Oh Cuba, with its salsa dancing, daiquiri’s, and lots of old American cars. You should go and see the real Cuba, before it changes too much with foreign influences. In the many cities and towns you can find various Casa de la Musica’s. Here you can dance some salsa’s to live music. You don’t know how to dance the salsa? Well, don’t worry, there are plenty of people who love to teach you. Just dance!
Meet the friendly locals
You can have dinner at a local’s house. There are lots of little family ‘restaurants’ like that, called paladars. This way the family can earn a bit of extra money. Peek at the small kitchen in the back of the house and you’ll see grandma cooking the rest of the meals. Sometimes, when you go with a bigger group, you’ll see that it’s a community effort. The rice is brought in by one of the neighbors and some extra chicken from somebody else down the street. Most Cubans are very friendly and welcoming.
Maaike: with a friend I wandered around Trinidad. We got surprised twice by big rain showers. We walked into a hotel and the owner gave us some free orange juice. Later on we hid for the rain on somebody’s porch. We got invited in for some tea and a chat.
Some of Cuba’s highlights
Havana is great to walk around in. In the old town you will see plenty of old buildings, old cars, and the Capitol building aptly named Capitolio. From the Obelisk of Jose Marti you will have great views over the city. Museo de la Revolucion will tell you the story of the revolution.
Pinar del Rio is where most of the tabacco comes from. In Viñales you will have beautiful views over the Valley Los dos Hermanas.
At the Bay of Pigs (Bahia de Cochinos) you find Museo Giron, an informative museum about the attack.
The picturesque town of Trinidad (a world heritage site) is great to just wander around in and get lost on the many cobble stone streets. Just turn left or right and wander around the old town.
Maaike: Together with a friend we had a little game going in Trinidad. She numbered the streets 1, 2, 3 and 4 (left, right, straight ahead or back) without telling me which street had which number. Then I had to say a number, and that’s the way we would walk. We had lots of fun, and we even ended up hanging out with locals as we had to hide for the rain!
Camaguey is great to explore with a bike taxi through town.
Santiago de Cuba is the former capitol of Cuba. You can visit the cemetery where Mr Bacardi (you know the drink), Compay Segundo (Buena Vista Social Club) and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (one of the forefathers of Cuba) are buried. At Jose Marti’s tomb there is a very impressive change of the guards every half an hour between sunrise and sunset, with loud music and military show. You can also visit the Rum-museum, with of course plenty of tastings of the drink.
From Santiago de Cuba you can go into the jungles where the revolution against Batista was planned: the Sierra Maestra National Park. You are not allowed to take pictures or film, because it is still considered as a military area. You can see the hut where Fidel lived and where Che held guard.
Santa Clara is the town where the dictator Bastista was stopped. You can see the train with which Batista tried to stop Che and the rebels, but in the end led to his own downfall. For Che Guevara they placed a monument, a museum and a mausoleum. They say Che is buried here with his friends from Bolivia. But, the stories vary… Che may have lived longer.
In Varadero you will find beautiful beaches. Varadero is located in the northeast, on a long strip of land with beach on both sides. So you’ll have a great place to relax after sightseeing Cuba.
Eat and drink
Of course you must try the Cuban cocktails like the Cuba libre (rum and coke), daiquiri’s and mojito’s. And don’t forget to have some dinner at a local paladar.
Scams and warnings
– Don’t get scammed by guys that approach you in bars in the evening, because at the end of the evening they have put their drinks on your tab. And yes, you will be asked to pay.
– Another scam that happens in Cuba are people who demand money for a picture (about 1 peso), also if you’ve already taken one. Sometimes it may be worth to pay the peso for the picture to stop being harrassed.
– Make sure you have your camera attached to you at all times.
Maaike: A friend’s camera was stolen as she was taking a picture. It was just ripped out of her hands.
– Be aware of hurricane season, it may happen that you have heavy rains due to hurricanes in the area.
– You better get used to the manana-manana attitude. A bus that is an hour late according to us, is considered well on time over there.
