Wednesday 24 September 2014

Part 2 - Havana

I only wish Ken or I had a Grandma we could have taken to Cuba with us, I would have called my blog 'Our Nan in Havana'  but alas neither of us has.

Hotel Terral Havana - 8th September 2014

So, we arrived at our hotel located on the Malecon, a 7 km stretch of road facing the Gulf of Mexico, at around 8pm although it is 2 in the morning to us. We are greeted with a big smile from the Receptionist.  We need to change some money, so we get 116 cucs  (the Cuban tourist currency) for our 100 euros, a poor deal for us and so it began.......

The Receptionist told us how lucky we were. There had been a cancellation so we could upgrade to a suite and would only need to pay the difference in the hotel-room tax.  Only an extra 50 cucs per night!  '50 cucs ' we cried, 'that's a lot of money, almost 50 euros a night extra'.  'No, no' she said 'it's much less than that'.  'No, no' we chorused 'you just gave us 116 cuc for a 100 euros so it's nearly 50 euros per night extra.  'Ah yes but that's because the hotel exchange rate is very low' she countered.  Hmmmmmm.  We renamed her 'The Deceptionist'.

We took a look at the suite, which was enormous, and then our original room, which was spacious and more than adequate and settled for that.  We had a light snack in the small hotel bar, me a tuna salad -  very nice - and Ken had two courses now long forgotten.  We went to bed and slept like babes in our huge comfy bed.

Monday 9th September

Next day, our first full day in Havana, we had a 9.30 appointment with Yorelis the local rep, so we went down to breakfast about 8am looking forward to a good strong coffee.  Oh the disappointment!  Ken's natural default setting is 'mildly disappointed', he's only rarely very pleased with products or services.  I, on the other hand, am easier to please and rarely complain but I do take my morning coffee quite seriously.  I couldn't drink this milky dishwater.  We tried again for stronger coffee, still no good.  Our waiter suggested 'cafe de la maquina', which is what we're used to,  and we eventually got some good strong coffee.  The breakfast choice was good with fresh fruit, hot bread, eggs of every description and meat for the carnivores.  I had revueltos with cheese, a Spanish version of scrambled eggs, yum.  Although not as yummy as the eggs Benedict I had the following 2 mornings.  This description is misleading though, because if memory serves me right, eggs Benedict usually involves spinach, but hey.  Here though, it's 2 lovely soft poached eggs on some soggy bread with melted cheese over - suits me, Sir.

So, on to the meeting with the rep Yorelis, not another shark but a lovely, smiley, friendly and warm lady who spent a good hour and a half with us.  She was very informative and gave us loads of great advice and tips which proved very useful.  She was unimpressed when we told her about the Deceptionist.  When she left she gave me a 3 Peso note with an image of Che Guevara, as a souvenir!  She also made a call for us about our luggage and said it should be with us the next day.

In search of a toothbrush and some toothpaste we set off a few blocks behind the hotel, we didn't see any shops for quite a while, lots of people and hole-in-the-wall food outlets but no shops.  Finally we found a fridge shop and then one that looked more promising.  We stepped inside, they had shampoo, hair dye, toothpaste and one toothbrush, all in glass cabinets.  I made my purchase and, as we wandered the streets, we saw how the locals pass the day, many of them living in appalling conditions and it was quite depressing. This was not Old Town Havana with it's impressive buildings, we were off the tourist trail.

Later that day we set off on a half-day tour of old Havana with half a dozen other folks.  We were shown Revolution Square which had monuments to Che, Fidel and other past leaders and heroes of the Cuban Revolution.

We visited a cigar and rum shop where Ken and I were the only ones to avail ourselves of the fabulously strong coffee.  I opted for 'un poquito de ron' in mine. Enough rum to kill you with just enough caffeine to keep you alive.  Then on to a piano bar to sample a gorgeous Pina Colada served in a whole pineapple.  We sat with a lovely Russian lady called Julia who ordered her Pina Colada without rum!  The waitress left the bottle of rum on our table so we could help ourselves.  I convinced Julia to try a little, she put a nip in her pineapple and slurped some through her straw.  Her eyes smiled.  She topped it up again, took a sip and repeated the process again and again.  I think she liked it.

We walked around Havana old town marvelling at the crumbling buildings and strange vehicles.

colourful, fading grandeur
A cut and shut stretch Lada limo



Our tour-guide, Cornelius, pointed out the Capitol Building, a copy of the one in the United States, under restoration.  'Ours is two metres taller', he proudly stated.


Some of the grander buildings in Havana have been, or are being, restored but many are in a terrible state that goes way beyond fading grandeur.  Some people are living in appalling conditions in buildings which are literally falling down around them.

Havana is an assault on the senses.  The trees are beautiful and varied, there are huge ostentatious monuments, socialist propaganda bill boards, fabulous old american cars, beggars, pedlars, humidity, sewage, hustlers, music and rum.

Apart from the heat, the hassle and the insect bites, a good day.  We were shattered so we ate a very weird meal close to our hotel, to this day we don't know what it was, and went to bed.


2 comments:

  1. Fabulously written Hun. Loving it. Especially the rum coffee bit and our nan in Havana. Haha. Brilliant. Next instalment por favor. Xx

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  2. Have seen many TV programmes and they show the same scenes of dilapidated buildings, beggars, hustlers etc..... the old American cars look good xxx
    Looking forward to more

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