Cuba is that one country where every American friend of mine wants to go but thinks they can’t go. Just to clarify this myth right now – yes you can and I encourage you to! Cuba is a timeless beauty. From the classic cars in Havana you see in travel pics, the spanish colonial architecture, its mesmerizing cuban music, to the heartwarming courtesy of its people. It is one trip you definitely should add to your bucket list.
Getting to Cuba
The US travel policy to Cuba did not affect me since I have my Philippine passport. I still had to get a visa from its embassy in Washington DC though. The visa process in summary was definitely frustrating because of lack of clear process, the wait time and the confusion regarding the applications. Thankfully, I received my visa two weeks before my intended travel.
One of my friends sits as a board member of Cuba Skate. The Cuba Skate mission is threefold: bring skateboarding materials to the Cuban youth, renovate local skateparks, and create self-sufficiency for a group of skaters that rely tremendously on outside help. I volunteered to bring skateboarding supplies to Cuba and assist in any projects they had in Havana at the time. Miles, Cuba Skate’s Executive Director put me in contact with Tio Pepe (I love you Tio Pepe!) who hosted me during my trip. If you want to add some volunteering work to your Cuba trip, I encourage you to reach out to Cuba Skate!
You cannot get Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) outside of Cuba (1USD = 1CUC; crazy I know!). I am not sure if you can order it in advance from your US bank but since I didn’t need wads of cash (I was only there for 5 days), I opted to just get it in Cuba. Cuba has 2 currencies – the CUC and CUP. Not all establishments accept CUP (the luxury ones) so its best to have tons of CUC. However, it is useful to have a few CUP for buying small items in the market, and for public transportation. Establishments do not accept US credit cards so be sure to have enough cash for your travel. You can exchange your US dollar at banks, hotels and the state currency exchange offices (known as CADECA).
Exploring Havana, Vedado, Varadero and San Diego de los Baños
Tio Pepe’s home is in Vedado. Looking back, this could not have been a better choice. Vedado is mostly residential neighborhood west of Old Havana. When it was developed in the mid-1850’s, Its streets were set up like a grid with numbers and letters instead of names making it easier to navigate for outsiders. The neighborhood has also become an important hub of contemporary Cuban culture. I went to local restaurants for dinner (cheaper and tastier than the restaurants that cater to foreigners!), stocked up on bottled water, sip my daiquiris and drank my coffee for less than 15CUC a day. Btw, Vedado is very safe. There were several times I walked at night after dinner and never felt unsafe.
(The best cuban coffee I had was definitely the home-made one made by Tio Pepe!)
The taxi from the airport is around 20-25CUC to Vedado. There is no uber in the area. You may also rent a classic car from the airport to drive you to your hotel but of course that is pricier.
One of the challenges I had traveling to Cuba is the language barrier. While I understand certain spanish words, I don’t know enough to converse in spanish! Tio Pepe does not speak english and without Wi-Fi (there is a public wifi btw which I will mention later) and my T-Mobile roaming unavailable, we only have the english-spanish dictionary to help us communicate! I took the time to relax on my first day and get to know Tio Pepe and his family. It was very hot and humid so I wasn’t in a hurry to explore the city.
The next day, I resolved to explore Havana Vieja (Old Havana). Let me explain to you how hot and humid that day was – as soon as I exited my room after putting on my make-up, I started getting teary-eyed. It was very painful and I was exploring Old Havana in tears. I can’t read the signs and I cant take off my shades. It turned out my foundation melted and some of them went to my eyes. The next day, I tried to just put on a moisturizing lotion for my face – same thing happened. So on my third day, I didn’t put ANYTHING on my face. It was THAT humid. Anyway, enough of that. On to Havana Vieja!
You can take a cab from Vedado to Havana Vieja for 20CUC OR you can just flag a colectivo, a shared cab, for 1CUC. This is a no-brainer. You can flag a colectivo anywhere. There is no specific waiting area and they provide reasonable change.
My first stop was the Capitolyo. Now this is the classic view I was talking about!
I walked around for a bit to find a good view of the whole plaza and was told I should head to Hotel Saratoga’s rooftop for the view I’m looking for. The rooftop is accessible to the public and there is a pool (I should’ve brought my swimsuit!). The view indeed showed the whole plaza and perfect for my one polaroid selfie (I take at least 1 for every country for my collection)!
Afterwards, I walked to the famed El Floridita de Cuba famous for its daiquiris and for being Ernest Hemingway’s favorite hangout place in Havana. I must say I had high expectations of their daiquiri’s and left disappointed.
From there, I went to the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana) to cool off a bit and then to the Museum of the Revolution, a former Presidential Palace. Behind it is the Granma Memorial, the yacht which took Che Guevarra, and Fidel Castro among others from Mexico to Cuba for the revolution. If you know me, you know how I fond I am with museums so its no surprise that I spent a lot of time in these two.
After grabbing a quick lunch, I headed to my next destinations – the Plaza de la Catedral and Plaza de Armas – the latter is the center of cultural hub in Old Havana.. Old cobblestone streets, fine architecture, cafe’s shady gardens. I stayed here the rest of the afternoon doing nothing but people watching and drinking my daiquiris #noregrets.
The next day, I planned to explore the Castillo’s in Havana but it rained so hard that morning that Tio Pepe and I decided to just stay indoors for a bit. This by far, was the most fun I have ever had! Tio Pepe brought out his musical instruments (he is a music professor), turned on the stereo, brought Cuban rum and after a quick run to a local produce store, we were set! I will this video speak for itself.
The rain stopped after awhile so I went and explored one of the nearby parks in the area – the John Lennon park. Now why is there a tribute to John Lennon here when he is not even Cuban you say? Tio Pepe explained to me that they admire his open views of the world. I don’t know what that means exactly LOL.
There was still a few hours before dark so I asked Tio Pepe’s friend to drive me to Fusterlandia. The taxi would cost me just as much so renting a car out was just more convenient. Fusterlandia is located in the district of Jaimanitas, outside of Havana and named after the artist Jose Fuster. He converted this seemingly depressed neighborhood to a work of art. The art continues to expand and spread. Its colorful tiles and artworks really give you a psychedelic experience. Of course as soon as we reached Fusterlandia, it started raining again!
That night, we explored the streets of Malecon. It was so amazing how Tio Pepe and I talked for more than hour while walking with us barely knowing each other’s language HAH! The walk was very calming, the seaside full of lovers, friends and locals fishing. I love scenes like this when I feel very immersed with the local scene. On the way back, we walked home and stopped by Fabrica De Arte Cubano (FAC)
This is THE hip place to be – a venue for live music, art expos and fashion shows. It was a cooking oil factory converted by Afro-Cuban musician X-Alonso where you can mingle with artists, musicians and locals alike over coffee and cocktails. Unfortunately, lately it is also packed by tourists. That night, I saw more tourists on the line than locals. I’m no longer young and it was already 10pm – almost my bedtime (oh yes I sleep early) so I didn’t go in. I highly recommend you go though if you are into these things.
I woke up early the next day to head to Varadero where I hoped the winds were favorable enough to be able to kitesurf for a few hours. You can take the bus (Viazul) or get a taxi from Havana to Varadero. There are limited departures (i think only 4 a day) so be mindful of that when considering the bus. The bus is cheaper obviously, around 10CUC. For taxi, you can find a few people also heading there from Havana who can share the ride with you. Usually, its around 80CUC one way. While you don’t need to worry about departure times with the taxi, you run the risk of these old cars breaking down on the drive to and from Varadero.
Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t enough wind so no kitesurfing. Instead, I spent the day lounging by the beach. Not a bad way to spend my day actually! Be mindful that there is a portion of the beach for locals and one for travelers. The ones for locals are free and accessible of course but as you would expect, very crowded.
On my last day, I went back to Havana Vieja to meet the group heading to San Diego de los Baños for the “Life in the Countryside” experience I booked through Airbnb. After breakfast, we hopped into their classic cars and traveled about 2 hours to reach our destination. The trip itself was very insightful. Our guides were both proficient in English and are University students studying Economics. There was a lot of talk about Cuba’s history, their currency, and what drives their economy. For that alone, the trip to me was worth it!
We were met warmly by the family hosting us. They make their own coffee and owns several domestic animals. Its a glimpse of the life in the countryside and reminded me much of my own childhood in the Philippines. We trekked for a few minutes to a small cave that we explored for a bit and then we headed down to the river to take a quick swim. Since it was raining the day before, the river is a bit muddy but definitely not dirty. Our guides brought some guava flavored rum for us to share while swimming and well, I may have had a few ‘coconut glasses’. It was so tasty! We capped the day with a lunch provided by our host family and made our merry way back to Havana (and then Vedado for me).
Since this was my last night, I asked Tio Pepe to buy me some cigars and rum to bring home. He got me some really cheap ones! Yay!
The next day, Tio Pepe’s friend drove me to the airport and since you cannot exchange CUC or CUP outside of Cuba, I used my remaining cash to get myself some food inside the airport. There aren’t a lot of choices there so I recommend eating before heading to the airport.
Aside from the classical beauty of Cuba, the warmth and friendliness of its people, and the outstanding cigar and rum, this trip is memorable to me because for the first time, I completely took myself offline. No internet for the whole trip. This was intentional because if I want to, I can purchase Wi-Fi access that I can use in public parks and tourist areas. This was my chance to disconnect and really immerse myself to the experience. No instagram stories, no facebook posts, no work emails. As much as I want to do that whenever I travel, sometimes it isn’t possible. I cherish this trip more because of that.
The Travelling Accountant 