It’s true. The city of Havana is a magical place. Crumbling facades of the beautiful colonial buildings in Old Havana give way to some of the world’s best Art Deco architecture (also crumbling) in the relatively newer Vedado neighborhood in west Havana.
Tying together the old and the “new” neighborhoods of Havana is the Malecón oceanfront drive with its endless flow of balmy ocean breezes and lumbering Buicks and Chevys, which transport you straight into the 1950’s.
My travel companion, Ryan, and I embarked on our second cash-only adventure. On our previous trip to Myanmar, crisp, unmarked high-denomination U.S. dollars were king. But in Cuba, the currency of choice is the Euro as to avoid the 10% penalty for converting U.S. dollars into the local Cuban Convertible Pesos.
Starting in Havana, we explored the city and stayed in the iconic Hotel Nacional de Cuba. The hotel’s guest list of foreign despots would feel equally at home on a United Nations sanctions list. We then traveled to western regions of Cuba, to the tobacco plantations and Viñales Valley before returning to Havana.
As with most places, Cuba defies simple explanations. It’s one of the last true communist countries, both in name and in practice. Life is not always great for an average Cuban. They are hamstrung economically as well as both physically and digitally isolated from loved ones in the outside world. Perhaps that makes the trademark Cuban hospitality and friendliness even more impressive.
Morning food lines at the butcher, widely-used food rationing cards, and faded propaganda calling for “revolution” from over a half century ago only tell part of the story, the old story. For young Cubans, the country is starting to open up with places like Fábrica de Arte Cubano (“FAC”) – an avant-garde art gallery, performance center, and night-club that would be more recognizable in Williamsburg or East London, than communist Cuba. The FAC is the hottest ticket in town with young Cubans lining up around the block every weekend.
One thing that’s certain, Cuba is changing faster than it has in a long time.
Locations: Havana, Cuba; Viñales Valley, Cuba.
Link: https://youtu.be/PYdvdX-hKMU
