Letters from Cuba, June 2009 (2) Havana first impressions

Letter 3, Casa Ines, Calle Segunda #559 e/ Ayestaran y Ayuntamenta, Plaza de la Revolución.

Bill Barrie with puppy for sale on Calle Obispo, Havana, 2009

Our little apartment, near Plaza de la Revolución, is on the first floor, and has a terrace ‘to take sunbaths during the day’. We have a bedroom with two single beds and a noisy air-conditioning unit that we can turn on and off. There is also a bathroom, and a kitchenette with sink, fridge, two gas rings and a small collection of battered saucepans so we can boil water to make cups of tea. It is very basic, but clean, private and comfortable.

Once settled in we set off walking in the heat of the early afternoon sun. Fortunately, a young woman driving a cocotaxi hailed us — these yellow, egg-shaped scooters carry two passengers (it’s a wise precaution to wear sunglasses to avoid getting grit in the eyes). We paid 5 CUC.

Our destination was Callejon de Hamel, a well-known street in Centro Habana where black Cuban musicians and artists, Rumba groups, and tourists gather  each Sunday from noon. It was a lively, noisy scene. Bill got caught out by a man who persuaded him to buy two expensive drinks, made with a flourish, consisting of a little rum, a measure of liquid honey, and crushed herbs topped up with water.  

Ann Barrie at Callejon de Hamel, Havana 2009

From here we escaped first to the Malecón, Havana’s famous 7 km seafront promenade —we appreciated the regular cooling showers of rain —and then to the Hotel Nacional. This hotel, an art deco gem, was opened in 1930 and hosted many famous people in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. We had a cool beer in the garden bar overlooking the Bay of Havana.

With our remaining energy, we walked up La Rampa, a lively street with offices, bars and restaurants, to the Coppelia ice cream parlour — this is a large glass and metal building made famous by the film Strawberry and Chocolate. The queue of people waiting to buy ice creams in Cuban National currency stretched right round the block. Feeling rather guilty, we went to the window where you can pay with CUCs without queuing. Across the road is the Hotel Havana Libre, a large, boring block-shaped building that is enlivened by a colourful mural and its history: it was opened in 1958 and a year later was requisitioned from the Americans and became Fidel Castro’s HQ. We noticed very quickly that in Havana there is a cult of Che Guevarra; postcards, tee-shirts etc show Che with his flowing hair and beret with a Commander’s gold star.

Plaza de la Revolución, Havana 2009           Photo: Ann Barrie

Once back at our casa we found there was little food to be had in our residential neighbourhood, being Sunday evening. We eventually located a piece of roast chicken at a little cafeteria behind a petrol station, and we washed it down with a cold beer.

Havana is divided into three areas: Habana Viejo (Old Havana), a UNESCO World Heritage site; Habana Centro; and the ‘newer area’ of Vedado. The vast Plaza de la Revolución, where Fidel made many speeches, and where the Pope celebrated Mass a few years ago, is just south of the Vedado; and our homestay is just south of that Plaza. It is too far to walk to the main tourist sites, but is in a quiet, pleasant neighbourhood. The houses in our street are Spanish colonial style dating from the 1940s, mostly in need of a coat of paint (they seem much nicer inside).

On our first evening, Bill commented that there must be a restaurant next door, as there was a hum of voices from people enjoying themselves. We stepped out on to our terrace to investigate, and decided it was simply the cumulative sound of families enjoying the evening in the surrounding houses . The children play on the street — they appear happy and well-fed and wear smart school uniforms.

Letter 4, Havana, Monday 8 June, 2009

The first morning we slept in. Drina woke us with breakfast near 10.00 am — platters of fruit, large glasses of freshly squeezed melon juice, scrambled eggs, two cups of hot milk, and a little flask filled with strong Cuban coffee, all very nicely presented. The only thing we didn’t enjoy was the square of heavily processed cheese; Bill fed this to the neighbour’s perro triste (sad dog), who had been whimpering the night before; this cheered up the dog considerably, as he appears very hungry.

Breakfast at Havana casa particulara, 2009   Photo: Ann Barrie

We struck out on foot toward the landmark 109m tower that marks the Jose Marti memorial. I paid 5CUC to climb to the top of the tower, which is the highest point in Havana and affords panoramic views in all directions. At the base of the tower, there is a fine sculpture of a man in a reflective pose, and also the Hose Marti Museum — Marti, a great Cuban patriot, is revered by Cubans.

We caught a cocotaxi from the Plaza to the Bacardi Building in Habana Viejo, where Adventure Travel, Wellington, had told us we could pick up travel vouchers for our five days pre-arranged travel. To our surprise, we were barred entry by the security guard who said there were no commercial firms in the building. An hour or two later, after receiving help from a man I approached in the street and also a woman in a tiny information bureau, we finally found the correct building: Lonja del Commercio in the Plaza de San Francisco. The three young women working there said the firm had changed their address two years ago, and they gave me address stickers to take back to Adventure Travel.

In Calle Obispo were saw puppies, far too young to be taken from their mother, for sale. My animal-loving Bill couldn’t resist a cuddle (see photo at top).

Blog by Ann Barrie