Getting to Cuba was no easy feat. We had to lie on our visas (to fly from the US you have to fall into one of 12 categories, tourism is not one of them) and then almost missed our plane as they boarded 15 minutes early!
Our driver took us straight to our hotel where we met Uni our tour guide. He took us on a tour of the city in a 1949 Chevvy. The cars are either 40s/50s US or 70s Russian... we then had a quick lunch and stopped by the famous Hotel Nactional (Obama stayed there) for a Mojito. We went home for a quick nap then headed to Rio Mar a restaurant on the water recommended by our tour guide before our night out at an underground jazz club! Our cab home was hilarious, a 70s Russian car that had been pimped out with lights and a TV and just had Celebration in repeat!
Doug and I had a big walking tour around Old Havana the next morning before lunch and a tour of the cigar factory. All the cigars made there are hand made so we got to learn about the process and walk around and see it in action. They only get paid around $2 a day so we saw quite a few of the workers hold up signs and try to sell us cigars for cheaper than in the shops. We then went back to our hotel room for a swim before our night of salsa. We had a 1.5 hour Salsa lesson in old Havana, unfortunately Doug has 2 left feet! We then headed to another restaurant recommendation before going to a salsa club nearby. We were by far the worst in the room but still managed to have a great time.
On our final day in Cuba we spent the morning walking the Callejon de Hammel which is a community street art project. It was founded by a group of Santa Marias, a religion that combines African Voodoo and Roman Catholic beliefs adopted by the Nigerian slaves that were brought here to farm sugar cane. Speaking of sugar we went to the Havana Club Rum factory next where we learnt how they make rum. We then had lunch nearby and visited the Revolution Museum where we leant about all the changes to Cuba in the last 100 years. We had back to the pool for a swim before our rooftop cocktail making class in the evening. We learnt the proper way to make Mojitos, Daiquiris and Caipirinha's enjoyed this far too much as we forgot to have dinner! We had back to our hotel for a glass of rum and a cigar to celebrate our last night in Cuba.
We are looking forward to the 36hr journey home (not) and are very sad to leave this beautiful city.
Until next holiday!
- K x
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