We flew out from London Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic, the only carrier to operate a twice weekly direct flight to Havana. The times were good (arround 11.45 in the morning), the flight was full (always a good sign) and the service excellent. Legroom is a little tight but you can always upgrade for £30 and get a little more space in which to stretch. November or December seemed a good time to go with the Caribbean Hurricane season behind us and we were looking forward to warm sunshine and clear blue skies. We in fact landed in a rain storm and made our way steadily through the chaos of Havana airport to board our coach for the thirty minute transfer to the National Hotel in the city. We did have to queue to pass through the immigration cubicles and the masked Cuban immigration staff were thorough and a little intimidating in their inspection process, each individual taking three or four minutes to pass in to the terminal to collect their bags. There were two separate baggage belts servicing our flight with no clear indication on which bags had been deposited on which belt. On top of this airport staff were unloading bags and piling them on any piece of floor that could be found. Confusion, but exciting in its own way.
We spotted Maurine, our Travelsphere tour manager immediately and appreciated her warm and hectic welcome. We checked in with her and she pointed us in the direction of the money exchange desk and we queued to change our sterling cash into Pesos. The Cuban money system is a little confusing. There are convertible Pesos called CUC’s, purchased and used by tourists and Normal Pesos called (CUP’s) which are used by the locals in everyday life. You can only buy your Pesos when you arrive in Cuba, as the currency is not traded within the worlds markets. For a full explanation of the Cuban money check out Trip Advisor. So far so good. Yes a chaotic arrival – yes it was pouring – and yes we did get our bags - and yes we felt terrific. This was what we expected, a hectic arrival in to one of the busiest third world countries you can find on this earth and we got it.
We transferred to the National Hotel De Cuba in heavy rain and in almost complete darkness, our headlights picking up shadowy images of locals huddled in a never ending stream under the shelter of roadside trees. There were thirty two of us in our group and there was soon an uncanny quiet, as we drove along unlit roads and junctions towards the hotel. But as soon as we arrived, the welcome was warm and the talk positive. “Don’t worry about the weather”, advised Maurine, as we stepped off the coach in to the rain and then up the covered staircase to the entrance door of the hotel. “The forecast is good for next few days... well not bad” she added as an afterthought and then went on quickly to say that this was the first rain they had had in weeks and we shouldn’t worry. Things change quickly in Cuba and we should be positive.
The hotel was majestic and for a first visit to Havana, a truly memorable experience. It’s a grand old building with bags of history some eight floors high, its two towers a landmark for miles around. With its privileged location in the centre of Havana, it stands on a hill just a few meters from the sea, and offers a great view of the Harbour, the sea wall and the city. The entrance lobby is impressive, a long majestic affair scattered with old mahogany woodwork and layered with rich old ceramic floor tiles that reach along its distance and continue under a pair of heavy glass doors in to a fine Al a Carte dining room at the end of the hall. After checking in, the old lifts transferred us up to the third floor where we enjoyed a three night stay on a bed and breakfast basis in relative comfort. The room was large with a partial see view, the bathroom modern and adequate with bath and shower. Besides the Al a Carte Restaurant (a little too expensive for us) there was a buffet dining room serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and a separate cafeteria on the basement floor serving snacks and smaller dishes. The hotel bar was packed with pictures of celebrities of yesteryear with memorabilia and all sorts of fascinating trinkets of interest scattered around for guests to view. Most visitors though found their way to the long outside patio bar to the rear of the hotel where one could sit and sip cocktails in the warm night air listening to live music. If you are looking for western style five star comfort then you might well be a little disappointed, but the National Hotel De Cuba is more than acceptable for a comfortable stay, its old elegance and history continuously tugged at our emotions and added an extra excitement to our stay.
Travel sphere had included a tour for our first of two full days in Havana and after a fully included breakfast in the hotel buffet restaurant we were ready for anything. Our first stop was at a cigar factory, located in a bland and aging ‘boxy’ three story building on the outskirts of the city. We crowded in to the Smokey atmosphere and watched as over two hundred ‘rollers’ – each one crammed in to their own tiny work space - were working tirelessly to produce high quality ‘Havana’ cigars. Rock and Cuban rhythm music burst in to the rooms from loud-speakers hung from the ceilings as the workers – mainly women – skilfully rolled their cigars amidst shouted banter and good humour. The leaves are first sorted and trimmed by hand on the ground floor then passed up to the rollers on the second. Finally the finished cigars are packed in boxes ready to travel the world. The only perk if you work there? You can smoke as many cigars as you like whilst you’re rolling. We saw security men with huge ash laden cigars, drifting around the passageways, keeping a close watch for any unauthorised sales.
We moved on to Plaza de le Revolucion, a huge square where political rallies are held. A tall and magnificently elegant column , topped with a statue of Jose Marti - who became symbol for Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century - stands proudly overlooking the square. Directly opposite him on the other side of the square, there is a large and imposing iron sculpture of Chay Mamara ‘fronting’ an old building. Several large grim blocks of apartments, which were constructed in the nineteen fifties to house military personnel and other loyal workers complete the picture. Oscar’s knowledge of the history of his home city was impressive. He gave us a running commentary from the time we left the hotel until he left us with Maurine in the old town some hours later.
We re-boarded our coach and the driver dropped us off near the old city centre - the place to be. We immediately made our way to the Plaza de Armas, Havana’s oldest square and listened most intently to more of Oscar’s interesting chat about the old city, its recent history and its way of life. We strolled along the Calle Obispo which runs from The Plaza de Armes to Parque Central and soaked up the atmosphere. It is now a pedestrianised walkway and according to Maurine is always packed with locals, visitors and tourists and it certainly was when we ambled our way along its length. We spent the next couple hours visiting the Plaza de la Catedral, the Hotel Ambos Mundos (where Hemmingway penned most of 'For whom the bell tolls') and the Museo de la Revolucion as well as many other statues and historical buildings that passed us by as we browsed the city. We would recommend the reader to purchase the Berlitz pocket guide on Cuba as we did before travelling. The little guide gives many more details of places of interest as well as some history and interesting facts.
Our included lunch was at the ‘el patio’ on the Plaza de la Catedral and it was excellent. We were served three courses and wine on small groups of eight or ten to a table. The patio was decorated with plants and palms and the clear blue sky formed a perfect ceiling to a perfect lunch. Afterwards we extended our tour by just walking around the old city centre with Maurine and soaking up the atmosphere. We finished up in a small bar sipping Mojitos, one of the locally recommended cocktails, the important ingredients of which are rum, lime juice and fresh mint leaves. After drinks we decided to walk back to the hotel with friends and the four of us strolled through a working part of the town away from the tourist locations. If I’m honest I felt I was walking through a film set, the crumbling facades of the street frontage slightly unreal in the sunshine. But the locals around us didn’t bother us, nor did we feel uneasy, they just got on with their lives and we eventually walked up along the uneven promenade between the wide crumbling main highway and the sea towards the twin towers of the hotel about a mile away.
That evening, we went to see the Cha Cha Cha orchestra, a twelve piece band featuring six dancers and guest singers. Due to our late lunch, we skipped dinner and elected instead to grab a quick bite in the downstairs cafeteria before the show started. Our pasta was disappointing, bland, lumpy and sticky, but we discovered later from friends that the Pizza they had chosen was excellent. Oh well you take your choice and win some and lose some! Tickets for the show were 25 CUCs each (without dinner) and drinks were 4 CUCs. The show lasted about an hour a half and was excellent. The next day was free to do as we wished.
After breakfast we decided to walk back down to the old town, retracing our steps from the previous evening which had taken us along the old promenade between the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the main sea road. The day was cloudy and windy and we could see ahead enormous volumes of white sea spray crashing over the sea wall on to the promenade. So we turned right into ‘Principe’, a narrow street that seemed to lead us in to the city and using the first class map purchased from the hotel (3 CUCs) we threaded our way through to Neptune, one of the city's main streets which eventually would take us right in to the old town. The street was a fascinating insight in to life in Havana, lined with shops and offices it was bustling with people just going about their business. Old American cars and converted taxis were everywhere, either cruising along the busy two way road or picking up passengers. After an hour or two of just meandering we finally arrived at the Plaza Vieja. (Old Square) and enjoyed another late lunch in one of the pavement restaurants. We made yet another friend of our young waitress and she told us more about living in the city, her work, her family and her life. After lunch we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel and chose a COCO TAXI, a little yellow three wheeled vehicle with the driver stuck out in front of a double seat behind. Just like a motorcycle with two seats at the back. Our driver had to ‘push start’ ours but we were soon on our way. Due to some sort of celebratory march in the city, he had problems getting out of the city centre, so we finished up taking a long route round by the university and enjoyed every minute of our extended trip on this magical ride.
During our final evening in Havana we enjoyed a visit to one of the world’s top nightspots, the Tropicana. With pretty girls, lavish colourful costumes and dramatic sets, this stunning show was indeed a spectacle. The show is performed outside on a large stage, set within a semi circle of table seating for about twelve guests per table. The tables are arranged ‘end on’ to the main stage and unless you’re lucky enough to be seated at the front end of the table, it is difficult to see all that’s going on, as there are many heads in front of you. But there are other smaller stages set higher up within the tree line, so there is always something to see. The live band could be glimpsed somewhere in the distance to the rear of the main stage and for me the music lost its ‘live’ feeling; we may well have been listening to ‘canned’ music. The entrance fee was a little expensive I thought at around £55 sterling each (without dinner) but including transport to and from our hotel and a quarter bottle of rum and a small amount of nibbles. After the show we were transported back to the hotel, tired but happy. The next day we were moving on.
We left the National Hotel De Cuba during the late morning by coach for a two and a half hour drive to the Sol Palmeras hotel in Varadero for a four night stay on an all inclusive basis.
Maurine left us there and returned to Havana, but not after introducing us to our local contact in this modern, comfortable hotel. Our conventionally planed room was situated on the third floor with a large balcony overlooking the pool complex which was hidden in part by dozens of palms and straw roofed parasols, all grouped in typical Caribbean style. We found out later that a narrow pathway meandered down through a small bar and restaurant on the edge of the pool complex and then on through more overhanging palms to the beach. Glorious. We were lucky, our room was sea facing, enjoyed almost all day sun and we were able to keep a close eye on all of the proceedings.
Our plan was to chill out and enjoy the hot sunshine, the food and the unlimited supply of wine, beers and cocktails. The sun seemed to have finally arrived in force and for the three full days it was hot and sunny. The buffet style restaurant offered a large and varied range of dishes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Breakfast was manic and for me not a pleasant experience. The food was good though, with lots of choice – hot and cold - with bacon, eggs and sausage on the menu – just help yourself, or asked for freshly cooked. Dinner too spoilt us for choice. With waiter served wine and water (or any other drink you could want) we enjoyed the usual ‘help-yourself’ fish and meat dishes and all manner of wonderfully cooked vegetables and a variety of local dishes. All in all, the food was satisfactory, not the best we have been served but still enjoyable and varied. The hotel also offered other dining experiences, all of which you have to book. An Italian – a Chinese – and a Caribbean restaurant together with a steak house were all there to be enjoyed and they all offered an appetising choice for dinner. They are immensely popular and quite rightly so. We booked for the Caribbean and Italian restaurant for our third and fourth night and for us it was well worth the wait. The 'O Sole Mio' Italian restaurant was quiet and elegant, with personal waiter service and a classical trio of violin, viola and cello playing our own own choice of selected songs. There was a limited choice of three Starters, mains and pudding. My veal in fact was a little tough, but the ambience and quality of the experience more than made up for it. If I were going again, I would dine in one of the Al a Carte restaurants every night. More of an occasion and a chance to escape the rather noisy and frenzied atmosphere of the main dining room.
We spent our first morning on the open top bus touring the strip and visiting the small township stretched out along the side of the road about five kilometres from our hotel. You can buy a ticket for the ever circling bus ride (the total journey time is in excess of two hours) and get on and off as you wish. We stopped at the Galleria de Arte but also found the usual collection of tourist shops and art galleries, just outside of which we rested in a tiny beach bar/restaurant for a drink. And there before my very eyes was a six piece band. We sipped cocktails in the shade of the bar and listened to three or four typical Cuban songs beautifully sung and played by this talented collection of musicians, before going back to our hotel for lunch.
The rest of our days were spent either on the beach or round the pool (the sun loungers are free and extremely comfortable). This is a noisy hotel in the evenings with live music, impromptu parties and social gatherings spilling out of the several bars with everybody just enjoying themselves. As you would expect, it tends to be one long session of eating drinking swimming and sunning oneself under the relentless rays of the tropical sun. On our eight’th day in Cuba we finally transferred back to Havana airport by coach and took the Virgin Atlantic night flight back to Gatwick in the UK arriving mid morning.
All in all the tour was well balanced and well run. We thought at first that we would have preferred more time in Havana but three nights is just enough to get a good taste of this magical city. The two hotels are impressive in their very different ways and we found the people enchanting and helpful. Our tour manager Maurine was excellent and our local guides first-class. We were pleased to board our 'long haul' Virgin flights, even if it was just to get away from the petty, penny pinching euro airlines, who seem to be doing all they can to destroy themselves in the market place. The Virgin staff were excellent and it made such a difference.
If you are looking for something just a little different with a mixture of historical culture with world famous overtures of political intrigue (with a certain world trauma thrown in) coupled with a luxurious few days of doing not much at all under the hot tropical sun, then perhaps this holiday is for you. It certainly was for us.