Cuba (2022)

Havana

The first thing you notice when you step off the plane in Cuba is the climate. It was hot, and above all, it was humid. It felt somewhat like standing in the bathroom after a long hot shower. So, everyone hurried into the terminal building. We were lucky because on that day, the air conditioning there was actually working, which is not a given. The next steps were surprisingly uncomplicated by Cuban standards. A lady checked the validity of our health declaration before we lined up for passport control. Each person had their photo taken individually during this process. Next, our carry-on luggage was scanned, and we collected our checked travel backpacks from the conveyor belt. Meanwhile, outside, the weather swung from one extreme to another – typical Caribbean weather. Where the sun had been relentlessly shining just a few minutes ago, there was now a tropical downpour. We took our backpacks and stepped out into the covered area in front of the building. As usual, there were several taxi drivers waiting. However, we decided to exchange money first for the taxi ride. We were aware that the exchange rate at the airport was nowhere near as good as elsewhere, but we wanted to have some pesos in our pockets for the taxi and the accommodation we had to pay for in cash before moving on. This turned out to be entirely pointless since the taxi driver wanted euros anyway. We had initially planned to get SIM cards for our phones, but unfortunately, the store was closed.

La Habana Vieja

Our accommodation was a Casa Particular in the heart of Habana Vieja, the historic Old Town. The term ‘historic Old Town’ might sound picturesque, but it’s not even close to comparing with other historic Old Towns, such as Weimar, for instance. Even when I was in Cuba with my parents, the buildings appeared old and rundown, and unfortunately, time hasn’t been kind to the city. Now, everything seemed even more dilapidated. Many houses seemed uninhabitable, yet people lived there. On other houses, you would often find the sign ‘Se Vende,’ for sale. Cuba was experiencing an exodus. Later, we learned that smugglers would take you to Nicaragua for $10,000, from where Cubans would attempt to reach the USA via Mexico. This was considered the safest way to flee the country. There’s also a considerable number of people who try to reach Miami with makeshift boats, but most of them drown on the way. On the other hand, $10,000 is an exorbitant amount in a country where the average monthly salary is around €160. People sell everything they own to escape, and that includes their homes. So, behind almost every ‘Se Vende’ sign, there’s the desire for a better life.

Our accommodation looked rather unassuming from the outside but was quite tidy and somewhat kitschy on the inside, decorated with pictures of the owners’ three daughters. The owners were Yodanis, a slightly stout Cuban woman with long black hair, and her husband Jensen, who usually sat in the kitchen wearing a ribbed shirt and was always in a good mood. The good mood probably stemmed from the fact that we were the only guests in the accommodation. From a tourist perspective, it seemed that there wasn’t much happening in Cuba, so people were happy to have any guests at all. Finally, in our room, we tossed our luggage on the floor and started settling in when there was a knock at the door. Yodanis was standing outside with two freshly mixed Piña Coladas, a welcome gift. Normally, neither of us drinks alcohol, and given how exhausted we were, it probably wasn’t the best idea to taste Cuban rum as the first thing. But then again, we were on vacation, so why not give it a try? I thanked her, and Yodanis hadn’t skimped on the rum, so the glass went straight to our heads – Welcome to the Caribbean, welcome to Cuba!

We took a stroll through the immediate neighborhood that same evening, but the real exploration of the city was to happen the next day. We had received the tip in several travel reports to add breakfast to our Casa Particular stay, and for good reason. There was bread, fresh tropical fruits, a salad made from freshly picked avocados, coffee, freshly squeezed juice, and everything one could wish for. Typically, such a breakfast costs around 5€ per person, but in Havana, it was 10€. We attributed this to the fact that it was the capital, and things there are generally more expensive.

Internet and queues

Our first destination that day was the Etacsa store. Etacsa was Cuba’s telecommunications provider, and we wanted to buy SIM cards there. It’s important to know that the way the internet works in Cuba is different from most other countries in the world. Typically, in accommodations, you receive the Wi-Fi password and can go online directly. In Cuba, there was Wi-Fi, but the concept was entirely different. Wi-Fi hotspots were available at major squares and parks. To use these, you had to purchase codes in advance from an Etacsa store. When connected to one of the Wi-Fi hotspots, you were prompted to enter the code, and then, depending on the duration for which the purchased code was valid, you could surf the internet for an hour or longer. This system had several disadvantages, starting with the limited opening hours of the Etacsa stores, which often left people waiting in front of closed doors. A much bigger issue was that these stores only issued a limited number of codes per day. Clever Cubans arrived early in the morning to buy up all the codes. Consequently, the codes in the Etacsa stores were sold out in no time, and people resold them on the streets at a higher price.

Fortunately, Cuba had recently introduced a mobile network, and there were special SIM cards for tourists, so you didn’t have to rush to the Etacsa stores early in the morning. The tourist SIM cards were called CubaTur, and you could purchase them for 1000 CUP (Cuban pesos). With such a SIM card, you could activate various data options. I chose a mid-range LTE plan. However, Kevin’s phone (a Google Pixel) was blocked for the Cuban LTE network, so he only had a lower-quality 3G option.

Of course, there was a queue in front of the Etacsa store, as there was in front of almost all stores where something noteworthy was available. We quickly grasped how queues worked in Cuba. You didn’t just stand at the end of a line and wait; instead, everyone stood in a jumble. When you arrived and wanted to join the line, you’d shout loudly and clearly, ‘Ultimo,’ which means ‘Last.’ Ideally, the person who arrived last would acknowledge it, and you knew you were after that person. Now, when the next person arrived and wanted to queue, they, too, would shout ‘Ultimo.’ You would then raise your hand and might also shout ‘yo,’ which means ‘I.’ Sometimes, for a better overview, people would ask who was in front of them. Usually, a hand gesture was enough, or the respective person would speak up.

We had now mastered our first queue and had enough mobile data to at least inform our families that we had arrived safely. Now our exploration of Havana was about to begin.

Between splendor and decay

As mentioned before, Havana was undoubtedly once a beautiful city, but the sanctions combined with mismanagement have clearly left their marks. The plaster had fallen off most of the once magnificent colonial buildings, and while there were still retail spaces below (a significant portion of which was closed) or even people living, many of the roofs had collapsed. Life clearly took place on the streets. Many people sat in front of their doorways. Some just sat there, staring into space or chatting with neighbors; others had placed items for sale, such as lighters or razor blades, on small stools. Sometimes there were large puddles on the street; at other times, you had to navigate around heaps of garbage emitting their unbearable stench in the sinking heat. Occasionally, you saw stray dogs and cats digging for food in the garbage piles. The smell of these garbage heaps mixed with the odor of the lowest-quality diesel fuel. Yes, there were some really cool vintage cars in Havana and generally in Cuba, but probably none of them had a catalytic converter. Nevertheless, the vintage cars were cherished and maintained, which had a practical reason: Cubans were aware that tourists were fascinated by these cars. So, vintage cars were always available as taxis or for city tours, but at a higher price compared to a regular car. When I took my water bottle out of my backpack to have a drink, an old woman suddenly called out to me from a side street. I turned to her, and she held a small empty bottle in my direction, asking for water. Seeing the woman made me feel deeply uneasy. It’s one thing when people on the street ask for money, but the woman was requesting something as fundamental as water. I went to her and filled her small bottle. At that time, we had no idea what all of this truly meant.

The cityscape changed dramatically as we approached the Capitol. Suddenly, everything around us seemed freshly renovated. The sidewalks were clean, and the streets were no longer so narrow that diesel fumes were blowing in our faces all the time. We even spotted a few groups of tourists (including the terrible Dutch family from our flight), although their number was quite manageable. After taking the obligatory photos, we continued down the street toward the Malecon, Havana’s iconic seaside promenade. So, here it was, the Cuba from the postcards: charming colonial buildings, parks, monuments, and loads of vintage cars.

The real life

The blazing midday sun was mercilessly beating down on our heads. It was just over 30°C with humidity around 90%. One could hardly breathe, and of course, we were thirsty. We hadn’t seen anything like a supermarket so far, and if we did, there were no water bottles available. It’s important to mention that it was Sunday. So, we assumed that it would be harder to find water today because of that. Almost arriving at Malecon, we spotted an MLC store. Contrary to stereotypes, the shelves were well stocked, but the variety of products was quite limited. Entire rows were filled with the same product, such as huge cans of tomatoes, making it questionable how one could gather all the necessary ingredients for a meal here. There was a section of beverages consisting of small 200ml juice bottles. There was also rum. There was no sight of other drinks, let alone water, and the salesman confirmed to me that they only had juice. I bought a small bottle of apple juice, just to have something to drink, while Kevin didn’t buy anything since he didn’t feel like having something sweet in that heat. Outside again, the Caribbean sun hit us hard in the face. There was not a single store with water in sight for miles. A few meters away, two policemen stood. Due to lack of alternatives, I walked up to them and asked them to explain to me where we could get water on a Sunday. One of the policemen gestured towards a restaurant. It was closed, but an older lady was in the process of cleaning the entrance area. The policeman explained that we should ask the lady if she could sell us water bottles, and indeed, she sold us two bottles for 200 CUP each through the door.

Satisfied, we continued on to Malecon, but the sun was even more relentless there, especially because there was hardly any shade right by the water. Along the roadside, some carriage drivers offered city tours. We approached one of them and were able to arrange a tour in the covered carriage for a reasonable price. By the way, the horse’s name was Lolo 😉
There was also a cigar-smoking guide who joined the coachman, explaining everything to us in English. When we moved away from the Capitol and back to a less attractive part of the city, the guide pointed to one of the semi-decayed buildings. Children were playing in front of the house, neighbors were chatting, and a woman was hanging laundry on the balcony. “Look,” he said, “this is real life.”

At the end of the tour, he sat in front of us and offered to exchange money. Instead of the official exchange rate of 1:20 in banks, he offered 1:110. We exchanged 50€ cautiously. This rate was not uncommon for the black market; usually, you were offered something between 1:90 and 1:100. Conversely, the 1:100 exchange rate was a sort of standard on the street: if something cost, for example, 10€, you could also pay 1000 CUP.

At that time, we were not yet aware of how much our search for water and the money exchange in the carriage reflected “real life” in Cuba…

Next, we went to the Revolution Museum. This is also Cuba. Here, you could admire all sorts of tanks and military vehicles in which Fidel Castro or Che Guevara had ever been. Naturally, the entire museum was brimming with propaganda. Besides, it wasn’t particularly large, but still, it was quite interesting because it is part of this country, whether one likes it or not.

Castillo del Morro

On the other side of Havana Bay, you could already see Castillo del Morro from a distance. It’s an impressive Spanish fortress. The day was not over, and the sight of the fortress sparked a desire within us to visit it. The other side of the bay from Habana Vieja could only be reached through a tunnel. There was no way for pedestrians. We hailed a tuk-tuk and asked the driver if he could take us across. However, he explained that his tuk-tuk was not allowed through the tunnel, as it was only for cars. Shortly after, a man approached us, asking if we needed a taxi. Generally, you get approached every few meters, with questions about needing a taxi being the most common one. This time, we said yes, which in hindsight was a mistake. The man led us to a yellow taxi, about 20 years old and quite run down. He whispered something to the taxi driver, and then informed us that the ride would cost 15€. Of course, they wanted Euros again. The price seemed way too high, so we tried to negotiate it down to 10€. After a lengthy discussion, we managed to agree on 12€ at least. The driver slipped the man a few bills as a commission for finding customers; that was probably our extra charge. He grumbled a bit discontentedly and let us get in. The ride felt like a sales pitch. Maybe he could take us to a good restaurant owned by a friend? Did we want to take a city tour with him? Did we need tickets for the Tropicana Show? We were quite surprised when we arrived at our destination after only about 3 minutes of driving. 12€ for 3 minutes, and not particularly good minutes at that. Before we got out, the driver gave me his phone number and repeated multiple times that we should definitely call him if we wanted to go back. He had even offered to wait for us, but I made it clear that we would likely spend a very long time at the site, and waiting wouldn’t be worthwhile. When I handed him the money, a 10€ bill and a 2€ coin, he held the 2€ coin up and asked if we wanted to exchange more money. He just wouldn’t let go. I declined, and we hurriedly got out. Before the door closed, he shouted one last time, “Don’t forget to call me!” Later, we found out that Cuban banks only accepted Euro bills but not coins. Cubans often tried to make the prices seem odd, hoping that people would simply round up, as they didn’t accept coins. So, we frequently experienced situations where a meal in a restaurant would cost 11€, and they assumed people would generously round it up to 15€. You can usually avoid this by either paying the full amount or paying the missing Euro in CUP.

At the entrance of the Castillo, there was a ticket counter, and the entrance fee was not particularly expensive. Next to the counter was an employee who, in overly clear English and with a theatrical tone, explained that for a few CUP more, you could go up the lighthouse with him, which should be a unique and unforgettable experience in life. Well, it was still a lighthouse, as beautiful as it might be; there are other events in my life that I would consider much more unique and unforgettable. However, the additional cost was indeed reasonable, so we booked the tour. At the counter, we also asked if there were restrooms, which was affirmed. We went in and asked the staff there about the toilets. They just pointed to a dark area at the edge of the courtyard, where several people were sitting. Their eyes lit up when they saw us, and they came toward us immediately. There was a sign there saying “Baño,” which means restroom. We pointed at the sign, and they explained that the restrooms were closed, but we should come in. Hoping to find a functioning restroom there, we entered, only to find ourselves in a long corridor full of stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs. We walked along the corridor briefly, and all the vendors became frantic. They shouted at us, touted their goods, wanted to exchange money, and tried to sell us all sorts of things. However, there was still no restroom. So, we turned on our heels and left the corridor as quickly as we had entered, much to the displeasure of the vendors, who returned to their spots in front of the corridor. This area was indeed suspicious. It wasn’t in the middle of the city but inside a museum for which we had paid an entrance fee. However, the tour itself was truly interesting. The dramatic gentleman from the entrance explained the history of the fortress to us without reducing the theatrics in his voice even once before taking us up to the lighthouse. It was extremely windy on the viewing platform, but in the humid heat, it felt quite pleasant. The view from there of Habana Vieja and Vedado, modern Havana, was genuinely beautiful.

After the tour, we explored the fortress a bit on our own before heading back. After a quick internet search, something we probably should have done before, we found out that there was a bus that also went through the tunnel back to the Old Town. We asked at the counter for the bus stop, which was about an 8-minute walk away, and set off. In front of the Castillo, there were some food stands. Among them was one selling fresh coconuts that you could drink from. This was something I really wanted to try in Cuba. However, this was only our first full day, and we really wanted to catch the bus back, so I told myself that we would see plenty of such stands, and we kept going. Surprisingly, that was the only coconut stand we encountered throughout our entire trip, and I can’t explain why. In travel reports, you often see people drinking from coconuts, but except for this one stand on the first day, we didn’t get another chance, and it remains a mystery to me. The bus ride also took only 3 minutes and cost just 2 CUP. What a contrast to the taxi rip-off!

Back in the Old Town, we sat down in a small café. I ordered fresh papaya juice, and Kevin got a Limonada con Hierbabuena, a Cuban mint lemonade. Afterward, we headed back to our accommodation. We had experienced a lot and wanted to rest. Since I had already finished the book I brought with me on the flight, I exchanged it in the bookshelf of our accommodation with a Polish book. The book was about a man who reported on his numerous travels to Latin America in a quite humorous way. Unfortunately, I later found out that the man in Poland was associated with the hardcore right-wing, and from that point on, I didn’t enjoy reading it anymore. In a later accommodation, I exchanged it again for a different book.

In the evening, we went back to Plaza Vieja to have dinner at a restaurant in a side street. Kevin had chicken breast with black rice and a Malta, which was nothing other than non-alcoholic malt beer, and I had rice with vegetables and mango juice. A stray cat circled around us, begging for food. Next to us, several Cuban women of all ages sat with a little baby, which unfortunately started vomiting continuously after a short while, which wasn’t particularly appetizing, but they couldn’t help it in a way.

In the evening, I briefly talked to Jensen because one thing had become very clear to us that day: everywhere, they wanted Euros, and always in cash. What if we were to run out of cash? We had 1000€ in cash, which wasn’t a small amount. Naturally, one doesn’t want to carry around so much cash, but it probably wouldn’t be enough for three weeks. Jensen reassured me and told me that there were specific bank branches where we could withdraw Euros at the counter by presenting our German credit cards. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have believed those words. I don’t want to assume any malice on his part because there was no apparent reason for him to lie to us, but this statement would have serious consequences for us…

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