Tuesday 13th December
After a bread roll with honey, Jayde and I made our way to the Hotel Inglaterra where we waited for our hotel pick-up. As we sat in reception, we felt quite smug that we’d been able to arrange our own day trip for a fraction of the cost of an official tour. The journey itself was uneventful and we arrived in Varadero at the time we had roughly anticipated.
Unfortunately, we had presumed that the Hotel Neha had agreed to meet us at would have WiFi so that we could tell her we’d arrived. It didn’t and instead we had to walk about 20 minutes to a public park to access the internet. We then rushed back to the Hotel we’d arrived at and waited for Neha. Admittedly I’d felt a little frustrated with the situation, especially as it was so hot, however it wasn’t anyone’s fault.
Neha arrived and the three of us then walked to a local open cafe/restaurant. As I was feeling particularly hungry having not eaten much the day I ordered a $10 feast which included a beer. Shortly after we’d finished eating Kian and Philipp joined us for a quick beer as unfortunately for them a skydive had been cancelled. Once we had paid the 5 of us went to the beach.
By the time we got to the beach it wasn’t as hot as it had been but the sea still looked inviting. After a token gesture at sunbathing I ran in to the sea which was a lot clearer than at Cayo Jutias. Neha and Philipp joined me and we spent time in the sea chatting and using my go pro to get pictures. As we were getting out I spotted a large (to me) jelly fish and as I’d never seen one up close in the water before I proceeded to take some photos of it.
We left the beach and I went back to Neha’s with Jayde to have a quick freshen up as we had agreed to meet Philipp and Kian at a restaurant for a drink before our bus back. The three of us had wanted to ride one of the horse drawn carriages and seeing one at the crossroads we quickly flagged it down. Bryan Adams blared our as we trotted down the street arriving only slightly later than planned.
The bar was set in a park and it was a pleasant place to relax and wind down with some more cocktails. Just as I was mentally preparing to say my goodbyes Jayde contemplated staying and disappeared to find out if any accommodation was available. Ultimately the cost was too much and she chose to come back to Havana with me however it felt like an age for us to stop a taxi and I was convinced we would miss the bus.
Fortunately we didn’t and after checking in the journey itself was uneventful. The drama began again, once we arrived back in Havana. As the bus made the first drop off Jayde thought she recognised it as being the road that the hotel Caribbean was on. I wasn’t sure and felt that we should stay on until the bus station as planned believing that there would be more taxi options however each stop seemed to look less inviting.
Eventually we arrived at the bus station and not only was the area dark and uninviting but it was devoid of any obvious taxis. We felt quite vulnerable however a couple from Guatemala offered some help and after speaking to a driver and agreeing a price we got in a car. It was however slightly alarming when the driver got in the front passenger seat and someone else got in the driver’s seat.
I’d noted the lack of licence number on the windscreen and just as we were about to leave Jayde subtlety tried the back door which opened. As we started the drive we both looked out for landmarks and although the two locals didn’t speak that good English we eventually relaxed. It had been our own mistrust that had caused us to feel anxious where as in reality the two locals were helping us, whilst making a bit of money in the process. Once inside we hugged to celebrate still being alive.
Wednesday 14th December
After our late night adventure we decided to have a relaxing start to the day before doing a bit of sightseeing together. The lonely planet guide recommended a place for breakfast which was only a few minutes walk from the Casa. From there we walked in to the old town where we visited the museum of chocolate (really just a cafe with lots of chocolate on sale).
As we wondered around Jayde brought some really cheap churros and we continued on to the Havana Club museum. There was an English speaking tour beginning in 40 minutes and so that gave us just enough time to have a leisurely walk to explore the markets which were housed in an old warehouse. Neither of us were tempted to buy anything however some of the art and handmade crafts were impressive.
We returned back to the Havana Club museum distillery tour however our guide explained at the start no rum was or had ever been produced on site. Despite the lack of heritage with the actual site the museum had been done well and the tour was quite interesting. At the end we were given a free shot of the 7 year old rum which was full of flavour though burnt the back of my throat.
We returned back to the main part of the Old town in time for lunch and went to San-Jose panaderia-dulceria where Jayde got a pastry and I had a huge pizza that I’d been craving. Once we had finished Jayde went to use the WiFi at Hotel Florida and I went in search of genuine Cuban cigars. I visited La Casa del Habana and to my fortune they had the types I wanted in stock including the infamous Churchill wide which will be saved until Watford win some silverware.
After leaving the Old Town we made our way to the Central Park where we had decided to get the Hop on Hop off bus. I’m not usually a fan however we wanted to visit the Plaza de La Revolutión and using the bus meant we could see that as well as any other parts of the city we’d missed. We had to keep our wits about us as some of the overhanging trees had not been cut back and posed quite a risk of injury as they crashed in to the open top area.
After a few stops we moved to the front and a group Canadians were sat behind us. One in particular was unhappy because they hadn’t realised that it ran in two loops and he kept trying to encourage his companions to get a taxi. Eventually he went quiet and Jayde later told me he’d fallen asleep (snoring loudly) much to her amusement however as I was also struggling to stay awake I hadn’t realised.
By the time we’d completed the entire route it felt like we could finally say we had seen all of Havana. As we left Plaza de La Revolutión we passed the Central bus station from the night before. It was funny how close we had been to a touristy area and during the day the general area felt more inviting. It wasn’t overly exciting but it had been relaxing and towards the end I tried to get artistic, yet authentic street photos.
That evening and for our final meal we decided to have dinner at the first restaurant we had been to near Hotel Caribbean. I decided to get shredded beef and cuban rice for one final time. As we are we reflected on what had been an enjoyable yet at times emotionally tiring holiday. Once we’d finished we returned to our Casa rather than staying out for another drink.
Thursday 15th December
The following morning we had breakfast at the cafe from the previous day. After we’d eaten Jayde returned to the Casa and I walked back to the Old town so that I could change some of my British pounds in order to buy myself some rum at the airport. I also took the opportunity to get some street scene photos and finally located La Bodeguita the other bar immortalised by Hemingway.
I returned to the Casa and met Jayde and Janet kindly let us use the facilities in our room even though we had checked out. Our taxi arrived slightly earlier than expected and to my joy it was one of the smarter vintage cars which I’d wanted to ride in. The interior initially looked very smart however I then realised the handles to open the door and window were both broken which seemed to epitomize the country.
We arrived at the airport where again there were major queues to get through passport control and security. We were moved in to one queue by an official but the girl on the desk was painfully slow and her colleague sitting next to her wasn’t doing anything except laughing with colleagues and sending customers away with hand signals if they approached.
We’d allowed plenty of time and once we were through I was able to buy the rum I wanted. Unfortunately there wasn’t really a restaurant to buy any food so we had to do with some cheap looking but overpriced biscuits. I watched one movie during the first couple of hours so I was awake for the food to be served and then tried to sleep as I was due at my work Christmas party at 2pm such is the way I try to fit everything in.
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