| Hello from Cuba (10) - A Country Excursionby: | | | | Central since I had a real craving for pasta. |
| Susanne Pacher | | | | The food here can get a bit monotonous and I |
| | | | love Italian food, so we headed into a |
| After my walk through the Vedado | | | | freezing, over-air-conditioned pizza parlour, |
| neighbourhood, my friend Pedro came to pick | | | | where they had just run out of spagetthi. We |
| me up since I had suggested a little | | | | tried another upscale Italian restaurant on |
| excursion with a rental car to get to know | | | | the other side of the square, but it had |
| the countryside. His wife and sister-in-law | | | | prices that were higher than in some of |
| unfortunately coulnd't make it since their | | | | Toronto's fine restaurants and we decided to |
| cousin was coming to town. La Habana can feel | | | | head back to the Barrio Chino since they also |
| a little claustrophobic since the | | | | serve pasta. |
| transportation options are limited and even a | | | | |
| basic taxi ride to the Eastern Beaches | | | | There we tried to park the rental car, but in |
| (Playas del Este) is quite costly. | | | | doing so, we had a little encounter with the |
| | | | local traffic police. They alleged that my |
| And it's also nice to get away from the city, | | | | friend was not wearing his seatbelt (although |
| which can get rather congested and | | | | he was) and they ended up giving him a fine |
| contaminated with car exhaust fumes from all | | | | of 10 local pesos (about 40 Cents or so). |
| the old vehicles. I can't imagine what the | | | | Apparently it can happen very easily that a |
| air must be like here in the summer when it | | | | local Cuban gets stopped and the police |
| is 35, 40 degrees Celsius with 80, 90 percent | | | | impose a fine and there are not too many |
| humidity. All the locals talk about the | | | | things you can do. |
| extreme heat in the summer and it's better to | | | | |
| visit outside of the months of June to | | | | After a very filling pasta dinner (for less |
| September, even October. | | | | than $7 for 2 people) we headed back to the |
| | | | hotel which is very close to the University. |
| In addition, August and September are very | | | | There was a big concert on in front of the |
| prone to hurricanes which are an additional | | | | university's steps and there were thousands |
| complication, that's why many buildings have | | | | and thousands of young people singing and |
| crosses of thick adhesive tape attached to | | | | chanting to the sound of a pretty famous |
| the glass. The tape prevents the glass from | | | | Cuban pop group ("Moneda Dura") which plays |
| shattering when the hurricanes hit town. | | | | very popular music for young people with |
| | | | sociocritical undertones. The atmosphere |
| Renting a car is always an interesting | | | | among the people, singing and dancing in the |
| experience. I rented a small skoda at the | | | | street, was amazing. I ended up heading to |
| Hotel Havana Libre for about $46CUC for 24 | | | | bed at about 12 or so and the music from the |
| hours. If there were no damages and the gas | | | | concert stopped at about 12:20 am and the |
| tank was full upon return, there would be an | | | | huge crowd dispersed. |
| additional $30CUC for the insurance and an | | | | |
| additional driver. Being in the rental car | | | | Early this morning I awoke to the smell of |
| felt strangly liberating because all of a | | | | exhaust fumes from some of the buses and old |
| sudden it was possible to overcome all the | | | | cars passing through. Since I had to take the |
| limitations of Havana's public transport and | | | | rental car back at 11 am today, my friend |
| you could go where you wanted. | | | | came to the hotel early and we decided to |
| | | | visit the area of Miramar, also called |
| My friend Pedro is an experienced driver and | | | | "Playas" on the western side of Havana, past |
| loves driving, so he drove and off we went | | | | the Rio Almendares. Miramar is a very upscale |
| eastwards along the coast. We passed by | | | | area with many foreign embassies, upscale |
| Cojimar, Playas de Este, Playa Guanabo and | | | | hotels and congress centres. "Marina |
| stopped at the Puente Bacunayagua bridge | | | | Hemingway", a nautical centre with canals, |
| which forms the border between the provinces | | | | boats slips for yachts and private |
| of La Habana and Matanzas. The bridge is more | | | | residences, is also located in Miramar. |
| than 100 m high and the view extends through | | | | |
| forests to the ocean in the north and inland | | | | It is so strange, but Miramar actually |
| there is a valley with lush vegetation (Valle | | | | reminded me a bit of Fort Lauderdale. In |
| de Yumuri) with a chain of medium-size | | | | general, Miramar, due to its more modern |
| mountains in the background. At the bridge | | | | architecture, some of which is in very good |
| there is a little basic restaurant and a shop | | | | condition, reminded me quite a bit of |
| for tourists and we stopped for an hour or | | | | Florida. We visited a public sandy beach in |
| so. We also saw a really oversized iguana, | | | | Miramar which is surrounded by a range of |
| apparently it was the offspring of the mother | | | | public recreational buildings, most of which |
| iguana which apparently is twice the size. | | | | have been abandoned and are in dire condition |
| The animal must have been almost 10, 15 | | | | due to the lack of public funds for upkeep. |
| inches long, including tail. | | | | It is a real shame to see so much of the |
| | | | beautiful architecture around here collapsing |
| We then proceeded eastwards, past Santa Cruz | | | | and my professor said that in the future it |
| del Mar, where there is a big rum factory, to | | | | may be cheaper to tear down a lot of the old |
| Matanzas, the capital of the province of the | | | | architecture and rebuild from scratch than to |
| same name. We just took a little drive around | | | | try to preserve the old architecture, |
| town and didn't stop, but the town has a | | | | particularly in Habana Vieja. |
| couple of nice squares with monuments and | | | | |
| statues. The architecture is definitely much | | | | As I had to return the rental car at 11 am |
| less stunning than in La Habana. After | | | | today, we filled up the tank and although we |
| Matanzas we drove inland to a small | | | | had only gone about 250 km, the cost of the |
| mountaineous area called "Escaleras de | | | | gasoline was $36 CUC (which is equivalent to |
| Jaruco", from where we had a beautiful view | | | | about Can$45 or so), which was quite a bit |
| inland and towards the sea. | | | | more than I had expected. We took a brief |
| | | | tour through Nuevo Vedado, then past the |
| On the way back we briefly stopped at Playas | | | | Centro de Deporte Nacional, past the Comite |
| del Este to capture the sunset and then we | | | | Central (the Cuban government) and punctually |
| headed off towards Cojimar, a town famous for | | | | returned the car at 11 am without any |
| its connection to Ernest Hemingway. The town | | | | problems. |
| apparently still houses a very old man who | | | | |
| was the inspiration for the novel "The Old | | | | This afternoon I have been invited by my |
| Man and the Sea". Apparently the old man is | | | | friend to come and meet his family at a |
| still alive, probably around 100 years old or | | | | private dinner. I am really looking forward |
| so and he used to receive visitors (for a | | | | to the experience of spending time with a |
| small fee), but his health has deteriorated | | | | Cuban family and from what I have experienced |
| over the last few years and he no longer | | | | so far, Cuban hospitality is truly amazing. |
| receives visitors. We wanted to have a nice | | | | I'll try to pick up a few flowers from the |
| dinner in a Paladar in Cojimar, but one was | | | | market and bring along some of the Canadian |
| completely full, and the other one so | | | | souvenirs that I brought from Toronto to |
| expensive that we decided to continue on. | | | | reciprocate the favour. It'll be interesting |
| | | | to see Cuban life from inside a Cuban |
| After our arrival back in La Havana we | | | | home.... |
| decided to go to a pizzeria near the Parque | | | | |