (which is normal for a regular taxi). We gave him 100 when we got there, and he was demanding 140. So clearly this guy was just a friend of our host, and wanted to scam us. A regular taxi would have been 90 CUC, in a more comfortable/less toxic vehicle, and it would have taken 1.5 hours, instead of the 2.5 hours we spent in that disgusting car. We didn’t end up paying the guy what he wanted, we just kind of wandered into our resort and ignored him.

We stayed at the Be Live Experience Varadero resort, all-inclusive. Our room was a decent size and had a little balcony, but it looked like everything else in Cuba - it was built in the 50’s and has never been updated. I don’t actually know when this hotel was built, it may have been the 70’s, but still, it was a little rough around the edges. It is a huge hotel, and the pool area is really nice, and there’s a pathway to the private beach, which is nice as well. However, we didn’t get to enjoy a lot of the outdoor space as much, as the weather was cold (compared to the crazy heat we had in Havana), windy, and cloudy. So we didn’t spend much time on the beach or in the pool. We sat in the bar area around the pool, with towels around our legs, drinking and doing some writing for this website. So it wasn’t all that bad, we were still pretty relaxed. But it would have been nice to get some sun. We got some on our last day…so we basically burnt ourselves before jumping on a plane that evening. We did not explore much of Varadero, or go on any excursions or anything. We were there to chill out for a few days, after an exciting and busy few days in Havana.

*View of the pool area. We spent a lot of time at the pool bar.*

tips

Take a legitimate taxi from the airport. There will be lots of people offering you rides into Havana. It should cost between 25-30 CUC.
If a place says it’s been “renovated,” keep your expectations low.
WIFI and internet is basically non-existent, except at hotels, and maybe some parks or restaurants. Also, you have to buy an internet card. It’s about 2 CUC for a 1 hour internet card, and will likely only work in the hotel lobby. Therefore these areas are usually very crowded.
If you’re staying in a residential area, like Vedado for instance, download a map before you get there, just so you have some bearings when you’re there, and don’t start walking in the complete opposite direction like we did!
I don’t think I saw many (if any) toilet seats on the toilet. So you’ll have to sit on the rim of the toilet. Also, you can’t put toilet paper in the toilet. You will also need to pay for toilet paper in some public places.
If you’re buying cuban cigars, ask for the receipt, as you will need it when coming back to North America. We bought some cigars at a little shop at the Hotel Riviera, but they didn’t want to give us a receipt. We had to ask a few times.
Supplies are limited in Cuba, so I suggest bringing all of your essentials with you, instead of relying on buying stuff there. And the stuff in the resort and hotel stores are very expensive.
Spend more than a day trip in Havana! Most people will go and stay at a resort in Varadero for a week, and maybe take a tour/day trip into Old Havana. In our opinion, that doesn’t give you the true picture of Cuba. Get out of the resort and Old Havana, and explore the areas outside. Cuba has such an interesting history, and it’s worth exploring.