Cuba - Havana great time

Downtown Havana
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A group of men play dominoes outside crumbling colonial buildings, shrouded in the haze of their fat cigars and the dust kicked up by the classic cars grumbling by. These are the images conjoured up of Cuba and it doesn´t disappoint. Sometimes when reality lives up to the reputation you feel a sense of deflation, as if the place you are visiting has itself become a cliche. Not so with Havana where every potential cliche is a wonder in waiting. After only a brief 6 days Havana has been marked down as the best city of our trip, in fact possibly one of the best cities we have ever been to.

Plaza de la Catedral, Havana Vieja
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Since tourism took off in the 90s, the government has dedicated itself to restoring the historic centre of the city, Havana Vieja. The dividends are clear to see and the stylish beauty of the streets can be breath taking. Brightly painted houses with wrought iron balconies and huge wooden doors lead to portico bordered squares, headed up by centuries old stone churches.

Romeo and Juliet came from Havana

With the state so controlling, private enterprise is limited in Cuba but the ordinary Cubans are enterprising in their ways of cashing in on the tourist trade. 50 centavos for a photo of the old man sporting a beast of a hat, with a fat cigar clamped between his teeth. Or 1 peso for a photo and a flirt with a group of attractive young women in traditional floral outfits. For something a little more cerebral you can buy a book from the myriad stalls in the Plaza de Armas, although don´t expect anything other than revolutionary fare.

The street is the garage
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When you get tired of wondering the streets just tune your ears to the strains of the Son being strummed out by the excellent live bands in the area´s bars. There doesn´t seem to be a bad musician in the country, although one´s appreciation is aided by the cheap and strong (very) mojitos which slip down a little too easily. Whole evenings can be spent simply following the music from bar to bar, soaking up the atmosphere and gawping at the incredible salsa dancing.

If you stay in Havana Vieja and don´t venture out into the other areas you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a wealthy city in Europe in peak tourist season. Venture out a little further into areas like Centro Havana, where we were staying in a Casa Particular (i.e. private house as opposed to hotel), and you see that the city is far from wealthy. Out here the older images of Cuba pervade. Dilapidated colonial buildings carry a certain charm but I´m sure they´re not as romantic to live in as they look from the outside. And where the tourists don´t tread neither, it seems, do the workmen. Here the streets are wet from poor drainage, fly tipping abounds and an obstacle awaits every foot fall.

Classic cars and crumbling architecture
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It is in areas such as this that you see the ´real´Havana, as the residents were keen on telling us. It is hard not to get an insight into the strong community spirit here. Hours are spent congregated around the butchers or the TV repair shop and people seem to spend at least as much time in their neighbours´homes, or chatting to them through the barred windows as they do in their own. Here the classic cars are a bit rustier, a bit dustier and often lacking a tyre or two, or perhaps the engine. Parties seem to spring up randomly during the night and anyone is welcome.

Streetside entertainment on the Malecon, but whose the 4th member?
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People seem to have romantic notion of Cuba, thanks in part to the fact that it has held out so long in the face of American intolerance. However life is certainly not easy here and many Cubans we spoke to seem to think that the shortage of items such as pharmaceuticals is thanks more to their own government than the US blockade. Those that do run their own businesses such as Casas Particulares or Paladares (restaurants in people´s houses) are charged enormous sums each month to ensure they don´t grow too rich. Despite this however there is a growing gulf between the haves and the have nots in Cuba, something which is fairly new here. There are those heavily involved in the tourist trade or with relations in Miami who have access to the US dollar and have a markedly better life here than those restricted to the state wage and Cuban peso. Still, education and health here is universally free and Cuba is on a par with the most highly developed countries in terms of infant mortality and life expectancy.

The butchers shop in Centro Havana
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We spent one of our mornings in Havana visiting the cigar factory. All the cigars in the factory are rolled by hand, 25,000 being produced each day! The workers are read to three times a day - a newspaper in the mornings, a book in the afternoon, followed by something cultural. Many of Cuba´s most famous brands such as Romeo y Julietta and Monte Cristo are named after a book that was being read to the workers. The strange thing about the factory is that the workers are paid according to how many cigars they produce each day. It seems contradictory that in this cornerstone of Cuban economy and culture the pay equity ethic goes out the window.

Streetlife, Havana Vieja
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We came to Cuba not so much to see the actual country but to soak up the Cuban city life, the music and the culture. It surpassed our expectations a hundred times, as well as helping us to dispell the romantic notion that we have of the country. It´s a wonderful place but life sure is tough and the people really do have very little.

But although life is not easy the Cuban people are some of the warmest we have met on our trip. The fact that I speak Spanish obviously helped us loads but we were constantly engaged in conversation, getting invited to people´s houses or to private band practices. In fact by the end of our time in Havana Chris would be terrified about me opening my mouth for fear of yet another invitation of appointment with someone. A truly welcoming country.