After waking up at the obscene hour of 5am (and feeling amazing!) we got up and out and on the plane. Initially, we were turned away at the gate because our boarding pass didn’t have the proper stamps. Whatever, we made it.
I felt trepidatious arriving in Cuba, more so than Costa Rica, India, or even Thailand. Even though my Spanish is better than my non-existent Thai (or Hindi, or Punjabi), I felt exposed. Maybe because of my some-but-not-enough Spanish, I felt acutely aware of my incompetence. Or maybe because the guard-rails of American tourism were gone. Or maybe it’s because I’m going to a country that for most of my life I’ve been told is an enemy of the state. Maybe it was just knowing my cell phone wasn’t gonna work. It wasn’t the same near-panic I felt on the flight to Himachal Pradesh, but I was excited!
After landing, we made it through customs and border patrol very quickly, changed money, and got a taxi to the apartment. One of the neighbors was kind enough let us the gate, and we took a slow elevator to our floor. We found the room, rang, knocked, and waited stood outside, but to no avail. Figuring they had gone to breakfast, we left a note and went exploring.
We walked towards the malecon, then cut a loose circle back to the house, checking out a market on the way. Think farmers market with more interesting smells. We got back to the house and sat down outside to wait to meet up with the rest of the crew.
While we sat, the same man who let us in earlier came by and asked us what had happened. We explained we missed our friends and were just waiting for them. He introduced himself as Filiberto and struck up a conversation. He had recently moved to Havana to live in the place his daughter, a former anesthesiologist, had vacated. Several years earlier, she had met a man from Belgium vacationing in Cuba, and they had since married and she moved to be with him. The husband was able to support their entire family by running a grocery store. It was really heartening to hear how proud he was of his daughter for making bold moves, despite the life she had built here.
Eventually, Anand and Hanna showed up, so we headed up stairs. After getting water, talking story, explaining the cf of the past day, we got up and out and began wandering.
We grabbed lunch/breakfast at Paladar Santa Barbara. It was good, but didn’t compare to the Island Fusion Grill.
After, we stopped by the Hotel Nacional in a failed search for wifi, then successfully had a mojito. From there, we took a car to Habana Vieja to wander. True to recommendations, the iced chocolate beverage from the Museo de Chocolate was excellent, no matter how spoiled SF chocolatiers have made us. The drinking chocolate from Dandelion would still be my top recommendation, but when in Havana…
On the walk over, we wandered through a dense residential area, which was pretty interesting. People just hung out outside, talking with their neighbors, taking in the scene. The disparity between living conditions between the US and Cuba were obvious though, and we were approached by one person asking for money for his sons birthday. I guess when the average salary is US$20/month, asking obvious tourists for a buck or two is low risk/high reward.
After chocolate (and a coffee) we headed to El Bodegito de Midio. They had a live band playing, and Dina and I snuck in a dance! Afterward, we headed to dinner at Atelier. The food was fine, but better meals can be had for less money. Following, we walked by Gato Tuero, but the $5 cover was enough of a deterrent that we opted instead to head home, plan for tomorrow, and sleep.