After breakfast we fixed up the bill and headed off on foot over to the main road to catch a taxi.  Taxis are everywhere and there is no need to flag one as the drivers are constantly stopping if they see you;

 

 

The address is not that easy to find but the driver winds his way through the very tight streets and drops us off outside what he tells us is the place.  The one thing I have noticed is that nothing is really signposted but somehow the locals work it out. The houses are all attached and 2 story. The history and architecture is absolutely amazing.  Helen goes into what turns out to be the house next door to where we are staying but it was all good as she made a new friend who thereafter waived at us with a big smile. We find the right door and go up the marble staircase;

 

 

We meet Susana our host and find that she is University lecturer in drama (she looked far too young for this).  Susana is lovely and her English is excellent. She shows us to our room and we are taken back how great it was – massively high ceilings and just unbelievable character.  There is also a great view of the street from the balcony;

 

 

As promised I will tell you about the Internet in Cuba.  There is only one provider (Govt) in Cuba – ETECSA. Most places (cafes/hostels/airbnb) advertise free wi-fi which means that accessing the internet is free but you once you log in to their wi-fi you are redirected to the govt login site.  To get on the net you actually need a pre-paid card that has a user ID and then a password (both are just numeric). To get a card you have to go to an ETECSA office or purchase them in the street (blackmarket). You can buy 1hr cards or 5hr – the rate remains the same at 1 CUC per hr.  If you purchase in the street it is double the price. I must also point out that once you use your card it is impossible to log out unless you ask the wi-fi provider to turn off their router (I learnt the hard way). The other issue that I have since discovered is that when you ask your host to turn on their router everyone in the family logs on which makes it even slower!  

Helen and I unpack and get sorted before heading out to have a look around.  One of the goals is to pick up ETECSA cards so I could work on my blog.

 

 

I stop at a few places and ask about a card and everyone tells me that there is only place to buy it and that is at the ETESCA office.  Ok no dramas – we walk about 10 mins and find the place and see that there is a line of about 20 people on the footpath waiting to get in.  50 mins later we get in the office and the next thing is that we are seated on a garden type bench to wait our turn. I am starting to experience how time and patience in Cuba is totally different to what I am used to.

So after another 30 minutes we progress to the counter and are informed that there is a limit of 3hrs per tourist.  I know it sounds crazy but I thought what the hell and purchased a full 6hrs for 6 CUC. By this stage I was thinking why did I walk past the guy selling the black market cards right outside the entrance door????

Now with 6 Internet cards in hand we thought it was time for lunch so we went virtually next door to a and had fantastic Souvlaki style meal in a Turkish restaurant where the staff all spoke Spanish?

With lunch done we walked around to the Revolution Museum to check it out;

 

 

The building itself was the most impressive part of the museum as it was undergoing significant renovations (as per most of the city due to the 500 year anniversary celebrations to be held in December).

 

 

From the museum we caught a flying egg to go and see the National Hotel – this hotel is very well known as it was previously a Mafia owned Casino and every one who is anyone has stayed there including John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill;

 

 

The Hotel is like the old classic cars in that it feels like a step back in time to the 1950’s;

 

 

 

We take a seat in a lounge and along came an a capella trio that had us captivated – I had a chat to them and they had been singing together at the Hotel for 22yrs.  I took a video and will upload later when I have some decent wi-fi (I tried but it would have taken 24hrs).

After taking full advantage of the expensive hotel without staying there we headed back and got dropped off at the square.  On the way back to our Hostel we called in at the Cuban Information centre (these are quite small and only have 1 or 2 staff) and were in luck as ‘Lucy’ couldn’t do enough for us – she told us that she would organise a ‘shared’ taxi to pick us up from our door to get us to Vinales (you don’t hand over any money as you pay the driver).  I had heard about shared taxi’s and its the way to go if you want the price to be reasonable and don’t want to catch the public bus – the cost to get to Vinales some 170 klm away was 20 CUC each (to do it alone was 90 – 120). We were warned off using the public buses as the drivers were often drunk? Lucy also gave us details of a tour she highly recommend that we do in Trinidad.

Now while we were talking to Lucy I had been also trying to fold up a map which took me 10 mins to get right – as we got up to leave Lucy held her hand out for the map and said thanks.  Turns out the map I thought was mine and a right royal pain to fold up was hers and ours was still in the bag!

Just around the corner from our Hostel we came across a local band performing in a bar so we took a seat and soaked it up;

 

 

Later that evening we went to a local restaurant recommended by Susana (O’Reillys 403) and it certainly lived up to the expectation;

 

 

We left the restaurant and on the way back to the room I had to keep stopping and take photos of the old classics that were everywhere;

 

 

Next morning I booked our next Airbnb at Vinales and then we set off to find another restaurant (5 Esquinas Tratteria) that Susana had recommended for breakfast.  We find the restaurant and its only a couple of blocks over from the Revolution Museum where we were yesterday;

 

 

Its a great little section of Old Havana and has a lot of people chilling out including board games;

 

 

We take our time and walk through the side streets heading down to the Wharf market area.  We call in at Cafe Taberna (another Susana recommendation) for a cold drink and discover that the band playing had 3 of the guys in it from the one we saw the night before.  Only thing this time they were decked out;

 

 

Walking around the Wharf area was excellent and really enjoyable.  We found the large souvenir market that I had read about and spent some time amongst the stalls.  On the way back home we ran into the Chocolate Museum (which really is just a small home made chocolate shop) which put a smile on Helen’s face as we all know how much the girls love their chocolate;

 

 

We continue back towards home and out of a doorway comes another guy trying to sell ETESCA internet cards – the difference is that his cards are for 5hrs each and he wants 10 CUC per card.  I check the cards (given my years of investigational experience) and come to the conclusion that they are fake much to the disgust of the seller.

The way home takes us right by the ETESCA office again (its open until 7pm) and the line is not quite as bad as before.  I decide to line up to see if I can knock the card issue over and not be worrying about it for the rest of the trip. I line up for about 30 mins before I am allowed inside to    sit on the garden bench.

Whilst waiting on the bench I see my old mate be allowed in by security through another door and go straight to a counter to buy a handful of cards – so much for the cards being fake!  Obviously there is a bit of graft and corruption going on among the staff.

I finally get up to the counter and the rules have changed in that their are no rules – I buy 3 x 5 hour cards and leave happy.

Just before we get back I find a ‘hole in the wall’ type shop where basically a local has his window open and selling goods (it would be like if you opened your lougeroom window at home and had everyone lining up on your lawn).  I get some water and we make it back.

We wind the day off with dinner back at O’Reillys and I later manage to publish the first blog post.  Tomorrow we head to Vinales.

The next day we were up early and Susana made our breakfast.  I try and log on the Internet and this is when I made the discovery that unless you actually turn off the router your ETESCA card keeps on going (this meant I burnt one of my 5hr cards).  By this stage it is safe to assume that I have had a total gutful of the Cuban internet!

Our shared Taxi arrived a bit early but there was no rush.  We go downstairs and there is a group of 4 french backpackers who are all good fun.  The car we had was in pretty good shape and had been converted so it could carry a total of 8 passengers;

 

 

The old girl is in good shape and its a V8 to boot.  Helen and I sit in the front next to the driver and we are off through the side streets to go and pick up another couple before we can actually get the trip underway.  The drive through the narrow streets at rapid pace with ultra loud Spanish music blaring is hard to describe apart from being bloody terrifying.  I took a video of the experience and it looks like you are playing some sort of crazy computer game.

We pick up the next 2 and the car is full.  With all windows down we make our way on to the freeway which is surprisingly not in too bad of shape;

 

We make good time and stop at a tobacco plantation, Fiaca Le Roya, that is about 16klm from Vinales.  The plantation guide is the 5th generation of the family business and can speak 5 languages – very funny and entertaining guy;

 

I think I learnt more about cigars in 20mins than the rest of my life.  As far as the plantation goes 90% of the crop goes to the Government and is processed in the offical factories.  The growers can only keep 10% themselves – the cigars they were selling locally were Cohibas but without the branding.  I told him that it was like cellar door sales back home! I purchased a few (yes L Shepherd I got you one).

 

Our guide explains that the cigars that are sold on the streets in Havana are a total rip off as the majority of the cigar is made out of banana leaf.  Hawkers also spruik that the cigar festival is on no matter what time of year the tourist is in town when in fact its only in February.

So we all get back into our limo and make our way to Vinales;

 

 

We get dropped off right at the front door at our Airbnb and that’s where I will end it.