Three days in Havana
22 May 2016 | Vero Beach, Florida
Belinda and Kit
Picture shows street art in Habana Vieja
View more pics at https://picasaweb.google.com/yacht.quilcene
Tearing ourselves away from the marina resort swimming pool and bar we took an air conditioned bus to Havana, deciding that although Camiones cost only a fraction of our $10 fare we'd rather not travel like cattle in a truck!
With the help of the marina receptionist we'd booked into a Casa Particulare in Habana Vieja , the old town. Casa accommodation started out as a room in someone's house, mainly for Cubans as they were not previously allowed to stay in tourist hotels - even if they could afford it which was unlikely! Nowadays some of these Casa's are almost like hotels (as was the one we stayed in at Cienfuegos) but some are still like staying with a family.
Ours was clean and tidy with a bathroom close by just for our use. Our host was Yoandy and his parents Juana and Luis. Yoandy is a friendly, helpful young man with a big smile. He speaks good English and is still taking lessons in between working in another larger Casa. Their home is in an old apartment block, complete with dodgy plumbing - although we always managed to take a shower it was pot luck whether it was a hot or cold trickle!
Yoandy gave us breakfast on the first morning - a big plate of tropical fruit, followed by omelette and bread. He was very chatty and informative about Havana and gave us some useful tips on what to see. He told us Luis would be serving breakfast next day as he would be working, and made us smile when he said that Luis was worried because he doesn't speak English. In the event we managed very well with our smattering of Spanish.
Emerging from our room into the old town on the first evening I couldn't stop taking pics! The once-fine old buildings, now dilapidated and in dire need of renovation still look amazing, and there are old cars and bici-taxis everywhere. We wandered down to Plaza Vieja (Old Square) where music emanated from bars restaurants and cafes. The square is surrounded by lovely old buildings, Gaudi-inspired art noveau ones and a sprinkling of art deco windows. Most have been renovated and painted the bright colours that Cubans love. One of the larger places housed a microbrewery - yay!
We were immediately captivated with the music, food and vibrant atmosphere.
We spent two days just exploring the old town, with its four colonial plazas, various museums and numerous historical buildings there is no shortage of sights to see! We decided to limit ourselves to one museum, the Museo de la Revolución which is housed in the former Presidential Palace. It was constructed in the early 1900's and used by a string of corrupt Cuban presidents. They obviously enjoyed the better things of life, unlike the Cuban population, as the interior was decorated by world famous Tiffany's of New York.
The actual museum presented the revolution chronologically with text, blood stained artefacts and military uniforms, and often grisly photographs. ..along with mucho propaganda about the socialist regime. It was informative and interesting but we were glad to emerge into present day Havana and find a café for a cool drink.
We had a small upset when a bank machine kept my card. We tried to retrieve it by asking the security attendant to ring for someone to open it. After a lot of excited gesticulating and chatter we managed to understand that the bank was closed for repairs but 'a man would come at 12 noon'. High noon came and went with no sign of the man; the attendant said 'this is Cuba' with a shrug! It was obvious we were getting nowhere so I rang England and cancelled my card.
We celebrated Kit's birthday with dinner in a slightly more upmarket restaurant than our usual choice; we ate lobster and red snapper whilst we were entertained by local musicians, winding up the evening with cubalibras in the old square.
On our final day we took a long walk over to Centro Habana and along the Paseo de Marti, or Prado. This European style boulevard was completed in the mid 1830's and is modelled on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. At the top of the Prado is the east end of the famous Malecón, a mile long seafront promenade. We began to walk along it but after a short time the high temperatures beat us and we took shelter in a small shady café for lunch and a cold drink. We couldn't face the long walk back so we found a bici-taxi who, after muchos haggling agreed to take us back to Vieja for CUC$2. The poor guy sweated so much using pedal power to transport us that we took pity on him and paid his original asking fare of CUC$3!
We thoroughly enjoyed Havana, although we noticed that many of the prices have taken a hike since our Lonely Planet guidebook was printed in 2015. It's a pity because locals are still on very low wages and living conditions for them have not improved significantly.
Back aboard Quilcene in the marina we found that our fridge was failing, worse still it was using up all our battery power so there was nothing for it except to turn it off! We bought bags of ice to save the food and keep the beer cold whilst waiting for someone to come and fix it.
Sadly this was not to be, apparently only one man could do it and he was off sick. Francisco, the dockmaster said 'this is Cuba'!
One last frustration came on the morning we were leaving when we discovered that our main gas bottle was empty. Normally we would exchange it for a full one in the marina but, as an apologetic Francisco said again - 'is not possible; this is Cuba'!
Sailing back across the Straits of Florida and around the SE corner of Florida we had a very fast passage; winds were a light 10-12 knots but the Gulf Stream literally carried us at speeds of up to 10 knots. We were aiming for a 4 day passage to S. Carolina but with no fridge and only a small amount of gas in a spare bottle we decided to turn into West Palm Beach. With the help of the Gulf Stream it had taken only 37 hours coming back as opposed to 66 hours in the opposite direction!
A final comment on Cuba;
To understand Cuba today it helps to have a brief bit of history; Cuba's history is similar to that of many of the Caribbean Islands falling into British, Spanish, French, and American hands over the years. After various attempts Cuba gained nominal independence from Spain and America in 1902 (with the US keeping Guantanamo Bay) but then suffered at the hands of Dictator Presidents. The last one, Batista gave the American mafia a free hand in Havana in return for a percentage of their gambling profits. Havana became a playground for the American mobsters with its casinos and brothels. Batista and his associates ran a cruel regime, closed public services and amassed a personal fortune whilst the rest of the population were left to survive however they could, many starving to death.
A young lawyer named Fidel Castro was unhappy with the way Cuba was headed and was due to stand for election in 1952 but President Batista staged a military coup and cancelled the Cuban elections.
Then began a bloody 7 year struggle culminating in 1959 with the popular Castro and his supporters (including Camilo Cienfuegos and Ché Guevara) finally being welcomed into Havana by cheering Cubans.
Unlike previous leaders, Castro wanted to raise the living standards of the Cuban people. He took over the glitzy hotels and divided them up as homes for the rural poor. He nationalised industry and tried to control and redistribute wealth. Thousands of doctors, nurses and teachers were re-employed and schools and hospitals re-opened. His aim was to give all Cubans a home, free education and health care as well as ration books to ensure that no-one starved.
This wasn't popular with everyone, particularly the Americans who'd had their Cuban interests seized. However the vast majority of Cubans were given a minimum standard of living and they hailed Castro as a hero.
America turned its back on Cuba because they had been doing (often dodgy) business with Batista. The US imposed a trade embargo (still in place today although relaxing somewhat), cancelling its sugar quota, Cuba's main export, and crippling the Cuban economy. A defiant Castro then allied Cuba to the Soviet Union and the country became fully Communist.
With an outlet for their sugar crop and access to oil the Cuban economy picked up and the standard of living improved for most. Things continued under Government control, with the US making many unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Castro and take control, including the famous 'Bay of Pigs'' fiasco.
When the Soviet bloc collapsed in 1991 Cuba was left standing alone, losing its trading partner as well as various subsidies. Determined to defend all they'd fought for Castro announced a 'Special Period in a time of peace' - drastic austerity measures. Almost overnight the lives of all Cubans took a turnaround and every day became a battle to survive. Many fled across the Florida Straits in hope of a better life and many perished on this route. Money, food and basic comforts were all in very short supply but the Cuban peoples' resourcefulness somehow got them through. This resourcefulness shows today in the old cars that they somehow manage to keep in working order and indeed put to use to make a living.
After three terrible years during which the average Cuban lost a third of their body weight, Cuba began to forge closer links with Venezuela which helped a little. Recovery was slow and still underway today.
In 2006 Fidel stepped down in favour of his brother Raul Castro, who began a set of reforms including allowing Cubans access to tourist hotels and allowing the purchase of mobile phones, electronic goods and cars and homes (the last two not really an option for most low paid Cubans). Raul also began to allow a small amount of private enterprise, and relations with the US have improved somewhat as Obama loosened restrictions on US-Cubans visiting relatives.
Today life is far from Western style capitalism and obviously still not easy for the Cuban people. Wages are very low and there is little in the way of luxuries on the shelves of shops. However there is a reasonable infrastructure, crime rate is low and police presence is very low key.
We found the Cuban people to be very friendly, happy and helpful. Despite hardships the people seem to celebrate life with music and salsa at every opportunity whilst looking hopefully to the future.
From what we saw most Cubans do not regret the Revolution, quite the opposite in fact. The older ones probably remember the desperate situation before Castro took control. Castro famously said 'History will absolve me' - only time will tell....................