So we get to our taxi and exchanged money in a hotel. Hotels aren't official money exchanges and they just took our Canadian dollars and gave us Cuban Convertible Pesos (or CUCs). It was super bizarre, but we did the math and it checked out.
In Cuba, the government-owned (and now some privately owned) hotels are EXPENSIVE. Mostpeople stay in Casa Particulars, much more similar to AirBNB or a bed and breakfast. Ours was on the expensive end at 40CUC a night, but the view was amazing. I would have paid 50 or 60 for that place and felt like I was getting a deal.
We were located on the Malecon, with a clear view of the whole Havana coastline. Malecon is a 6 km (just under 4 miles). It's filled with pedestrians, restaurants on the not seaside side, and also a 6 lane road!
Once we did our check-in business, we set out to start exploring. Our first mission was to make a reservation at Havana61 located, predictable, at 61 Havana St. Our casa owner mentioned it was delicious so we took him up on the offer (plus he might've mentioned air conditioning and we were already hot!).
Our first impressions of Havana were...weird. Our casa's building was well-maintained. The street was beautiful. But turn the corner down a side street and facades were crumbling and the most distinct scent was rotting trash. I read in a travel blog that Havana is a city full of contradictions and conflicts and it is so obvious from the very start.
As we wandered the streets we stumbled on a church in a plaza. We later found it is located on "Angel Hill" and called Iglesia del Santo Angel Custodio. It is where Félix Varela and José Martí were baptized. Later on, we walked by the cathedral. It was very odd to us that no churches had posted Mass times, which was disappointing. And since we didn't have Internet, we couldn't look it up and see if there was a Mass we could attend!At El Floridita, we were entranced by (1) the daiquiri making efficiency and (2) the Cuban music. The waiters at the bar made about 20 daiquiris at a time and were pretty much constantly making them. The Cuban singer at the bar was incredible. Her voice carried so far without a microphone and it turned out that was a feature of Cuban music we found throughout our stay. The vocals tended to be crystal clear and LOUD. But it was so very good.
By the time we were done wandering through churches and bars, it was time for dinner. We had, at this point, been walking around for about 4 hours. So naturally, use of the toilets was a little bit of a priority.
"Do you have a bathroom?"
"Why yes, but there's a small problem."
Jeff and I look perplexed.
"There's no water in this area of town."
And the waiter walked away. No joke. If we didn't already have some of our food, I think we might have left! A Canadian couple sat next to us and we found out that Havana61 is the #2 ranked restaraunt in Havana. Like I said before, it's a place of contradictions.
Our dinner was astoundingly good. I tried ropa vieja for the first time (and loved it so much I'mtesting my hand at a recipe for it tomorrow!). Even better than my ropa vieja or Jeff's pork was dessert---fried plantains. I fell in love with plantains on our honeymoon and these were infinitely better. Warm and crunchy and perfection. I would go back to Cuba JUST for those plantains again.
On our way back to the casa, we realized that there were a lot more police/military/security guards hanging around than there would be in, say, downtown NYC. Not sure if it was for the safety of tourists or a more a show of strength for the communist regime.
It wasn't too late, but we were exhausted (our flight left at 7:30 am from DTW). So we just headed back to the casa and watched the sunset. "just" meaning I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life sipping beer and wine and sitting across for my wonderful husband!
Also notable---this was the first night in our marriage that Jeff fell asleep before me. The 5 am alarm bothered him more than me!
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