Finally after nearly 48 hours of stopovers, we had arrived in Havana, Cuba. To my surprise there was a man at the airport, waiting, with a sign, that read ‘TOMAS DALTON’ which kinda freaked me out until I remembered. I’d organised a ride with one of the accommodations that I ended up cancelling. Whoops. If I’d known the extent of the countries disorganisation (From my own experience, not just from what I had been told), I wouldn’t have felt bad about scoring the lift and not staying at the hostel*. My initial thought on Cuba would remain the theme of my thinking for the entire three weeks; everything contradicted itself. The streets were full of beautiful old school cars and architecture just like I’d seen in pictures but everything seemed like it needed a paint job or renovation or both. There were murals everywhere of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro along with proclamations that the Cubans ‘Defend the Revolution’ which again, makes sense, but actually doesn’t.
We arrived at the hotel, signed in with our passports then headed upstairs. This is the only proper ‘hostel’ in Cuba in terms of dorm rooms/common area/kitchen etc. and probably the best thing to happen to us in Cuba**. There were about 5 people in the common room; an African born Canadian, a couple of girls from Europe, a young German boy and a man from Hungary also named Tomas. After the introductions they spent about 10 minutes giving us advice on food, the double currency, what not to do, where to eat…the list went on so long that most of the information, as invaluable as it was, became impossible to absorb.
We went for a walk around Central Havana, not finding anything to eat, instead finding $***4 bottles of Havana Club Rum which we bought and headed back to the hostel as it was getting dark and we didn’t know our way around. For the next 5 hours Zag and I sat around with Mahmoud, (the Canadian man) listening to his stories about Cuba and the rest of the world whilst drinking rum and looking through his pictures. He was a photographer and had seen a thing or two in his lifetime to say the least. About two hours into the conversation Zag asked him how old he was, I was thinking the same as he looked about 30-35 but the stories were not adding up. I’ll have what this guy is having, he was fifty fucking two years old and fit as a fiddle. I asked him what his age defying secret was to which he simply replied, “I walk everywhere.”
The others arrived back from dinner along with the addition of a Kiwi Chic and a cute guy from Argentina and the whole group of us decided to head out to a salsa club where the oldest gent in the hostel recommended us to go. I can’t remember his name but the image of his wrinkly body lying on the bottom bunk dressed only in his jocks is permanently burnt into the back of my skull.
The unlikely band of misfits took a local bus (costs less then a cent per person) to this salsa club which is right on the edge of the water. Cue purchase of another bottle of rum and within about 15 minutes Zag and myself were being taught how to salsa by the other lads there…..very unsuccessfully and very amusing for onlookers I’m sure. The rest of the night is a blur but basically involved another crazy bus ride home, walking to find pizza (which costs 30cents) and stumbling home to bed where I would be for the next 14 hours on account of my disgusting rum hangover.
*A pre-organised Taxi from the airport into Havana cost us $35CUC and I’d gotten quotes from about 3 different places prior to landing. I’ve heard the taxi should cost you $15-$20 if you just walk down the road and barter with a driver but if you don’t speak Spanish it’ll be a total fuck around. The local bus is super super cheap, maybe 20c but again signs and timetables are non-existent in this country so be prepared for an adventure if you choose that option.
**The hostel is called Hamel Hostel. Its located on Hospital Street, Central Havana about 15mins walk from Havana Viejo(Old Havana/Tourist Area). Its great to stay here as its $5CUC per person a night and its way more social then staying in one of the Casa Particulars. Handy if you are travelling by yourself or wanting to meet new people. The host Magnolia is really nice and can hook you up with accommodation in other areas of Cuba. Best way to get in contact is via couchsurfing.com
***The two currencies in Cuba can be confusing. The CUC is the convertible peso and is worth the same as the US dollar. They’ll fuck you over more with the US then the EU though so if getting euros is an option I’d recommend that(especially for aussies as the AUS isn’t strong against the US at the moment so you get double screwed.)
