Cuba

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Cuba

• Spring Break 2003

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After flying from Fargo, ND to Chicago, IL, we
continued on to Miami, FL. By the time we got
through security checks, we were ready for bed at
our hotel in Miami! We went straight to bed to
prepare for our early morning check-in at the
airport the next morning!
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After a few hours of going through security and
check-in at the Miami airport, we were ready to
experience Cuba!!
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After a quick flight, we saw a beautiful view of
the Cuban landscape.
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After waiting in line for customs, Jayne and I
were happy to sit down!
We were surprised by the large crowd waiting
behind the fence outside the airport.
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While waiting for our hotel rooms to be cleaned,
we ate a large lunch at the National Hotel in
Havana. We were excited to see a local (Jesse
Ventura below) to be pictured in the National
Hotel Hall of Fame!
I tried squid!!
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We got some time to walk around Havana before our
welcome dinner in the evening.
The waterfall in front of the National Hotel
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On Saturday evening, we had a wonderful welcome
dinner at El Aljibe in Havana. We enjoyed the
local Cuban cuisine of black beans, rice,
chicken, and fried bananas! We were also
introduced to their strong mini-coffees!
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After our great meal at El Aljibe, all of us were
too excited to go to sleep. So, we gathered in
our hotel restaurant for a round of Mohitas.
Mohitas are a Cuban drink consisting of rum, lime
juice, sugar (from their sugar cane), and a mint
leaf.
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After the older folks went to bed, we decided
to explore Havana at night. We walked along the
Malecon, which is a famous street in Havana.
Along the Malecon is a cement wall that follows
the street for many miles. The wall separates
the city from the Atlantic Ocean. When the wind
picks up, you can stand on the wall and get
splashed by the ocean waves crashing up against
it (above right).
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Our second day was a daytrip to Veradero Beach,
east of Havana. On our way to the beach, we
stopped at a famous tourist area and enjoyed a
beautiful view of a valley. We also got to try
Cubas best pina coladas!
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Our day at the beach was all we expected and then
some! We had a live band, a buffet full of food,
and white sand beaches all day! Aside from that,
we got to go snorkeling (my highlight of the day)
and I even met a new friend Eduardo. Although
he didnt speak a word of English, he loved the
attention we were willing to give him!
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I had never been snorkeling before, but it was
all that I expected plus some! Almost everyone
in the group decided to give it a try.
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I ended up with some pretty nice underwater
pictures!
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Monday morning, we received a tour of Old Havana,
the original part of Havana that used to be
completely surrounded by city walls
Catedral de San Francisco
Cuban children playing games in the square. This
is basically their phy ed
The lobby of a fancy Cuban hotel
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We had lunch in a fancy area of Havana next to
the ocean. I enjoyed another Mohita as I posed
for this picture with Jorge (above). This area
was used to harbor many expensive ships and
sailboats (right).
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We enjoyed Monday night watching Flaminco dancers
and listening to the interesting music. Flaminco
dancing is a Spanish dance that is popular in
Cuba. The dancers use energetic styles to paint
a picture of a story for the viewer. We also got
a great meal of seafood during the show.
Although the meal was wonderful, we werent sure
what to think of soup (left).
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On Tuesday morning, we received a tour of the
Cuba Art Museum and the Revolution Museum. It
was very interesting to incorporate Cuban history
into what we were viewing in Havana.
Cuban Art Museum
Truck used during the Revolution War. This truck
was named the Fargo.
Tank in front of the Revolution Museum
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Every tourist book we read about Cuba mentioned
the famous Cuban Coppelia ice cream. So, on
Tuesday afternoon, we had to try it. Although
the ice cream was good, we were surprised to
receive a valuable cultural lesson from the ice
cream stand. When we approached the stand, we
were asked whether we were going to pay in
dollars or Cuban pesos. When we said dollars, we
were sent to a stand with no line at all and we
immediately got our ice cream. However, pictured
in the above right is the line of Cubans waiting
for ice cream, since they were paying in Cuban
pesos.
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A trip to Cuba is not complete without a ride in
one of Havanas CoCo taxis. These taxis are
little yellow circular cars meant to transport
Cubans from one place to another. We all piled
into CoCo taxis on the way to the market for only
1 each!
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On Tuesday evening, Jorge set us up with a trip
to a baseball game in Havana. Las Tunas (a city
in eastern Cuba) was taking on the Havana
Industriales. Luckily the home team won, since
the Cuban crowd tended to get a little fiesty
(below left). Dale also took the opportunity to
enjoy yet another of his wonderful Cuban cigars
(above right). Jayne caught a ball during the
game, so Jorge got his friend (the star of the
Industriales team) to sign it after the game
(below right)!
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Another of my favorite parts of the trip occurred
on Wednesday morning. Our group took a trip to a
true tobacco farm. We simply pulled our bus over
on the side of the road and walked right up to
this little farm. Here, you can see a worker
cutting tobacco and hanging it to dry (upper
left), the tobacco leaves drying in a small hut,
and two bulls used to pull a plow.
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While at the tobacco farm, the farmer was more
than happy to roll us a few cigars. We also got
to meet the farmers wife and two grandchildren,
and their dog, Lassie (above right). The farmer
stayed in the house pictured from about January
until April. The house is furnished sparsely
(stove pictured above left).
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After the tobacco farm, we headed to a coffee
plantation. The government took over this land
to preserve it, and it was now a prime tourist
attraction.
This is a map of the entire plantation. The tiny
blue dot in the upper-right corner of the map is
the lake you see above.
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We ate another meal of black beans and rice at a
farmers house on the plantation. For a change,
we got half oranges for appetizers!
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We visited a community within the coffee
plantation. Farmers were forced to move here
when the government took over the land. They
have designated tasks and in return, they receive
food and housing. The view was beautiful!
Maria is one of the residents of the community.
Her task is to receive coffee beans from the
government, roast them, then grind them. Her son
then makes the packaging for the coffee.
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My favorite part of Las Terrazas came at the end
swimming! Our guide took us to a nice swimming
area and let us cool off for a few hours. We had
fun diving off the ledge and sliding down the
waterfalls!
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On the way back from the coffee plantation, we
stopped at various crops along the way, including
rice (top), sugar cane (right), and bananas (left)
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After a nice day off on Thursday, Jorge thought
it was time to teach us how to salsa dance. So,
we headed for Rumba Habana, a local dance club
for tourists. Here, they served us appetizers, a
can of cola, and all the rum we could handle!
After socializing for awhile, we got up the
courage to try some karaoke to American songs and
later on did some salsa dancing. The night ended
with a performance by what we call the Cuban
Backstreet Boys
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Our last full day in Havana started with a tour
of the University of Havana. We learned plenty
of facts about the school system in Cuba.
College is free for students who pass the entry
exams and do well in high school. However, the
government chooses what field you will go into
based on your test results. We decided we
wouldnt like to join their system! We also
wouldnt like to climb these steps every morning
for class!
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We spent the rest of our afternoon visiting
everything one last time and taking our last
pictures of Havana.
Erin and I in our hotel room in Havana
Is that a semi? Nope its a camel, a bus
that holds 250 people!
Pan de Paris we had great (cheap) pizzas and
ham sandwiches here during our free meals!
The large market
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Our last evening was spent at one of the major
landmarks in Havana the castle/lighthouse on
the bay. We visited the castle and lighthouse
and enjoyed a great view!
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We enjoyed one last black bean and rice meal at
the Donenica Restaurant near the castle. While
dining, we had some great musical entertainment.
Keith, Mike, and I were even pulled up to do some
dancing!
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After our nice meal, we continued on to the
castle for the celebration of the firing of the
canons. The city of Havana fires the canons
every night at 900 to symbolize when the walls
to the cities were closed. The ceremony involved
many guards who light fires representing various
things.
The guards march in (right) and then approach the
wall and canons to light the fires (top)
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Our Cuba trip ended on Saturday morning. Some of
us were more willing to leave than others. I
would have preferred to stay another week!
After spending the entire week with our guide,
Jorge, it was hard to say goodbye. However, he
gave us his address and email address, so we will
definitely keep in touch!
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