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