I just came back from Cuba and want to write about it right aways since I still have everything fresh in my head. Everything in the trip was perfect except both delayed flights with Cubana de Aviación airline.
Once in Cuba I went through migration quite quickly but when I was about to step out of the airport a security agent called me to asked some extra questions about the reasons of my travel. I am not sure if she called me because I was travelling alone or because I was the first one in my flight about to exit the airport. Anyway, after clearing the questions I met a guy from Peru who had been living in Costa Rica the last 4 years, we talked a bit, then went to exchange money and we shared a taxi. The taxi asked for 30 USD and we lowered the price to 25 USD but am sure if I had tried I could have easily gotten a ride for 20 USD.
On the way to the Hostel the taxi driver told us Havana is really safe and that we should not worry about that while here. I will learn soon that he couldn't have been more right. The taxi driver droped my Peruvian friend at his hostel and then he drove me to mine. When I got there everybody was out because it was almost 11pm so I decided to walk around to take a look. I ended up walking for 2 hours on the Malecón from Havana Centro until Vedado. There were many people mostly cuban hanging out in the Malecón, some of them singing, some drinking, some dancing, some just talking. It looks like it is a popular place to meet with your friends. While walking here I realized the taxi driver was right about safety. At the beginning I felt a bit nervous in the dark streets this late in the night but then I realized nobody really looks at you and I never had any problem. It was quite the opposite. When I asked for information or help cubans were super nice to answer any question.
After walking for 2 hours I end up in a place called Cuban Art Factory (FAC). This place was a mix of art gallery and dancing club. I definitely recommend you to check it out. I decided to get a Taxi back to my hostel. My tiny dorm room had 8 bunk beds but was quote fresh. I slept very well and was a really good price. I payed just 10 USD per night when average you usually pay 35 USD in Cuba. I recommend this hostel (Hostal de Mochileros Mirella) specially for meeting people if you travel alone. But it will next day until I will meet other travellers and had a fantastic evening with them but first I will write about my first day sightseeing in Havana during day time.
Next morning I went to buy some water to a small shop and then walk to Havana Vieja. I took some pictures of El Capitolio and Gran Teatro de La Habana and then jumped on the Hop on Hop off bus. I recommend this bus which is only 10 USD since you can see a lot of the city. It rides on most of the Malecón and then goes all the way to Miramar. It passes by all the landmarks of the city including Plaza de la revolución. I decided to ride all the way back to Havana Vieja and get off at Plaza San Francisco since I wanted to explore more carefully this area. I got some good lunch for around 20 USD but as I travelled more in cuba I will realized this will be the most expensive meal of my trip. Cuba is really inexpensive in my opinion. After I finish I got on the bus again and ride back until Plaza de la revolución where I took some pictures and from there I walked to my hostel passing by the University of Havana.
Once in the hostel I found some people hanging out and they were talking about going to El Cañonazo at Morro Castle, which is a small military parade that concludes with the shooting of a cannon. We went there by GuaGua (local buses). Then we found a really cheap place where you can have a beer and pizza for less than 2 USD. After that we bought some rum and soda to make our own Cuba Libres and we walked to El Malecón to drink and chill. We spent most of the rest of the evening there. We met a couple of cubans and one of them told me his brother had been in Costa Rica working on his way to USA where he is currently living.
The group I was with was planning to go to Playas del Este next day. These are some beaches near Havana just like 40 mins away but I already had plans to go to Trinidad next day.
Next morning I got a taxi to Viazul bus terminal where I was hoping to get a ticket to Trinidad. Since the bus had sold out I had to wait for everybody to check in and try to find any remaining tickets. Thankfully I got a ticket so I got really happy. It was just 25 USD for a 7 hours ride. Trinidad is more than 300 kms away from Havana. In the bus I met two Costa Ricans who told me they had attended a performance at the theater and that it was worth. So I decided to do that when I got back to Havana. In the bus I mostly slept and enjoyed the scenery. I noticed it was really dry and flat but as we got closer to the coast I was amazed by the turquoise water. Since It was april it was normal to see everything dry since they don't get much rain during this time of the year. I couldn't wait to get to trinidad and hopefully a nearby beach.
I wrote about Trinidad on its own post which you can find here.
I got back to Havana 3 days later a bit early since we came by colectivo. I think it was around 3pm. The first thing was to find a place to stay. I found a place a bit more expensive than before because I wanted to stay close to Havana Vieja this time.
The plan was to find tickets for the theater but when we went to the ticket office they told us it was sold out for the weekend but they might sell some tickets at 7pm. So we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon sightseeing havana vieja. We walked to Plaza Vieja, Plaza San Francisco, La bodeguita de por medio, Plaza de Armas. I also took some time to buy some souvenir and try to find some pants since I needed them for the theater. They told me I was not going to be able to get in with my shorts.
We went back to the theater just to make it in time at 7:00 pm but there was already a line. Thankfully we were able to find tickets but since the performance was at 8:30 we had to take turns to go change while the other was waiting in line.
The performance was classic and modern ballet and one modern dance. I liked it a lot. The theater was beautiful inside and the quality of the artists very high.
Our plan next day was to try to spend the day in Varadero. We took a taxi for 10USD to the bus terminal (Viazul) and waited in line to buy some tickets. As usual it was sold out so we had to wait for no shows tickets to become available. Luckily again we got 2 tickets for just 10USD each and then the ticket office girl yelled “2 more for Varadero”. We had just barely made it. The bus was 3 hours so we got to Varadero around 1pm. Once there, we were walking to the beach and a taxi driver offered us a ride back to Havana for 15 USD each. It was pretty much the same price as the bus so we accepted and arranged a place and time for pick up.
Varadero beach was amazing, white sand, blue water and big beach. It also had tropical almond trees like in Costa Rica and other trees with big shades. It had also a small town so no just big hotels as some people had told me. It was windy and the ocean had big waves so it was fun. We just had a chilled day then got some food and we met our driver to go back to Havana to spend my last night before going back home to Costa Rica.
Next day I took one more taxi for the airport (I can't remember the last time I took so many taxis). But when I was about to get to the airport I realized I had forgotten my souvenirs bag at my host's house. I was debating if it was worth going back for it but I concluded that few weeks from now I will be missing those souvenir more than the few bucks I had to pay to go back. So I checked in for my flight at the airport and then got back. At my host house I asked for the bag and they pointed at their neighbour. For some reason their neighbour already had the souvenir bag. I didn't ask, I just took the bag and went back to the airport hoping it was the last time.
Once I was in the airplane I felt really relieved to catch my place since I was really late but then the pilot told us there was a mechanical problem and we had to unboard the plane. Most people thought we were going to fly another day and I worried since I had to go back to work and university.
Thankfully after 2 hours of waiting they putted us back in the plane and I made it safe and sound back home :)