The Trip of a Lifetime: Havana
Cast of characters: Anna, Jeff, Jason, Paul, Steve, Chris and I.
Once we got settled and learned the ins and outs of the buffet, two lobby bars, pool bar, beach bar and south bar, we started to explore what the resort and the country had to offer.
While we all enjoy a little beach action, spending a week on the beach would quickly become monotonous. We learned the hotel had overbooked and was offering a free overnight trip to Havana for anyone who was willing to vacate their rooms for the night. Remember Cancun? After careful thought and debate, we decided to go for it.
On the way to Havana, the bus made a pit stop at the best road side pina colada stand. The pina was 2.50, but the rum was free... AND you add it yourself. Watch as Anna demonstrates.
In central Havana, the architecture is very Spanish colonial [obviously]. Between the wide boulevards and public spaces were very narrow alleys. It seemed a lot of buildings were underutilized as we could see a lot of vacant spaces. The uses were truly mixed. As we walked down the alleys, sometimes we’d look into small shops, sometimes private dwellings – all on the ground floor. The Floridita Bar was a popular attraction – Hemmingway drank there.
Our hotel in New Havana was much nicer than our resort, but it was in the middle of nowhere. The bus drove through a purely residential neighbourhood to get there – fairly nice houses on small lots with attached garages. It was on the water, but had no decent beach. It also had fortification walls around it. Seriously. The hotel was impenetrable. The electricity in the room was activated by the key card, so it all turned off when you left. The air con was activated by a closed window [I learned this the next day after sleeping in a warm room with an open window].
After dinner, we went to old Havana to party a bit and try to mingle with locals. We found a patio in the Cathedral Square where we sat and had some drinks. It was interesting that the waitress was apologetic when she brought our 60 peso bill – not a lot of money for 7 people drinking.
When the bar closed down we went to the seawall. The seawall stretches the length of the city. At night, locals go there to drink. There are some bars set up along the wall, but mostly it's BYOB. We sat there for a while and tried to blend in - a difficult task. I like to get a local experience when I travel, but we always stuck out as tourists. While we sat at the seawall, a group of people beside us started singing and dancing. They immediately stopped when we got up to leave.
The hotel had this great atrium with tiny, impractical glass elevators for you and 2 of your closest friends. Mostly, we just took the stairs.
The next day was spent in Cementerio Colon - the world's third largest cemetery. The cemetery was very dense. Bodies were entombed above ground. The tombs were very sculptural - we saw a pieta, Egyptian pyramid and zebra banding on a miniature Italianate Gothic cathedral. Then we wandered around old Havana in the daylight, this time.
Once we got settled and learned the ins and outs of the buffet, two lobby bars, pool bar, beach bar and south bar, we started to explore what the resort and the country had to offer.
While we all enjoy a little beach action, spending a week on the beach would quickly become monotonous. We learned the hotel had overbooked and was offering a free overnight trip to Havana for anyone who was willing to vacate their rooms for the night. Remember Cancun? After careful thought and debate, we decided to go for it.
On the way to Havana, the bus made a pit stop at the best road side pina colada stand. The pina was 2.50, but the rum was free... AND you add it yourself. Watch as Anna demonstrates.
In central Havana, the architecture is very Spanish colonial [obviously]. Between the wide boulevards and public spaces were very narrow alleys. It seemed a lot of buildings were underutilized as we could see a lot of vacant spaces. The uses were truly mixed. As we walked down the alleys, sometimes we’d look into small shops, sometimes private dwellings – all on the ground floor. The Floridita Bar was a popular attraction – Hemmingway drank there.
Our hotel in New Havana was much nicer than our resort, but it was in the middle of nowhere. The bus drove through a purely residential neighbourhood to get there – fairly nice houses on small lots with attached garages. It was on the water, but had no decent beach. It also had fortification walls around it. Seriously. The hotel was impenetrable. The electricity in the room was activated by the key card, so it all turned off when you left. The air con was activated by a closed window [I learned this the next day after sleeping in a warm room with an open window].
After dinner, we went to old Havana to party a bit and try to mingle with locals. We found a patio in the Cathedral Square where we sat and had some drinks. It was interesting that the waitress was apologetic when she brought our 60 peso bill – not a lot of money for 7 people drinking.
When the bar closed down we went to the seawall. The seawall stretches the length of the city. At night, locals go there to drink. There are some bars set up along the wall, but mostly it's BYOB. We sat there for a while and tried to blend in - a difficult task. I like to get a local experience when I travel, but we always stuck out as tourists. While we sat at the seawall, a group of people beside us started singing and dancing. They immediately stopped when we got up to leave.
The hotel had this great atrium with tiny, impractical glass elevators for you and 2 of your closest friends. Mostly, we just took the stairs.
The next day was spent in Cementerio Colon - the world's third largest cemetery. The cemetery was very dense. Bodies were entombed above ground. The tombs were very sculptural - we saw a pieta, Egyptian pyramid and zebra banding on a miniature Italianate Gothic cathedral. Then we wandered around old Havana in the daylight, this time.
posted by Douglas J. Stiles, BA Hons, MES! at 4/19/2009 04:04:00 p.m.
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