Travelogue Cuba 2012
Havana

We land in Havana late in the evening. Although geographically it would be more convenient to fly via the US, that’s not possible. The USA has imposed a strict embargo on Cuba, which of course also prohibits flights. That’s why we’re flying over Toronto.

Entry uncomplicated. It is also uncomplicated to take a taxi into the city.

We booked ourselves a casa particular in advance for the first two nights. This is something like a bed & breakfast, at that time one of the very few privately owned forms of business. At the same time, they are closely controlled and regulated by the state, and they also pay considerable taxes to the state.

Breakfast is almost always included in the price at the casas particulares. However, most also offer dinner or other catering.

For most of our trip, we had the owner of our current accommodation recommend the next one. At that time there was hardly any internet in the whole country and the Casas Particulares were not listed at Tripadviser or similar services. These referrals have generally worked well. If we liked it somewhere, then the recommendation was also good. If you didn’t like it somewhere, it’s better not to go for the recommendation. Unfortunately, we had to experience that as well. In some cases we just drove to a village or town and then searched something. All very easy. If you speak Spanish, of course.

We spend our first two days criss-crossing the city and acclimatizing. All in all, it is already so hot in mid-April that it is hard to bear in the city in the early afternoon. For a couple of hours we are shown around the city by a guide, arranged for us by the owner of our accommodation. This is also recommended.

Havana has some very nice corners, here especially money from UNESCO helps to preserve the old buildings. In other places it is very run down. In the following a few pictures, which can give however no comprehensive impression of the city. A visit to Havana is not one big experience but rather a patchwork of many small experiences and impressions.

Purple vintage car in Havana, Cuba.
It’s a cliché, it’s kitsch, but nonetheless impressive and beautiful to see the many, often very well maintained classic cars in Cuba. For Cubans, of course, it’s not nostalgia. Resources are so scarce that you simply can’t afford to throw away something that still works. The climate of Cuba also helps the car bodies last a long time. And if tourists are willing to pay extra for a ride in a classic car, then resource scarcity becomes a source of revenue.
La Catedral de la Habana / Plaza de la Catedral, Cuba
La Catedral de la Habana / Plaza de la Catedral
El Capitolio Nacional de La Habana, Cuba
El Capitolio Nacional de La Habana
Rafineries near Havana, Cuba
If one looks over the Bahía de la Habana, the old town romanticism ends. Among other things, oil refineries can be seen here.
A young Cuban woman selling fruit and vegetables on a handcart. Havana, Cuba.
Normal shops are all under state control, there is little there, rather expensive, with fruit and vegetables not really the best quality. Farmers prefer to sell their goods on the move from a handcart.
El Malecón de Habana by night, Cuba
End of the day at the Malecón, an eight-kilometer-long street along the sea.

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