Four of us getting into one of Cuba’s classic American cars.
Everybody wants to go to Cuba. And, there dozens of reasons why we would. The island nation has blue waters, golden beaches, lush green mountains and a rich cultural heritage. The music and dance of Cuba alone has long been one of its biggest exports around the world.
I took a trip there this Fall, my way of extending Summer, that took much less energy and money than my first trip in 2011.
The weather was the least, but wonderful, draw. My first trip had one purpose–dance and music—and that was high on my agenda again, but this time I wanted a more 360 experience of Cuba and her People in the big City Havana and the smaller cultural mecca Santiago.
I joined up with a circle of friends who, like me, wanted to spend a week enjoying Havana with beautiful lodging and fun activities that wouldn’t add up to a hefty price, and without a tightly scheduled agenda. We wanted excitement and the opportunity to chill and be among the people. Three of the friends and I had worked together years ago and stayed connected by way of monthly dinners when enough of us are in the same town. Our group expanded when some of us invited other friends and partners. We ended up with a dozen people: three couples who stayed in one private residence and 6 single women in another. We found both places on Air Bnb.
Our Havana home for the week is called Casa Coabana, a family enterprise lead by a young architect names Andreas Gonzalez in Old Havana. (hostalcoabana@gmail.com, www.hostalcoabana.pilsweb.com). Our half dozen occupy the second floor. We walk up and into a front lounge with a twin set of balconies looking out over Monserrate between Muralla and Brasil. The avenue is busy with people on foot, in bicycle and car taxis. There’s a small kitchen between the front lounge and a long narrow indoor/outdoor room with a corrugated roof and hanging plants opposite a row of four bedrooms.
There’s a bakery next to the house which keeps the air perfumed with the smell of fresh bread. So, it’s a good thing that breakfast is provided by our hosts—a big breakfast of fresh tropical fruits, bread, cheese, eggs, bacon, fresh juice—enough to hold you for most of the day. We ate together, chatted, tweaking our plans for the day based on an agenda we pulled together via email in the weeks before our travel.
Monserrate at day break
The Buena Vista Music Club is a block away in one direction, and the Jose Marti Square, the most tourist-ready area of the City is a 10-15minute walk away. In preparation for the trip, each of us travelers submitted information about events and places we wanted to attend and see. One person assembled all the items into an itinerary. The first item from me was a weekly performance held on Sundays at Callejon del Hamel, an alley way turned venue for the visual and performing arts, including music from an all-female bata orchestra and some amazing dancers of orisha and rhumba.
The Sunday weekly performances in an alleyway turned arts community.
This was one of the cultural high moments of the trip. We referred to the itinerary daily, but didn’t adhere to it as law. We rather altered plans as we went, adding things and dropping thing there didn’t sound as possible or attractive as before. It’s good when you travel to allow for spontaneity and hold out for being turned on to little known gems by people you meet on the ground, not by way of a guide book or website. But, do check websites though, they can save you from (or provide) outdated information such as a current address. Double-check your facts by reading and by talking to folk. Walking through Old Havana and Central Havana can be even more interesting than it’s museums though they are rich in history, art and culture which the small nation applies great value.
Dancing at Callejon del Hamel
One of the most fun outings during the Havana week was the beach nearby it known as La Playa de Santa Maria. The powerful surf, the jewel-toned blues of the sea, the yellowish/gold sand were as glorious as any other beach in the Caribbean. But, this beach is used and populated with Cuban people—more so than the also beautiful but more famous Veradera Beach—a few hours drive away.
This alley is an artist community full of galleries, shops, performance spaces & eateries.
You hear music all over Havana in restaurants in big hotels and small eating spots. There’s no lack of that. You hear it of course from the big bands and numbers of singers featured at a big club such as Buena Vista. But, the hippest music scene is the Jazz Café, in a new modern glass complex of hotel and boutiques, across from the Malecon, the City’s walkway by the sea.
The big hotels were the only places offering internet access. A hotel such as The Plaza allow you to purchase a card, buying you time on the web on your own or the hotel’s equipment, by the hour. (You scratch off to get your password–and sometimes no one tells you that at the start). That said, I prefer the gorgeous traditionally Cuban architectural details and the personal hospitality of a house particular aka private house. There are many of them now and I’ve stayed in two. While Casa Coabana was perfect for having 4 – 6 people on a self-contained floor. Casa Colonial was great for one or, in our case, two of us, who needed only one night after we returned to Havana, having taken a 15 bus trip to and from Santiago, before we returned to the states. More on that in part two of our Cuba series.
One of the many charming private housing establishments in Havana.
