Havana Ball

There is something about Cuba, the romance of the Revolution and it's charismatic leaders Fidel and Che, the faded colonial architecture and the peoples staunch stance in the face of US aggression, that make it an appealing destination.

Steeping onto the streets of old Havana is like stepping through a time-warp, the faded colonial architecture and beat-up 50's Chevrolets weave an unusual spell, creating a truly charming atmosphere that sucks you in and refuses to let you go.

The people of Cuba are it's greatest treasure, they have come through a lot surviving oppression (under Batista), revolution and grinding poverty (thanks to an illegal blockade) but have come through with a smile and a refreshing lust for life that is infectious, get to know them.

Quick Tips:

Avoid anything that is state-run, the state-run restaurants and hotels are uniformly appalling, far better are the Paladares, private restaurants run from peoples living rooms, and the Casa Particulares, spare rooms rented out by house owners are vastly superior and give an insight into Cuban life.

As a foreigner you will be expected to pay for everything in dollars, but it can be useful to carry a small stash of Pesos and to seek out some of the out of the way places that will except it, not only are they significantly cheaper but they are also a lot more friendly.

The Cubans are one of the friendliest people in the world, and even if you don't share a word of the same language, they will spend hours just chatting away to you. There are a few unsavory characters that will befriend you purely for your dollars don't let that poison you to the genuine people.

Best Way To Get Around:

The highlights of Havana are within easy walking distance of each other and indeed much of the old town is pedestrianized, the streets are safe thanks to a large and visible police presence so there is no reason not to enjoy the city on foot.

For travel further afield the authority's have a network of trains and buses especially set-aside for tourists and dollar paying locals but these can be very unreliable due to the shortage of petrol thanks to the US blockade. The local Peso trains and buses but it's practically impossible for tourists to get on them.

Finally there is Cubana, the Cuba national airline which has a network of local flights to all the major destinations, but the fleet of aging Russian prop-planes are rapidly falling into disrepair which may account for it having the highest ratio of death per passengers, but it's a cheap white-knuckle ride if you're up to it.

On the edge of Havana's old town, just off of the Paseo de Marti, and within spitting distance of the Presidential Palace and the Capitol, stands a spectacular 1908 building that houses the famous Hotel Sevilla, now run by the Accor group and one of the most expensive places to stay in Havana.

This was the place to stay in Havana during Batista's regime, and photos line the wall in the ground floor gallery show a number of the celebrities and gangsters who stayed here during the hotels heyday in the '30s and '40s. The hotel even features in Graham Greene's novel "Our Man in Havana" as the place where Wormwood meets Hawthorne. The hotel was left to rot following the revolution as a symbol of the corruption that Castro and his companeros sought to overthrow. Bought up by the French hotel chain, it has recently been lovingly restored to its former grandeur.

The 188 rooms are spacious but basic with twin beds, combination lock room safe and dodgy Russian air-conditioning that will keep you awake all night if you make the mistake of switching it on. The en-suite bathrooms have the standard set-up of basin, bath, shower and a some-what erratic hot water supply. The ground floor has 24 hour reception with a friendly English speaking staff, a shopping arcade with a number of boutiques, tour agencies and the requisite tobacconist, and a sauna, fitness club and swimming pool that are open to non-guests for a small fee.

The ground floor bar is pleasant and airy with an open roof, decorated like a Seville Patio complete with a working fountain; this is a great place to take a break from the rigors of the city with a long cool drink. The Mary Pickford (rum, pineapple juice, grenadine and ice) is the specialty of the house, this refreshing cocktail was invented in this bar in the 1920s. Upstairs is a marvelous roof-top restaurant, where the complimentary breakfast is served each morning, the large windows that surround the room command spectacular views over Havana's old city and out onto the Caribbean sea.

The extortionate room prices, even by Havana standards, means this is probably not a place that you are likely want to stay for long, but it is worth a visit to see the gallery of old photos, the relaxing patio bar and the unique views over the city.

Helado ("Ice Cream") is hugely popular with the Cuban people and every town has a Coppelia ("Ice Cream Palor") the most famous of which is in the center of the Vedado district of Havana. Huge queues snake up the street as the locals wait patiently to get in.

The eccentric steel building was constructed in the 1960 and looks like a reject from a bad sci-fi B-movie and is showing signs of it's age and neglect as rust threatens to consume the structure. It is a place that is very special to the people of Havana, but it's uncertain how long this place has left in it, business is booming with locals and tourists alike, the problem is a simple matter of supply. The U.S. blockade not only means that ice-cream can not be imported but animal feed is also in short supply, meaning Cuba's milk production continues to dwindle causing prices to rocket and ice-cream production to be put in peril.

The queues can be avoided by taking a seat at one of the open air areas around the main building which are reserved for dollar paying tourists, and the security guards will insist on directing you to one of these if you are a foreigner but this somewhat misses the point of the experience, and keeping your head down or bribing the guard will allow you to queue with the locals. I know only a Brit. would pay to queue but this is a fantastic way to mix with a wide strata of locals as the guard slowly let in small groups to sit at the communal four-seater tables.

The table service is courteous with uniformed staff delivering the days list of flavors, Strawberry and Chocolate is the traditional flavor, hence the title of Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea's highly acclaimed movie Fres y Chocolate which featured the Coppelia heavily and played a record run just across the road at Cine Yara. The locally produced ice-cream comes in generously heaped bowls sprinkled with confectionery which makes for a very sweet combination, hardly surprising in a country famed for it's production of sugar, and one bowl is more than enough for most people although the locals wolf it down.

A bizarre piece of 60's architecture, a rare opportunity to mix with locals from all walks of life, excellent service, cheap prices and extraordinarily high-quality locally produced ice-cream, make sure that you pay it a visit before it closes it's door for the final time.

"My daiquiri in the Floridita, my mojito in the Bodeguita"

The quote falsely attributed to Hemingway by a cunning bartender at the Bodeguita has put both of these bars firmly on the tourist map. The quote may be false, but it does accurately represents Papa's drinking habits and these are essential stops on the Hemmingway trail.

Nobel Prize winning American writer Ernest Hemingway was a regular visitor to Havana in the 20's and 30's and lived here from 1939 to 1960 he was a regular visitor to Havana's old town where he spent his days bar crawling, the Bodeguita was where he would spend the days drinking with the elite of Havana's cultural life who would gather here. As the sun set he would move on to the Floridita where his habit of ordering double daiquiri's earned him the nickname Papa Dobles ("Father Doubles"). Both bars are now crowded with tourists attempting to follow in the footsteps of this American icon.

La Bodeguita del Medio ("Little Store in the Middle of the Block") retains much of its bohemian speak-easy feel that doubtless made it appeal to Papa. The tiny bar is crowded with tourists sipping at their $4 mojitos amid the graffiti covered walls of the bar, with signatures from the great and the good including Graham Greene, Errol Flynn, Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole and Fidel Castro. The mojito (rum, lemon juice, sugar, soda, mint leaf and ice) is Havana's most popular cocktail and is drunk throughout the day seemingly by the entire population of Havana. It is an extremely refreshing way to take your rum.

The far more austere El Floridita is dimly lit and comes complete with red jacketed staff and crushed velour soft furnishings. It is once again crowded with tourists but the sumptuous interiors make it a quiet and relaxing place to kick back and soak up the atmosphere in the early evenings although at $6 a drink it's an expensive place to get drunk. The daiquiri (rum, lime juice, sugar and crushed ice) was originally developed in the Oriente region of Cuba on the southern tip of the island but it was here at the Floridita that it was perfected, thanks to the introduction of an electric blender that allowed the ice to be crushed.

These two bars in the heart of Havana's old town make very useful stopping off points as you wander around the sights of the old colonial architecture, but their high prices mean that they are not places you are going to stick around for long and certainly not somewhere to take a meal.

The Vedado district may be the center of Havana's nightlife but on it's southern edge however is the far more somber Plaza de la Revolucion replete with the towering Plaza de la Revolucion which dominates the district and the famous Memorial Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

The Plaza de la Revolucion is rather dull wide expanse of concrete surrounded by some rather drab 1950's modernist blocks which now host much of the country's current communist governmental infrastructure including President Castro's office in the large building behind the tower. The whole area however come alive on May 1st, June 27th and other occasions when Fidel steps out to give one of his legendarily long speeches and this whole area is crammed with thousands of enthusiastic supporters who still regard the man as a revolutionary hero.

The 140-meter concrete tower that can be seen from throughout the district acts as a handy landmark. Out front is an enormous statue of Jose Marti the poet and revolutionary hero who is regarded as the father of the country and who died on April 11 1895 in the first battle of the war of independence against the Spanish. The star shaped base of the tower holds an un-inspired museum, entrance $3, to his life including a number of artifacts including his colt six re3volver and Winchester rifle. For an additional $2 you can ride the elevator to the top of the tower for views all the way out to the Caribbean Sea.

Easily the most famous sight to see here is on the south wall of the Ministry of the Interior, a dull concrete office block on the north side of the plaza which is enlivened by a mural of Argentinean Doctor and Cuban Revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The mural a blackened steel frieze based on the famous Korda photo taken during a rally in Havana in 1960 that became a de-riggeur fixture of any student flat in the 60's and 70's. The simple memorial is suitable tribute to the unassuming hero and like the man himself holds a special place in the heart of the Cuban people

This is hardly a must see when compared to the spectacular architecture of the old town and the fantastic vistas of the Malecon, but if you happen to be in the area, the tower does offer great views of the city and who can resist the chance to pose for a photo in front of the Memorial Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

On the southern limits of Vedado not far from the Plaza de la Revolucion is this enormous city of the dead, named in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus who discovered the island and first claimed it for the Spanish king (a fitting tribute to the man whose action lead to the annihilation of the native people?).

Work started on this enormous cemetery in 1868 and the Spanish architect, Calixto de Loira, who laid out it's strict block pattern of numbered streets and avenues lined with tombs and mausoleums became one of it's first permanent residents after his premature death shortly after completion in 1871. The five square kilometers of former farm land now contain the remains of nearly one million people, making this the largest cemetery in Cuba and one of the largest in the whole of Latin America, and the number continues to rise as the cemetery is still in use over 100 years later.

De Loira's neo-gothic Trinity gateway, topped by a sculpture of Faith, Hope & Charity stands resplendent on an otherwise dull street, beckoning in the passer by, entrance $1 for tourists. While the center of the complex is dominated 1886 Romanesque Octagonal Chapel. Both are extraordinary works of art in their own right and well worth a look. Among the people who are buried here are independence leader General Maximo Gomez, the martyrs of the Granma landing, and Amelia Goyri dela Hoz, who is accredited with miraculous powers after the body of her baby buried at her feet was found to have moved into her arms.

The cemetery was also the location for two of the key moments in modern Cuban political history. It was here in 1951 at the burial of political crusader Eduardo Chibas, who committed suicide live on radio, that Fidel Castro made his first public speech, jumping on top of the grave and denouncing the current regime. Castro, now president, would make history here again on April 16 1961 when at a service for people killed during a counter-revolutionary raid the previous day he would for the first time announce that his revolution was socialist in nature.

The somber atmosphere, shady tree lined avenues, and spectacular tombs make this city within a city worthy of a brief visit, but there is nothing here really worth coming out of your way for unless you are a particular fan of graveyards.

At the north end of the Habana Vieja is the Plaza 13 de Marzo, a simple public park dominated on it's southern end by the spectacular building which houses the Museum of the Revolution, by far Havana's most popular attraction.

The ornate presidential palace was completed in 1920 and was home of the President of the republic from then until the revolution, and it is by far the most impressive building in the whole of Cuba. The interiors are truly sumptuous and a couple have been preserved in their original state, including Batista's office from which he fled at the approach of Castro's troops and a hall decorated by Tiffany's of New York. Out front you can also see one of the last remaining chunks of the old city wall and the Tank that Fidel rode in when repelling the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

The museum (admission $3) is a fairly standard telling of the story of the revolution from its early underground days all the way through to the modern day successes through the medium of documents, photographs, models of battles and personal belongings of the revolutionaries. The story is an interesting one full of adventure and excitement and seems to have been very well documented with surprisingly fine photographs of a movement that was supposed to be underground. Some of the individual stories are moving and even the tacky wax models of Cienfuego and Che manage to tug at the heartstrings.

Behind the palace is The Granma Memorial a large glass pavilion which houses the Granma, this was the boat that Fidel, Che and their companions first made land fall in Cuba onboard, having traveled across from Mexico. The boat has gone on to become a venerated symbol of the revolution, but it is in itself far from impressive and the pavilion makes it very difficult to get a good look at it. Dotted around the pavilion are various vehicles and remains of vehicles that were used in the revolution and the Bay of Pigs invasion, highlights include the remains of a US B-26 shot down by Castro and a home made tank used by Cienfuego.

On your way out don't miss the Cretins, one of the few exhibits in English, it consists of charicetures of Batista, Regan and Bush thanking each one of them for their contributions to the revolution. It is one of the more obvious examples of the mix of fact and propaganda that makes this a highlight of any visit to Havana.

This vast park just across the bay from the Habana Vieja is home to two of Havana's most dominating sights the Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Margos del Morro and the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana, trying saying that after one to many mojitos.

The Morro Castle was built between 1589 and 1630 to provide cross fire with the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta making the harbor impenetrable to foreign fleets, so in 1762 the Brits invaded over land, tunneled under the castle's defenses and occupied Havana for 6 months. The castle now houses a simple maritime museum (admission $2) with some diverting exhibits and Cuba's first light house (admission $2) added in 1844 offers spectacular views over the city and out to sea, but the highlight must be wandering between the rusting cannon along the battlements staring out to sea.

Work on the massive Cabana Fortress commenced in 1763 after the Spanish had bought back Havana from the British (they traded Florida for it and I'm not sure who got the better deal there), to ensure that the city could never be taken again. It is the most complex and expensive fortification in the Americas, according to legend King Carlos III of Spain tried to see it through a telescope exclaiming that a building this expensive should be visible from Spain. However by the time of its completion the struggle between colonizers in this area was over and the defenses were never put to the test.

Wandering around this massive complex (admission $3), which has been used as a barracks, a military prison, Che's post revolutionary HQ and is still an active missile base, it is easy to see why it cost so much, it is truly massive. Among the passageways you might stumble across a church, an armaments museum with some fine artifacts from throughout the islands long history, a small hall containing scale replicas of all the Colonial fortifications that dot the Cuban coast, and Che's office just as he left it, but I wouldn't guarantee it as it is easy to get lost.

This is somewhat off the beaten track as very few tourists seem willing to take the short bus or taxi ride through the tunnel under the bay (an idea they stole from the Brits?) making it a relaxing place to spend a pleasant afternoon wandering aimlessly.

The UNESCO World Heritage listed Havana old town is of course the highlight of any visit to Cuba's capital city and it is these streets lined with faded colonial architecture, bustling markets and animated inhabitants that you will find yourself spending most of your time.

On the edge of the old town not far from the waterfront is Havana's oldest square the Plaza de Armas, where in the mid-16th century the city was born. Fine colonial era buildings surround this pleasant tree shaded square which now plays host to a second-hand book market. These include the Placio de los Capitanes Generales once the seat of the Spanish colonial government and now houses a museum, El Templete a scale reconstruction of the Parthenon and the fabulous 16th century Castillo de la Real Fuerza worthy of a visit (admission $1) despite the dull ceramics museum that it now houses.

At the heart of the old town is the Plaza de la Catedral, built at the turn of the 16th century on reclaimed swampland it was originally called Plaza de la Cienaga ("Swamp Square"). In 1788 the diocese of Havana was created and this small church was promoted to cathedral status leading to a major face lift leaving it with its current Baroque exterior and unaccountably uneven twin towers. The tiny interior is strangely quaint compared with the fabulous exterior and proves to be something of a disappointment. Outside in the small square you will usually find Santerian fortunetellers, demonstrating how these two religions easily co-exist.

South of the major attractions of the old town you will find the real Habana Vieja, a twisted cluster of dirty back-streets which house some of the city's poorest people in some of it's finest old colonial buildings. There are a couple of attractions such as Casa Natal de Jose Marti, and a chunk of the old city wall with a brass relief of the old town mounted on it, but this is not the reason for visiting this area. The atmosphere is truly electric as these people go about their daily lives amongst awe-inspiring churches and palaces making this the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Havana.

A massive restoration project is now underway following the decay and neglect of the post soviet era, and while this may rescue many of the crumbling buildings from oblivion it does take-away some of the atmosphere, at the moment there is a happy medium making this the time to pay your visit.