La Habana Vieja, Cuba

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Now that I'm back to my usual life in Switzerland since little more than a week, there are things that I start longing for what was a day back in Cuba:

Being surrounded by colorful buildings and cheerful people. No matter where I looked at, everything seemed simply beautiful to me. I remember asking locals what made me look like a foreigner - they pointed at my clothes. Sure I did - I wore grey, black, white and the simplest jewelry I could find. Compared to my work colleagues, who dressed to work with nice colorful outfits, always perfectly matched with heels, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, I looked like a robot.

Near the Capitolio, on my way to Floridita.

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Finding spots in town to simply sit and relax, or maybe even read a book (or smoke a cigar, heh). Havana is full of benches that give you the opportunity to enjoy the environment (from the shadow, that's essential).

Plaza Vieja - renovated part of the city center

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Almost no cars. Can you imagine it? I mean, ok, it's really not good when taken from a work/travel/urgency perspective. Cars are a privilege in Cuba - I was told that around 80% of the locals do not own a car. You might think that, in compensation, they have a very good public transport - well no. Public transport is really unreliable (which, again, explains the existence of Cuban Time). However, the peacefulness I experienced in the heart of the city - with kids playing on the streets and neighbors randomly chatting with each other on a doorway - would be gone if you add to Cuba the amount of cars driving, for example, in Delhi.

Somewhere in Havana (when I got lost after the bus leaving me on the end station)

Somewhere in Havana (when I got lost searching for a cafe)

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Having such a beautiful sunset every.single.evening. This point doesn't need to be explained, right?

The view from my hotel room

Don't miss my posts on the 10 things you should know about Cuba here.

10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part II)

6. They've just got the moves. No matter what they might tell you, ALL cubans can dance cuban salsa (also called "casino")- they were born with this gift. If you get the chance to go to a local cuban party, you'll probably get to see the "Rueda de Casino", which is a particular type of round dancing developed in Havana in the late 50s. Pairs of dancers create a circle, in which each dance moved is called out by one person and many of these moves involve the swapping of partners. I had the occassion to watch it last friday at a birthday party (in which, by the way, I was the only non-cuban non-salsa dancer), and believe me, it's simply impressive.

7. The Soviet Union is still beating. In 1960, Cuba signed a trade agreement (sugar/oil) with the Soviet Union - which provided the island with many russian cars (you'll recognize them by their rectangular shape), as well as TVs and photo cameras. When driving through Havana, you can also recognize some Stalinist architecture (although the majority of the buildings are art deco and colonial).

8. Cigars are not only for men. At least that's what I tell myself since I bought a pack of Trinidad Colonial for a try - I've always loved the femme fatale look. I remember cigars being a fashion for women in the 90s, well, it's time to get that fashion back ladies! Anyway, I read cuban cigars can't be sold in the US. There are rumors of Kennedy requesting his own press secretary to get thousands of his favorite cigars to stock them up in the White House right before he signed the embargo.

9. There's something called "Cuban Time". Most of the time I had an appointment - this one would start at some other time than established. I've been called for a meeting 1 hour before a 2-weeks-in-advance set time, but this was an exception - mostly things move on much slower than expected. When I was told "dinner at 8" at could be sure that I would not be anywhere before 9. This is a particular time system you have to get used to

10. Like wine to France, it's rum to Cuba. Cuba distills different types of rum. First, you can find the white rums, which are primarily used as mixers - that is, particularly for Mojitos and Daiquiris (the drink many people associate with Hemingway). Golden (or Amber) rums will have spent several years aging in oak casts and have a stronger taste, which makes them less suitable for cocktails but ideal for Cuba Libres or on the rocks. And last, the dark rums. These have a characteristic sweet caramel-dominated taste due to its long aging and are mostly recommended to drink neat or on the rocks.

Also Read: 10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part I)

Reasons Why I want to Avoid a Plane this Weekend

Let me look back at the last 24 hours.

Yesterday, a passenger plane crashed near the town of Guasimal (central Cuba), flying from Santiago de Cuba to Havana (a 1 hour and 50 min flight). The aircraft was carrying 61 passenger and 7 crew members, of which 28 were foreigners and 40 cubans - with no survivors. The crash took place as Tropical Storm Tomas strengthened over the Caribbean Sea.

Also, Another Qantas plane has made an emergency landing after reporting an engine problem shortly after take-off.

Today, a private charter plane with 21 people on board crashed after taking off from Karachi's airport, leaving no survivors neither. The cause of crash was a technical fault - the engine stopped working. This, only 4 months after the terrible incident that happened in the country on July 28th, when an Airbus crashed into hills of Islamabad after coming in to land after a flight from Karachi, killing 152 people on board.

In the last hour, The Tropical Storm has regained hurricane strength level 1 (Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale). Tomas is passing very close to western Haiti and will be over far eastern Cuba (particularly, Guantanamo) by this afternoon.

Hmm.. ok, this is not exactly an ideal situation.

I'm never scared of flying. I like it - it's exciting and adventurous. However, on days like today (and tomorrow) - I can assure that I would trade off any flight to just stay at home watching TV and drinking some hot chocolate.

*Sigh*

Havana Nights - The Cuban Way

I had been looking forward to the weekend during the whole first week I had spent here - specially since I had been invited to a party on friday night! Not only was I excited about getting to know some more people, but I wanted to learn about the REAL Havana Nights! That is - no places like Floridita (probably a must for tourists, but given the prices, its prohibitive for Cubans!).
The night started with a traditional cuban dinner. If you ever wonder what's cuban food like, well - it's a strange combination between south american, caribbean and spanish food, but with less ingredients. Cubans manage to cook a big meal with the basic foodstuff they can get - rice, malanga (a potato-like vegetable), bananas and beans. Believe me, with this kind of menu - you don't come to Cuba to hold on to a diet. I gave up last friday, when I was kindly offered a local food tasting that included malanga frita, mariquitas, yuca frita, moros y cristianos, bistec de cerdo, pudin de pan, fufu de platano, empanada de guayaba, casquitos de guayaba, and who knows what else I've been stuffing into my poor stomach that I had been acclimating to french portions for so long.

Anyway, after this unforgivable meal, I headed to a private party, me being the only non-cuban - yey! This might be surprising - but I had eaten so much, I couldn't even handle a drink. No mojito, no cuba libre. I was even struggling with the water. The only thing I wanted to do is move to stop feeling so clumpsy - a co-worker dragged me to her nephew, and told him to teach me how to dance.

Ergh, ok. No drink? No chit chat before starting to dance? - I think it was the first time, in YEARS! And I must admit, it was real fun. I felt a bit awkward, since everybody was checking out how I was learning the moves (if dare to call whatever I was initially doing "moves"). I remember the times when I was 15 or 16 and started going out on fridays and saturdays to dance. I used to have one whisky-cola and just danced for hours. I didn't care if the bar was empty or crowded. I didn't care who was watching, who might be criticizing my clothes, if I was sweaty or if my make-up was still in the right place (now I know the reason for me being single back then). Last friday, I felt the same way - I was free of thoughts, free of worries. I put all my attention on learning some of the cuban salsa moves and forgot about time, heat and well, at some point I even forgot I was at someone's birthday party (someone I didn't know), and that my appearance was pretty much one of the highlights of the night. In a party of naturally-gifted salsa dancers, I was the Ugly Duckling - but again, who cares?

I held up pretty well - I attempted dancing for hours! My teacher has been asking for me. My co-worker says, he offered to keep teaching me during the rest of the week (for free) - yay! I will take it as a compliment - maybe I'm not such a bad salsa dancer after all!

10 Things You Must Know about Cuba (Part I)

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1. One country - Two Currencies: the cuban peso (CUP) and the cuban convertible (CUC) - being it about 25 CUP = 1 CUC = 0.78 EUR. Cubans generally get paid in CUP, and salaries average around 400-500 CUP per month (which equals 12-16 EUR). This is really low, given that many consumer items now sell at international prices. As a tourist, you'll only trade in CUCs and, unless you go off the beaten track, will never come across a CUP.

2. Where do all the Graduates go? The education system in Cuba is enviable: school is free for everyone and it focusses on students to understand rather than memorize. Teachers/Professors demand a high level of participation and students have research to do at home, every day (oh, btw. there's no internet at home - what about that?). In bars, restaurants and hotels, you easily come across with engineers, biologists and historicians, who, after graduating, realized that they are better off working at the bar of a hotel than actually making use of their career - basically because tourists tip in CUC, which, as I explained, already equal 25 CUP!

3. No rights to buy or rent a house. When you drive across La Habana, you probably wonder who lives in all these beautiful colonial villas - at least I do! Well, anyone can live there - they can't be bought or rented. The only way of getting your "own" home, is by inheriting it. In the case the person leaves the country, if he/she doesn't come back after a year, the apartment/home will immediately belong to the Government, who will donate it to someone it believes to be in need. This results in many locals having to live with their parents (and grandparents!) even when married with children.

4. A Sip of Rum for the Saints. Every time a new bottle of Rum is opened, a sip is dropped to the ground and said to be offered to the Saints. This is a funny tradition, considering that Cuba is mainly a christian country. Well, it's not! There's a strange mix between christian and african-tribe-type beliefs. No wonder that you'll find several corners taken up by people dressed up in white tunics reading tourists fortune by staring at a glass of water.

5. Tell me about your car plate and I'll tell you about yourself. Not only are the old-timers that circulate through Cuba a whole sightseeing for tourists, but who gets a chance to glance at the streets (which I have - I sit next to a window) will notice the variety on number plates. There are several colours: the black ones (starting with TUR) are cars rented by tourists, the red ones are rented by companies, the yellow plates indicate private cars (most of which are these classic pre-revolution cars from the 40s-50s). Green plates are from militars, blue ones from the State and whenever you see one with a white number plate, it will probably be a government minister or an important state person.

Want to know more? Click here for reading Part II!

Getting Ready for Cuba!

Today in a week I'll be hopefully writing from my hotel balcony in La Habana, Cuba!

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I always get very excited when it comes to new destinations - even if its supposed to be "only for work"... Ok, got it, I've got to give the best out of myself with our cuban team - but I'm sure I'll find some time to visit the city, catch up on my caribbean tan and spend an evening surrounded by salsa-dancers without any classical dance education, but leave you breathless with their moves. I've bought a Lonely Planet travel guide for Cuba, hoping to find some nice corners of La Habana and, with some luck, spend the weekend in one of these postcard-type beaches with creamy white sand a bright blue water.

... only 4 days to go!

Ay, mamita!

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Talking about flexibility, today I've been informed that sometime around October I'll be going for a few weeks to Cuba to learn about the business that is done from Cuba and to get to know our local team.

I had been hoping for this moment for months, since 30% of my working hours I'm handling cuban business, which exposes me to its current political and economic situation. I've been looking forward to being in the heart of La Havana and experiencing the tension, but also the lust for life that characterizes its people. I want to walk along a local market selling old books and converse with their sellers about national poetry or art exhibitions (I'm sure there are many of them!).

I like to travel alone and don't need much to be entertained. Specially in South America, where people from Spain (and specially from the Canary Islands!) are treated as hermanos. With some interest in the country, it's very easy to start a conversation with locals - at least this was always the case in Montevideo.

... I guess I'm finally getting my "beach break" that I've been longing for the whole year! Does this mean I have to start my look-fit-in-your-bikini-routine over again?

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