Day 1 Part 1

Friday February 26 2016

Our adventure to Havana was during our 5-week holiday on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.  We flew from Cancun to Havana on AeroMexico, departing Cancun at 12:30pm and landing in Havana at 1:15pm.  See my blog post Getting to Cuba for more travel information. 

We filled out the green form while on the plane, including the address of our casa.  I made a mistake on it and asked for another one but never did get it so tried to fix my mistake.  As we made our way through the airport no one took this form.  I kept it just in case it was something we needed for departure time.  Nope!

View just before landing in Havana…

Jose Marti Airport….

We exited the airport after immigration and customs at 2pm, so quite speedy.  But now we needed to exchange our CAD cash for CUC.  Welcome to the lineup.  Yikes!

There are 2 exchanges in the arrivals area…both were very busy.  I knew about one at the departures area but didn’t know where that area was.  I would definitely recommend finding it as the lineup there was very short compared to this!  There was one teller and it took an hour to get our funds exchanged.  Our driver was not impressed with having to wait but what could we do?  I needed CUC to pay him!  We tipped him well and then he was happy.  The rate for CAD was 1.41 so for $800 CAD I received $567 CUC.  I didn’t know if I would need them or not but decided to get some CUP as well.  That can only be received after changing CAD to CUC, so for $40 CUC, I received $960 CUP. 

While waiting in line with mostly Europeans and South Americans, we enjoy the view….it’s a time warp!

By 3pm we are on our way…about a 30-minute drive to our casa particular in Havana Vieja.  It’s a bit surreal to see these old cars on the highways!

Scenery on the way….

The streets seemed to get narrower and narrower!

Capitolio Nacional…

Let’s just put these eggs in the trunk to keep them safe!

There are cars, buses, bike taxis, car taxis….it's a free for all!....

We arrive at Hostal La Cecilia (see my blog post Where We Stayed) at 3:30 and are greeted by Maylú, the caretaker of the casa and the owner’s art studio.  She is a wonderful sweet lady and we feel very happy with our accommodations.  There is a bit of confusion over our payment….I brought Euros as requested in our booking email, but Maylú is expecting CUC.  I’m not looking forward to going through another exchange lineup so after a call to Alberto, the booking agent, all is good….Euros are happily accepted. 

We quickly unpack and clean up from travel and then venture out.  Stepping out our front door we are surprised to see a photo shoot on our doorstep! 

We take a look inside the Church….Iglesia Del Santo Angel Costudio…

One block from our casa is the Museo de la Revolución….we’ll visit here on Sunday…

We make our way a few short blocks towards the Malecón…

Sirens blare from a fire truck….

All these people are lined up for a local bus….

We’re still getting used to seeing all the retro cars….very cool….this roadway is a tunnel that goes under the Bahia de la Habana…

Parque de Mátires and Monumento al General Máximo Gómez

Monumento de Estudiantes de Medicina

We had to cross a few intersections....we just ran really fast!

Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta

The waves were crashing along the Malecón…

More to come…

Where We Stayed....

Choosing a place to stay in Havana is a fun and challenging task.  What should it be?....Hotel?  B & B?  Casa Particular?  Where should it be?  Havana Vieja?  Vedado?  Centro?  When you're a Cuba 'newbie', it's hard to know where and what to choose.  It's best to just begin searching through the various websites to see what's available and to get a sense of the types of accommodations.  Location is also important depending on what area you are wanting to explore.  Of course, budget also plays a role.  Havana has everything from very cheap to rather pricey.

Our visit was going be short.....only 4 nights.  Cuba is a large island with so many places to explore, but we were going to concentrate our visit on Havana Vieja.  There would be more than we could see just in that small area!

Quickly, my search led me to 'casa particulars'....Here is a perfect description:

A private room, apartment or house for tourists in Cuba is called a 'Casa Particular'. By staying in one, you will get the following benefits:

• Happiness: You can quickly develop genuine Cuban relationships and become deeply involved in the culture. Before you know it, you'll be part of the family and be made to feel very special.
• Freedom: You'll enjoy the free and easy atmosphere, feel completely at home in your casa and will be able to invite your friends over.
• Less Expensive Trip: You'll have more money to spend on taxis, restaurants, night clubs and museums.

We ended up booking Hostal La Cecilia via havanacasaparticular.com.  I booked online and paid a 10% deposit with the remainder to be paid upon arrival.  Prices were quoted in Euros and that is what was taken from my bank account.  I brought Euros along for the balance as requested on my email receipt, but CUC would be readily accepted as well.  Prior to booking La Cecilia, I asked on the Havana Trip Advisor forum as I was not having much success finding reviews.  The owner's sister, Tatiana responded and quickly put my mind at ease with extra information.  It sounded perfect and the photos online looked exactly like what we were looking for.  Let's go!

As offered by the helpful booking agent, Alberto, a driver met us at the airport and drove us to La Cecilia for $30CUC plus tip.  It was about 30 minutes with a lot of wonderful scenery along the way.  We arrived at La Cecilia, which is located in a beautiful little plaza shared by Church Iglesia Del Santo Angel Costudio and Café Boutique Jacqueline Fumero.  Hostal La Cecilia is located on the

main floor of the building, situated behind the owner’s art gallery, Inti Alvarez Estudio Galeria. 

The view from our front door to the left…

To the right…Museo de la Revolucion in the distance...

The stairway inside our entrance to another casa particular…

View from the stairway towards entrance…

The gallery entrance to the left and our door to the right…

Our door…

View from our door towards entrance…

Inside our door was a foyer with a phone and a doorway to more of the house that was undergoing renovation…

   

Looking into the courtyard under reno….

From our foyer, our apartment door…

Inside the apartment, looking towards the foyer…

From the doorway….bedroom area with bathroom and small kitchen area to the right…

These doors lead from our apartment into the gallery….locked from both sides but can be opened when the gallery is open…

TIP....we did not need any power converters or adapters for blow dryer, phone charger etc.

I loved these lamps…

Bathroom and kitchen area…

  

Bathroom and shower…

Kitchen included a full size fridge conveniently stocked with large water bottles, beer, and pop.  Prices were $2CUC each and we left money in a basket.  There were also dishes and a coffee maker….

And a cigar-smoking chair!...

  

Looking from the kitchen back to bedroom and through to art gallery…

The tile floors were beautiful…

  

Vince thought they looked like little dogs….I have to agree!

  

From our apartment into the art gallery…

I would have loved to buy one of these paintings….absolutely gorgeous colours…

Vince checking out the view…

I seriously think this is the most incredible view of our picturesque little plaza….we loved this location…

Our caretaker, Maylú.  She also looks after the art gallery.  Very sweet and pretty lady!

The view of our home at night…

We couldn’t have been more pleased with our choice and highly recommend Hostal La Cecilia.  We paid $40 Euros per night ($60 CAD).  The location couldn’t have been more perfect…a very short walk to the malecon and Museo de la Revolucion, and one block from 2 excellent restaurants.  The apartment was private, secure and very quiet.  There was a TV that had a few channels and AC if needed.  If we are lucky enough to travel to Cuba again, we would definitely stay at Hostal La Cecilia! 

Next post.....Day 1 details and tons of photos!