Havana ooh na na

Havana, Cuba's enticing and exotic capital is often as bewildering as it is bewitching. Its Art Deco buildings, quaint squares, vintage cars and bright colours are a photographer (professional, amateur or otherwise)'s dream, and you can't help but be charmed whilst wondering through its vibrant streets. Yet, though perhaps it was bad luck or poor timing, or perhaps it was the unattainable alluring image painted in my mind by the guidebooks I had read, Havana didn't intoxicate me in the way I expected it to. Still, I would definitely recommend anyone heading to Cuba spend a day or two exploring the city, below is a diary of my experiences; I'll leave you to decide for which you would like to try for yourself and which you would like to avoid!

If it's beautiful architecture and picturesque squares you want, then I would highly recommend following the Habana Vieja walking tour in the Lonely Planet Cuba guide; you could cover it in a couple of hours if you're in a hurry, but you could just easily draw it out for a whole day, perusing museums and taking regular breaks to sip cocktails while listening to a live band play in one of the area's many bars. A personal highlight of this walk for me was Plaza de Armas, a charming leafy-
green square holding a quaint second hand book market. On the western side of the square sits the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, housing the Museo de la Ciudad, which is well worth a visit, if not for the overview of Havana's history, then for the lovely architecture and peacocks wondering around the courtyard.

Plaza Vieja is the place to go if you want to eat in pleasant surroundings and soak up the atmosphere in one of the square's many restaurants. Look out for the rather incongruous statue of a boy riding a cockerel whilst holding a giant fork!

In the guidebooks I read, the Malecón was often hailed as Havana's must-see, and I would certainly recommend making time for a stroll along the sea wall to which half of Havana seems to descend on come evening. Don't build it up too much though, it is essentially a sea wall. Having my expectations too high probably did it a disservice, as I was a little disappointed. Our casa was a couple of kilometres out of the city centre, and about a thirty minute walk into town (no taxis were allowed on our budget), and though our hosts were lovely and accommodating, I would probably choose a more central location if I were to do it all again. Particularly as Havana was hit by a storm that completely flooded the Malecón on our second night, leading the police to block it off and prompting a a walk home through the backstreets that was interesting to say the least! When we eventually made it home, however, we had hot water despite the power outage as our hosts had warmed pans of it on the stove for us. A perfect example of the kind of hospitality you can expect if you choose to stay in a Casa Particular.

We spent much of our second afternoon in Havana visiting the Parque Histórico Militar Morro-Cabaña, and the best word I can think of to describe our experience there is... Odd. The Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro had a 6 CUC entrance fee, we paid up and went inside to find, well not really much of anything to be honest. The maritime "museum" that the Lonely Planet guide for some reason described as "riveting" consisted of a few paintings. We carried on, thinking there must be more, but all we found were a few canons looking out across the bay. Admittedly the view of Havana across the churned up sea was stunning, but we probably stayed there to look at it for longer than was necessary to try and get our money's worth, because that really was all there as to see.

Although maybe the 6 CUC  was worth it for this picture alone...

Continuing in the Parque Histórico, the Fortaleza de San Carlos de Cabaña was better but still... Odd. It was almost completely deserted and we wondered around looking for the "wealth of attractions" our guidebook promised but instead found a lot of locked doors, with no explanations. It really felt as though we were missing some important piece of information, and if we could only speak Spanish to ask about it then it would all make sense. A couple of exhibits were open, though, and I did enjoy the Museo de Comandancia del Che, a walkthrough of the life of Cuba's most famous revolutionary, Che Guevara.  I may have left that exhibit with a small crush on their national hero.

We then tried to make our way back across the bay to the city, which was not as easy as we thought it would be. You can only get through the tunnel by vehicle and there weren't any taxis around. We had read that we could catch the bus back but there was no sign of a bus stop anywhere. We managed to communicate in broken Spanish with the owner of a small cafe in the middle of an empty carpark who assured us that a bus would stop there, we waited for about half an hour getting increasingly nervous that there had been a miscommunication, but eventually an over-priced tourist bus showed up and thankfully took us back into Havana.

Unfortunately for us the Museo de la Revolucion was closed during our visit (again I'm not sure why, but if I spoke better Spanish perhaps I would understand), as was the Capitolio Nacional (for renovation, I was able to work that much out). I think that seeing those places would have made my time in Havana more enjoyable. As would avoiding the scammer who we thought was being friendly and giving us directions, but ended up guilt-tripping us into giving her money to buy milk for her baby. She could have been genuine, who knows, the poverty of every-day Cubans was certainly evident in the less touristy parts of town, yet she definitely exploited our polite British-ness, and the whole encounter left a bitter taste in my mouth. 

All in all, I was glad my time in Havana was short, because it kept it sweet. I loved wondering around its beautiful streets, desperately snapping as many pictures as I could in an attempt to capture the city's crumbling charm. Yet, perhaps because it couldn't live up to the intoxicating picture the guidebooks had painted in my head, it wasn't all I had expected it to be. It was, however, the perfect gateway to all that Cuba has to offer, and a great start to a trip that kept getting better.

Heading to Cuba? Check out the seven things I wish I'd known before my trip