We slept until 10am. (Update: I haven't had any trouble sleeping in cuba. This is in stark contrast to my waking up at 5-6am the past few months in SF). Breakfast happens at a 4-person table - this morning with a couple from Germany. Of course we have the typical chat about how little they work. The guy is a film editor and works maybe 20 hours a week. We also chat about how Americans are made fun of for denying climate change is caused by humans. I find it ridiculous as well (update: I'm also very proud that the US DOJ was the one to go after FIFA).
Jenny and I walked to the stadium next door, ran laps and did stadiums. We both have a goal of staying fit during the trip. We took an old taxi to Havana Vieja, which is where a lot of the old buildings are. There's been a consistent, grassroots effort to restore the buildings in Havana Vieja. Many of the buildings are still in shambles. Aymee explained to us that for the past 50 years there has been no property ownership and therefore no incentive to maintain buildings. It's pretty shocking how many Havana buildings are dilapidated. It would take a very long time and lots of money to restore everything. Imagine playing catch-up on 50 years of house maintenance, then apply that to a city of 2 million people. That's Havana. I'd like to say that the city looks classic, romantic, or mysterious. But to me it mostly looks poor and run down.
We had a two-hour lunch in a square and jenny talked to a retired journalist who emphasizes you must consider the source when getting information in Cuba. We walk around the corner to La Bodeguita, a small bar and restaurant where Hemingway drank his mojitos. We then walked (very slowly) around old town, including to the top of a tall building overlooking the city (1 dollar each, pocketed by the affable security guard).
Taxi to an art exhibit, but it wasn't open yet so we went to the Hotel Nacional - a beautiful hotel with a large garden overlooking the Malecon. Back in the day, the hotel hosted the largest gathering of American mobsters ever, under the guise of a Frank Sinatra concert.
We had dinner at a paladar, which is a private restaurant. Until a few years ago, private restaurants were allowed to have only a couple tables; all other restaurants were government-run. Now, the number of paladares is exploding and they generally have better food than government-run restaurants.
Saturday night in Havana - what to do? Despite being tired, we went to find some music. Jenny wanted to go dancing and I figured I could hold out. Maybe I'd have to dance a little, though. We took a cab to Cafe Cantante, which is in the basement of a big theater. When walking to the front door, a guy ran to us and said it doesn't open until 11 (we had arrived at 10:45), and that tonight was gay and lesbian night... Not really the kind of night we wanted, and we felt very much like tourists for arriving early. But hey - we ARE tourists. A guy recommended Casa de la Musica in Miramar, which we thought was a good idea. He wanted 3 CUCs (3 dollars) for the recommendation. We declined to pay, feeling fleeced at every turn.
At the music house, we were instantly swarmed by taxi drivers, who wanted our business once we left the club. Walking up to the door, all eyes were on us - who are these gringos? All the women were wearing what, in the US, would be considered scandalous. Side note: Cubans are beautiful people. Almost all of them. It's impressive). Waiting outside, we spotted two other Americans who had the same expressions as we did - confused, out of place, awkward. So we went to them and made friends. They're a couple from Denver. The guy was fun/crazy, and we shared a table the rest of the night. The show started around 12:30am. Everyone had tables, and would randomly get up and dance. In front of us were some salsa pros, and the two guys couldn't stop dancing.
Square where we ate lunch
Getting an unofficial rooftop visit
Hotel Nacional
Stadium near our casa
Our casa is the green apartment at the end
El Malecon
Jenny at the weird ice cream place from Day 2
Jenny and I walked to the stadium next door, ran laps and did stadiums. We both have a goal of staying fit during the trip. We took an old taxi to Havana Vieja, which is where a lot of the old buildings are. There's been a consistent, grassroots effort to restore the buildings in Havana Vieja. Many of the buildings are still in shambles. Aymee explained to us that for the past 50 years there has been no property ownership and therefore no incentive to maintain buildings. It's pretty shocking how many Havana buildings are dilapidated. It would take a very long time and lots of money to restore everything. Imagine playing catch-up on 50 years of house maintenance, then apply that to a city of 2 million people. That's Havana. I'd like to say that the city looks classic, romantic, or mysterious. But to me it mostly looks poor and run down.
We had a two-hour lunch in a square and jenny talked to a retired journalist who emphasizes you must consider the source when getting information in Cuba. We walk around the corner to La Bodeguita, a small bar and restaurant where Hemingway drank his mojitos. We then walked (very slowly) around old town, including to the top of a tall building overlooking the city (1 dollar each, pocketed by the affable security guard).
Taxi to an art exhibit, but it wasn't open yet so we went to the Hotel Nacional - a beautiful hotel with a large garden overlooking the Malecon. Back in the day, the hotel hosted the largest gathering of American mobsters ever, under the guise of a Frank Sinatra concert.
We had dinner at a paladar, which is a private restaurant. Until a few years ago, private restaurants were allowed to have only a couple tables; all other restaurants were government-run. Now, the number of paladares is exploding and they generally have better food than government-run restaurants.
Saturday night in Havana - what to do? Despite being tired, we went to find some music. Jenny wanted to go dancing and I figured I could hold out. Maybe I'd have to dance a little, though. We took a cab to Cafe Cantante, which is in the basement of a big theater. When walking to the front door, a guy ran to us and said it doesn't open until 11 (we had arrived at 10:45), and that tonight was gay and lesbian night... Not really the kind of night we wanted, and we felt very much like tourists for arriving early. But hey - we ARE tourists. A guy recommended Casa de la Musica in Miramar, which we thought was a good idea. He wanted 3 CUCs (3 dollars) for the recommendation. We declined to pay, feeling fleeced at every turn.
At the music house, we were instantly swarmed by taxi drivers, who wanted our business once we left the club. Walking up to the door, all eyes were on us - who are these gringos? All the women were wearing what, in the US, would be considered scandalous. Side note: Cubans are beautiful people. Almost all of them. It's impressive). Waiting outside, we spotted two other Americans who had the same expressions as we did - confused, out of place, awkward. So we went to them and made friends. They're a couple from Denver. The guy was fun/crazy, and we shared a table the rest of the night. The show started around 12:30am. Everyone had tables, and would randomly get up and dance. In front of us were some salsa pros, and the two guys couldn't stop dancing.
We took a taxi back home, and we're probably swindles out of 20 bucks after the driver claimed we gave him 20 monedo nacional (which is basically worthless) instead of 20 CUC (about 20 bucks). Sleep at 2:30am.
La Boguedita
Square where we ate lunch
Getting an unofficial rooftop visit
Hotel Nacional
Stadium near our casa
Our casa is the green apartment at the end
El Malecon
Jenny at the weird ice cream place from Day 2
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