Cuba Day 5: Havana Good Time (Except For The Milk Lady!)

Madelena made us a breakfast of fruit, juice, coffee, bread, and a tortilla dipped in scrambled egg then cooked (why didn't I ever think of that?!). We ate with a nice couple of men from Seattle, Keith and Sylvano (I think. We never could remember his name). As we were walking out the door, Alejandro told us to be sure to use bug repellent because there have been a few cases of Dengue Fever lately. Lovely. 

We walked around to take photos and go to the pharmacy to get something for our mosquito bites, but it was closed.  So instead we headed to the Museum of Chocolate, which conveniently, is also a restaurant. Adam had chocolate milk and I had hot chocolate with cinnamon. 

They gave us a few free little bon bons with our drinks. It was unlike any chocolate we have ever tasted. There were tiny crunchy little bits of sugar in it. I don't think I will ever like American chocolate again. 

We had a good laugh at the menu, which said, "Chocolate, bat, bat, whitewash, sugar and canola. Infancy's tidbit, and the grandmother's memories. The cocoa's chocolate, aromatic and dark American Bitneriaceo, nutritious past, exquisiteness of the future." -- HUH?! Something was definitely lost in translation. 

We went to a different flea market, where I bought some rings made of old silver spoons. They recycle EVERYTHING in Cuba. While we stood on the street in awe at how long the Western Union line was, a guy placed a parrot on Adam's shoulder for a photo, and it bit him on the cheek, actually drawing blood. Great, now we will have Dengue Fever AND Bird Flu!

Thirsty, I headed into the grocery store for locals. WOW. This is the largest grocery store we saw in Havana, and it truly turned my world upside down. I am a very picky eater, so seeing where Cubans buy their food made me realize I would probably die if I lived there. And it made me appreciate home so much more. These Cubans would faint from shock if they walked into a Trader Joe's!

It's set up like an old five and dime, with shelves behind counters, so you point at what you want, and a clerk gets it for you. But the selection is terrible! There was one small shelf of canned goods, one section of dry goods, and that section on the left was the entire pharmacy. The entire beverage section is on the right. 

Below is the prepared foods counter, where they sold fried chicken, government sodas, etc. 

As I was taking this photo, a stray dog walked right in the front door of the store, and nobody cared. Also note the large hole in the floor. 

The egg lady rationed out eggs, while the dry goods lady measured out everyone's rations of sugar and flour.  

This guy was measuring out portions of little gray discs. I asked what they were, and he said, "Sweet! Cookies!" Gross.

Feeling really bad for these people, we left and kept walking, looking at souvenirs being sold from people's homes.  Some lady with no top front teeth told me her baby was hungry and asked if I could buy milk. I said I wouldn't give her money. She said that it was not about money, that the government rations milk, and she had used her ration for the month already, but they would sell milk to tourists. She asked me to hold her adorable baby and for Adam to take photos, so I did, of course.

Then she asked me to follow her into a store, which was very much like the one we had just left, and she asked for a case milk from behind the counter. The cashier grabbed it (they were like juice boxes, but with milk inside — about 30 of them). The cashier looked at me and said something in Spanish which sounded like $3.00. I handed her 5 CUC. She firmly shook her head "no" and showed me a calculator that said $32!!!! All three of them, including the baby, stood there looking at me, waiting for me to pay. At this point I had forgotten she said it "wasn't about money." I felt pressured, and wanted the baby to have milk, so I forked over $35. In that split second I figured that $32 is nothing to me, but is HUGE to her — so I just went along and paid it. The cashier handed me back three dollars in change, and the lady held out her hand and said, "por favor? Por la bebe?" (That might be French, but you get the idea.) At this point, I was so irritated, I just gave her the three dollars. She took the baby and the milk and ran away quickly, leaving me standing in the store in shock! Adam walked in and told me he had just been approached by a prostitute on the street. He was in mild shock too!

As we walked, we talked about how the milk thing was definitely a total scam. There is no way that milk costs $32 when the monthly salary in Cuba is $30. I'm sure she returned to the store later, and got about $25 in change back from the cashier. Whatever, lesson learned. From now on, we decided, the answer is no. We also decided that we should probably stay inside the cannons. (This lasted about an hour.)

Hotel Saratoga Bar

We went to the hotel Saratoga for lunch and half an hour of Wi-Fi. We tried to order a Mediterranean salad, but they had run out of tomatoes. We had chicken sandwiches and fries. 

The hotel was near the Capitol building, so we took tons of photos of old cars in front of the building. Adam commented that "if you want an old car in front of something in Cuba, all you have to do is wait 2 minutes and one will come along!" It was so true!  

We passed a guy that was out cold on the sidewalk -- drunk with a bottle of rum at his feet. This became my favorite photo of the entire trip:

We walked up the Prado art walk and looked at paintings (Adam bought some), buildings, and cars, cars, cars...

...And even a man riding a super tall bicycle while wearing jorts! (Jorts are pretty much the official man uniform of Cuba.)

On our way back, we met a nice Cuban couple who told us it was the 80th birthday of one of the members of the Buena Vista Social Club and he was playing at a bar nearby. We followed them to the bar, but were a little nervous after the Milk Lady of Havana incident, and feared that this might also be some kind of scam, even though the old guy was really there, really playing music. So we stayed for only a few minutes, and then left. William seemed like a really nice guy, and I felt bad afterwards for not trusting him. Cuba will do that to a person. 90% of the people were very nice, and just wanted to share their culture and life experience with us. The other 10% wanted nothing but a quick buck. The problem was trying to figure out which was which.

We strolled past two adorable boys in a doorway, and started taking photos of them. They immediately started posing for us and hamming it up. I asked Adam to give them an American dollar and he pulled out two  -- those two little faces absolutely lit up! Adam said, "one for you, and one for you!" (in Spanish). The older brother said "YES!!!" And fist pumped. I swear, he fist pumped. He was so excited!!! Right then and there I decided I would spend the next 24 hours handing out dollars to the children of Havana. Outside the cannons. Adam agreed to fund my efforts.

Two boys, in the entrance to their house. Where they live. :-(

As we were negotiating my funding, I saw a chunk of a building fall off and land on the ground right before my very eyes. Oh, Cuba.

Back at the casa, we said goodbye to Alejandro, because he would not be working tomorrow. We gave him $50 for all the help he had provided, and all arrangements he had made for us.

Six weeks before leaving for Cuba, I made a reservation at La Guarida, a restaurant that is famous in Havana because it appeared in an award-winning Cuban movie "Stawberries and Chocolate." I was super excited about eating there. Alejandro called to confirm our reservation, and they said that they did not have it. They said, "oh, you made it on our website? Yah, that doesn't work."  Just one more plan that fell through.  

Alejandro

Alejandro recommended a rooftop restaurant in place of La Guarida, so we headed there instead — a nice paladar called La Monida Cubana. The food was actually delicious and the place had great views.  I had the ropa vieja that I had wanted last night, and creamed veggie soup. It was so good that it made climbing several sets of narrow marble stairs all the way to the roof worth the effort.

A lady also staying at our casa told us that an orchestra was setting up in the square a block away. We walked over and asked somebody what time the orchestra starts playing. "Tomorrow," he answered. Haha. Of course. 

So we walked to the waterfront to watch the cannon show (every night at 9pm, they blast off a real cannon from the fort across the channel, and it is LOUD!)  and saw tons of bats flying around in the park.  While we waited for the BOOM, we talked about Alejandro. He told us that his dad lives in Florida, and qualifies for a government letter that lets him bring a car back to Cuba with him. This letter is so rare, and so hard to get, that people who import new Hyundais or Honda Civics are able to sell them for $280,000 in Cuba. Seriously, that is the going rate. We were so confused by this, and wondering how anyone could afford that. (And no WONDER there aren't any modern cars.)  

Adam taking a photo of 1 of the 4000 dogs and cats we photographed in Havana

On our way home, we stopped in a little living room souvenir shop. I bought 2 bags, screen printed with scenes of old cars. The owner wanted 24 CUCs. I offered her 20 and she flashed a smile to her husband that told me I had just been had, but I didn't care. We ended up buying a bunch of other stuff from her too, and chatting for a while.  The lady loved my Alex and Ani bracelets and asked if I would trade them for something in her store. Sadly, I had to say no. I had just purchased them with Madelyn on our cruise, and we picked out matching ones to represent our trip, so they were too sentimental (and a lot more valuable than any of her wooden trinkets)!

As I fell asleep I realized that the grocery store, the Milk Lady, William, the two little brothers, and the souvenir lady had done a number on my conscience. I felt really guilty about all I have in life, just for being born where I was born, and how little I am able to help others. Tomorrow would be a day of helping — one Peso Americano at a time.

Until mañana,

XOXO

Cuba Day 4: Hot and Cold

We woke up in our casa particular in Trinidad and ate a breakfast of eggs and fruit the host mom had made for us. 

Gustavo told us the driver was waiting outside. We looked out the door and saw a new-ish Hyundai and felt a sigh of relief. We grabbed our bags and walked towards it. Gustavo said, "no, not that one, this one…" and pointed 2 cars down to the right. Um…Gustavo, this is NOT a "modern car." I think "modern" means something different in Cuba than it does to us here in the US. 

Our ride to Havana. For 4 hours. With 5 people.

A nice couple from Italy was already in the back seat. I climbed in with them and Adam took the front passenger seat. Danny, the driver, spoke no English. Nobody said a word for 4 hours. As we rolled down the road, I heard a terrible noise from the rear right corner of the car every time we hit a bump. I asked Adam what it was, and he said "oh, just the tire rubbing." Great. Danny drove really fast, and in the center of the road, not in his own lane. Did I mention there were no seat belts? 

The worst part was that, with no cell service, I couldn't even text Adam things like, "I'm gonna die in a fiery crash just like Princess Di!!" So I just kept tapping him on the shoulder and making huge eyes and pursed lips at him instead. (In hindsight, I probably could have just said it out loud, since nobody spoke English.)

My view for 4 hours, from Trinidad to Havana

There was also no AC, so the windows were down, making the tire rub noise even louder. I couldn't even lean on the door to sleep, because I was afraid it wouldn't hold me and I'd wind up rolling across the street like tumbleweed.  At one point, I looked out the window and saw a horse next to the road that was peeing a super strong stream of pee. Adam looked back at me to see if I saw, and I looked at him to see if he saw, and we both busted out laughing. The absurdity was too much and I got the giggles. I think the Italians thought we were nuts. 

We finally arrived in old Havana, where we would stay for the remainder of the trip. Old Havana has two distinct parts, crumbling barrios and a nicely restored part. We drove through the crumbling part to get to our casa, so we were a little nervous at first. But we arrived to find that we were staying just outside the nicer part by about 50 feet. The city has put up cannons (literally, cannons buried in the street) to mark off the pedestrian-friendly tourist area from the barrio. We were just outside the cannons. Our casa, called Casa Telefonica, was where the very first telephone call had ever been made on the island of Cuba.

Casa Telefonica

The family that lived in the house, Elvis and Madelena, spoke no English, but they had an on-site concierge, Alejandro, who worked from 9-4 each day. He was very friendly and recommended a place to eat lunch.  We dropped our bags and headed out. Walking there, we were both shocked at how stunningly beautiful old Havana is. Lunch was amazing, and our waiter looked exactly like young Barack Obama. When I told him that, he said he hears it a lot, and he considers it a huge compliment. Aww. 

Me with Young Cuban Obama

Young Cuban Obama delivers our food.

I have that same Sputnik lamp at home! But mine has all the bulbs. Oh, Cuba.

Beautiful lunch spot

We continued walking around the area and stumbled upon an outdoor flea market in Plaza des Armes. Interestingly, the street here is made of wood, not cobblestones.

I found a couple of 50-year old pendants for Madelyn that had her initials on them. The vendor said they were from an old school. 

We walked to the waterfront and took photos of some of the old cars. I knew before coming here that Cuba had a lot of old cars. But I could never have imagined just HOW many. They are literally everywhere, and make up well over half of the cars on the roads.

Next we walked towards the Cathedral Square, which took us through the crumbling part of Havana. At this point, I started getting really thirsty. Adam asked a man where we could buy water. The man walked with us to a bar, where we bought a few bottles of national water.  As we walked back, the man asked us to take a look in his store in exchange for his help. In Havana, nearly every residential building has a "store" in the front room. They sell things they have made, and a very small inventory of other things. As I purchased a handmade doll, the man pulled Adam into a back room of the house. Like "store," I also use the term "house" loosely. There was exposed wiring and crumbling plaster everywhere. I stayed out on the street with the women, who tried to teach me a dance. At this point, I started thinking Adam had been murdered and was being cut into small pieces, but I refused to go into the back room to investigate. Finally, he came back and told me he had bought a cigar and that everyone inside had been very nice. The man was proud of his house and had just wanted Adam to see it.

That's Adam in the back room. The entire "store" is in the foreground.

It was then we realized that we had to adjust our American perceptions a bit to fit Havana. People in Havana are brutally poor, but they are not dangerous. They just want to sell you some goods, or have a conversation. They rarely see Americans, or even blonde people, so they were very curious about us. We commented time and time again that we would NEVER walk through East LA or South Central in Los Angeles. We would likely be robbed blind, if not worse. But in Havana, there is very little crime. After realizing what was happening, we never once felt unsafe or threatened in any way. 

We walked down a crowded street past La Bodeguita Del Medio where the Mojito was invented. An old man stopped me and told me I was beautiful and asked if he could take a photo with me. I thought it was weird since he wanted us to use our own camera. But we complied. Then he asked for 1 CUC.  LOL! It didn't make me feel scammed as much as it made me sad that I wasn't really that beautiful. Oh well, lesson learned. This would happen many, many  more times over the next few days. Sometimes we gave them the money. Other times, Adam told them to beat it. It just depended on the people and the situation.

We went to see the cathedral, where a mass was in progress. It paled in comparison to the cathedrals we have seen in Europe, but was still lovely. We walked back to our casa to settle in. I tried to take a shower but the water was FREEZING. We had noticed earlier that the casa had really nice linens and brand new, fluffy towels, so we knew there would have to be some other flaw! There was also no wifi. But we didn't expect that.  The nearest wi-fi was about a mile away, at a hotel.

Alejandro recommended a place for dinner - Cafe Bohemia on Plaza Viejo — so we headed out. The plaza was way more impressive than the restaurant!  

The entire plaza used to be a parking garage, but they knocked it down to create a public gathering space, and restored all the buildings around it. They all have before and after photos hanging near their doorways. There is also a lot of public art, including this statue. A Cuban nearby explained to me that it represents women's power over men, which is through sex and food. (That is a greatly cleaned up version of what he actually said to me!)

At the café, we ordered bruschetta from the menu, but the waiter said they couldn't get any tomatoes today. So we had pineapple daiquiris and veggies with spicy cream cheese instead. We would find more later.  

We decided to explore outside the cannons south of the plaza, which looked super sketchy! Some guys were blasting Michael Jackson's "We are the World" out of their doorway. Adam started singing it, and they joined him in the song! It was one of those moments that somehow makes perfect sense in Cuba.

We walked down the main shopping street, Calle Obispo, to try to find dinner. A guy named Sergio stopped us on the street and asked him to come eat in his paladar upstairs, where we could have 4 courses and a drink for 12 CUCs. Adam told me it was up to me, and I was starving, so we followed Sergio up some stairs and through the kitchen to get to the dining room. There was live music — way too close to us! Awkward. 

I told Sergio we were from LA and he promptly freaked out. He said his "hero Jack Bauer is from Los Angeles!" Ha!  Sergio collects business cards from people from the US. He had five, and showed each of them to me. He told me he would email me, and said he said he is so happy that "the big beard" has recently allowed them to have Internet. He asked us if we had anything with a US flag on it that he could have, but we didn't. He told everyone in the restaurant we were from LA and said we get free mojitos (which never arrived).

While I adored Sergio, dinner was terrible! I ordered ropa viejo (which is saucy beef), but I got very dry shredded pork. Adam poured oil on it to try to revive it. About this time, the place started filling up and Sergio started seating strangers together. We didn't want to sit with strangers at the 2 empty seats at our table, so we choked down the food and left.

We walked to Floridita, the bar where the daiquiri was invented and Hemingway used to hang out. I had  a strawberry daiquiri, which was so yummy! Adam was happy they had Jack Daniels, as this was the first time we had seen it in Cuba. So even though this was the cradle of the daiquiri, Adam had Jack.

When we walked out and over to take photos of an old car, an old man with a cute baby said "Beso for the baby!?" So I kissed the baby on the cheek. He then said "the baby is hungry. Do you have some pesos?"  Ugh. I gave him a CUC and we left.  I asked Adam if I could buy 20 American singles from him. He said he would just give me 20 and asked why I needed them. I said, "to give to babies!" He rolled his eyes.

We walked to the port, where tons of people were gathered to watch a cruise ship leave. We decided we wanted a convertible cab, so we walk towards the Malecon, where we had seen a bunch. After some time, we finally found the perfect pink convertible Buick. The owner, Michael, rode in the passenger seat, while his driver drove around. Michael told us his father lives in Florida, and has only been back to visit Cuba three times in 22 years. Michael has never been to Florida to visit him. That made me sad. He dropped us a the Hotel Nacional so we could have a drink on the huge porch.

Michael's Buick

We hopped in a cab back to go back to the casa, and made the mistake of not asking how much the fare would be before we started driving. The driver tried to fleece us – he wanted 15 CUC when the ride should have been about 8. Adam tried to dispute it, and we got in our first disagreement of the trip. I feel so awkward in situations like that. I would much rather just pay and leave. But Adam, bless him, has the fortitude to argue. I started walking while they worked it out. 

We returned to the house at midnight. (The casas give you a key to their front door and your room, so you can come and go as you please.)  I tried to take a shower, but the water was SCALDING HOT. WTF. Oh, Cuba.

Tomorrow: I fall in love with the children of Havana.

XOXO

Cuba Day One: We're Not In Kansas Anymore

This post will cover two days, since we had to spend a night in Mexico City in order to gain entry into Cuba. But to me, the extra time and trouble was worth it to visit a place that has so long and so openly fought against American overreach. It seems Cuba is the only place that ever really stood up to us and said, "You aren't that special. Sit down, son." So I had to go, and it seemed appropriate to do it without the permission of the American government.

We left LAX on Aeromexico at 1pm and landed in Mexico City at 7pm. Aeromexico was way beyond my expectations. They had TVs in every seat (we watched the new Vacation movie and the lady next to me at one point asked me what was so funny because I was laughing out loud), served full meals, and had really cool windows with no shades, but tint that we could control via a button. Why do American airlines suck so badly in comparison to every international airline ever?! Ugh.  Anyway, Mexico has this hilarious security system that makes you press a button. Like literally — there is a podium with a button. You push it. If you get green — you go on your merry way. If you get red — well, I don't know because we both got green.

Landing in Mexico City

We took a cab to the W Hotel Mexico City and had dinner at its new Jose Andres restaurant. It's one of those fancy gastro molecular places where all the food contained some sort of foam. We weren't impressed. We spent like 2,550 pesos and weren't even full. Later, when things got bad in Cuba, we joked, "well it least it isn't foam!"  

We didn't explore Mexico City, as we had to get up early. But what we saw was actually really nice. I would go back to see more!

W Hotel, Mexico City

The alarm went off at 6am and we cabbed back to the airport, pushed the button, and found our gate. Near the gates, there is an information desk that sells Cuban visas for $20 each. We bought our visas and officially had permission to enter Cuba (From Cuba. Not from the US.). The flight was a quick 3.5 hours (Aeromexico, with entertainment in each seat again). When we landed, the screens in our seats told us it was 165 degrees Fahrenheit in Havana. WHAT? LOL!

The minute we stepped off the jetway, I knew we weren't in Kansas anymore. The Havana airport looks exactly how I would picture a small Russian airport in 1970. Red, hard seats, no form — all function. No restaurants or bars, only a cold looking information desk. Interestingly, we had to have our bags scanned to LEAVE the airport in Havana. They have what I called "reverse security" -- which actually seems like a really smart idea. The Cuban immigration officials didn't even blink an eye. They didn't ask why we were visiting, and didn't stamp our passport. They only stamp the visa card. (Thanks, Cuba!)

Cuban Visa

Next we had to get Cuban money, at the booth right outside the airport. Before the trip, I had converted $800 into Canadian money, because I read that Americans get penalized when exchanging money. Adam brought $800 in American cash.  The Cuban dollar is called a CUC ("kook"), and one CUC is worth $.90. (Yes, even Cuban money is stronger than the dollar.) When we both converted our money, I got back 80 more CUCs than he did. So by converting to Canadian money first, I saved $88 American dollars over Adam. He didn't care, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless. 

We took a cab to the Copacabana hotel, where we were supposed to pick up our rental car. We had prepaid $800 to ensure we would have a car. When we got there, the CubaCar booth was empty. So we sat on our suitcases in the parking lot and waited. And waited. Finally, a man showed up and told us they had no cars. Huh? We said we would be willing to take ANY car, even a tiny one. "No cars!," he said. We had a hotel reservation that night in Varadero, almost 3 hours away, which had also been prepaid. I started to panic, and walked around talking to people in the parking lot. A young man in the parking lot was standing next to a really rough looking '49 Chevy. He said he would take us to Varadero for 80 CUCs. Adam said "60 CUCs" and the kid said, "get in."

I was about to have my first real Cuban experience. That '49 Chevy had no AC (it was 90 degrees), no seat belts, and I felt every spring in that seat. But it was awesome. The driver's name was Yasiel, and he loved him some American music! In fact, his car stereo was nicer than mine, and somehow also played music videos on a screen. 

As we drove down the Malecon past Havana, Maroon 5's Sugar came on, and Yasiel cranked it up. It was then I realized that Cuba was nowhere near as cut off as I had been led to believe. 

About 1.5 hours down the road, Yasiel had to stop to put water in the car. I pretended not to be concerned. I bought $5 pina coladas in pineapples from a roadside stand... 

We drove 3 hours in this car!

...A roadside stand with a TV that was playing the CLEVELAND CAVALIERS GAME! Cuba is magical!

The Cavs game on TV in the middle of nowhere, Cuba. A bad signal, but still.

Back on the road again, it got dark. Suddenly, TSwift came on the radio. Adam told Yasiel that I love her, and Yasiel hit some kind of Cuban button that turned his car into a disco! LED lights started going off and we were in a '49 Chevy party car! 

But then things took a turn for the worse...

We finally arrived just after dark at the Starfish Cuatro Palmas hotel, checked in, and hit the buffet. The salad bar looked like someone saw a photo of one once and tried to recreate it. The lettuce to other stuff ratio was all wrong, and the toppings were all weird. The pasta bar had only olives, cheddar cubes, peas, and ham – which aren't even pasta toppings. And everything tasted old and bad. I had bread, butter, some pineapple and a cookie. A young server kept bringing us free drinks, including a weird blue drink and some awful wine. He said he loves the United States, and wants to live there someday. Then he told us that he always listens to "Welcome to the Hotel California." Awww.  His partner made a rose from a paper napkin & gave it to me. I realized that the people here are really nice, but nothing is up to American standards.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas, Varadero, Cuba

We walked on the beach in the dark. The sand was like powdered sugar and the water was warm. Then we walked the street a bit. We saw some super racist costumes at a salsa festival – big black bobble heads with huge lips. WTF. We went back to the hotel and had a few more drinks at the bar. I felt drunk but not normal drunk — I felt super weird. Adam said the booze "must be cut with formaldehyde." Great.  He was excited that they had whiskey. Until they served it to us and it tasted like rum. We desperately needed water, but bottled water was nowhere to be found. We bought the last small bottle from the vending machine and went to the room. The toilet in the room wouldn't flush. The towels were very thin and threadbare. They smelled clean, but had old stains. The soap was open/unwrapped, and the AC was weak. Nothing works right in Cuba!

Right before falling asleep I told Adam "Babe, I don't want to Cuba anymore."

Until mañana,

XOXO