Coco Loco

We entered Cuba in a cloud of disinfectant and were met by a cloud of cigar smoke and unregulated diesel exhaust fumes.

The smells of Cuba are just one of the things that slaps you in the face when you arrive. Then there are the sights, the dilapitated buildings with homely insides, the people so present, leaning out windows and doors, and above all a feeling that you have fallen through a time loop into the 60s.

At the Cancun airport we arrived early to navigate the Visa system. We needn't have worried. Two men in leather jacket at the end of the queue for check-in had us covered. We could only assume the piece of paper they gave us in return for $50USD would work as a Visa to Cuba, and thankfully it did!

The airplane was full. We walked in to a strange cloud of mist coming from the air vents. Luckily Ian had read up on this, and knowledgably told Jamie, 'I read about this, they said on the internet no one knows what the mist is, but that we shouldnt worry about it'.
'Oh yeah Ian, no worries.' But, no one else seemed concerned.

The next bit was the safety video which we have all seen a gazillion times in all sorts of languages and each time I think can they just tell us where the exits are and skip the video. Turns out when the safety video wont work and comes up with an error message on the screen it makes you feel UNsafe and you want to watch the safety video because is this plane broken?

We landed to a round of applause. Everyone clapped and we thought, does that mean most planes don't land safely in Cuba? Ian said as much out loud and Jamie gave him a good elbow in the ribs when everyone turned to look.

We had done what research we could. There is not so much information for Cuba as for other countries, but we knew that our credit cards should work in ATMs, Taxis were safe but might try and take you to a different hotel or rip you off, people will try and sell you cigars made out of banana leaves and its hard to buy stuff like sunscreen. Turns out thats pretty right and we dealt with MOST of that pretty well.

First, the ATM worked. It just said 'rejected' and then spat out all our cash. Free money? Probably not.

Second we got a taxi and he took us to the address we gave him for the agreed price. Win!

And then things got tricky. There is no internet in Cuba except Wifi, which then is still limited. Everyone uses phones and calls everyone. We discovered this because we had the wrong address written down for the taxi, or at least only part of the right address. Then EVERYONE on the street and people leaning out their windows were suddenly on the phone, holding out phones for us to talk to someone, but we weren't sure who. We figured out we had the wrong address, but there was an airbnb where we got dropped off and they were offering us a room for the night and then we found more of the address and someone bundled us into a bike taki thing and off we went. It was 7pm, we were a little bit dazed and frantically going through emails to find the right address. After we finally got to the right address the taxi bicyle dude says abruptly '50 CUC'. We had read up on this too, 50 CUC or Cuban Convertibles is equal to 50 USD. We hadn't agreed on a price before we got in the taxi! Facepalm.
We had been driving for 10 mins max. It was a bicycle, so hard work. We thought, 15 CUC maximum for sure. The taxi cyclist does an incredible performance of shock, horror, devastation and despair.

We pay 30 CUC.

We huff our way up the stairs of the Casa Particular that we had chosen by recommendation. The Casa Particulares are like bed and breakfasts. A lot of the Cuban Families have huge Casas with extra rooms and they offer the works. They will sort out all meals, all transport tours etc for you, and you pay. Plus they are wonderful hosts and have excellent hospitality.

We rock up with our bags and sweaty faces into a living room wth two dignified gentlemen sitting amoungst beautiful dark wooden furniture drinking Pina Coladas and smoking cigars. One is our host, Vincente and the other is Bernard from Sri Lanka who now lives in Norway. We got handed some Pina Coladas and our worried faces gave way to relaxed smiles almost immediately. It was like we just walked into a movie, or a lifelike game of murder in the dark. We didnt really mind which.

A lobster dinner made up our minds. Cuba was the best. We were even getting used to the cigar smoke being blown on our faces all the time.

In the morning after a huge Casa breakfast of fruit and omellettes and pastries we headed out into Old Habana, ready to face it all. But it turns out we werent ready. Our senses again were immediately overloaded. There's an ancient russian car painted bright pink, a lady dressed in bright colours doing a palm reading, the music drifting out the window of a restaurant, a couple swing each other around in a salsa...

We set ourselves up to rest a bit, a restaurant outside because did I mention that it is HOT. A beer or so and some snacks revive us and we are thinking about making our way when a 6 piece band rocks up. The first thing Jamie thought was 'Jacqui would appreciate the percussion instruments here.' Guiros, maracas, boy do these guys have rhythm. Ian ends up buying a CD.

Our time in Havana ends up being just us walking to different spots and People Watching (and car watching) for a while. We feel like anything more would be an overload. We take a 'hop on, hop off' bus which provides a broader view of the new and old city. We are bugged a number of times on street corners for a variety of things, taxis, tours, cigars. All of which we politely decline and walk on.

Eating out a few occasions was fine, the food okay, a very small salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber. With the main meal something of pork or chicken with rice. The supermarkets are very small and stock very little. We manage to find the odd one that sells some biscuits and water.

It feels a hectic city, we are surprised at the buildings so run down. We admire the locals and try to ignore the other tourists. It is time for us to see other parts of Cuba. Our Casa host, Vincente, recommends a path for us, Vinales, then Cienfeugos and Trinidad. He has 'Family' in those parts and can hook us up. We figure, why not.

Vincente arranges a Taxi Collectivo for our 4th day, to take us to Vinales where we have heard tourists go to visit the Tobacco Farms, beaches and national park. Off we go on Vincente's Tour. We'll be back in Havana again, but for now, Adios.