The last few days in Havana were more of the same, some exploring, reading (about the revolution and its main figures), and checking out places that seemed interesting. This is more or less a summary of the highlights
For some odd reason, Margarita started calling me "Commanda" and that nickname lasted until my last day at her casa. I hadn't been shaving (until now) and had a little beard growing (trying to look like "Los Barbudos" - the bearded fighters that stayed in the Sierra Maestra mountains). Maybe my looks, the books and cigars in my room made her call me that........It was funny actually, it seemed as if we were becoming friends.
Here is a picture of me trying to look like the revolutionaries. (I only saw this Fidel photo when I was writing the blog, way after I took mine)
castro_jungle_05
DSC04496
Ambos Mundos:
I spent a day at the Ambos Mundos hotel located on Obispo street, one of the main streets in Havana and where all the shops are. The hotel is really nice and they have a laid back café; it is one of the few places where you can sit and feel a nice breeze from time to time (not sure why though since it is located on a busy street with buildings all around, bas howa 3ala nasya bardo…..yemkin nasya ba7ari mesh 3aref).
Hemmingway spent sometime in the hotel writing one of his books, his room is open for visits. I honesty did not bother myself with seeing the room. I was just enjoying their café/bar sipping mojitos, enjoying a cigar and reading my book in an attempt to finish it before leaving Cuba. I wanted to ship a few things back to Egypt and wanted to send the book along. I was preparing my second shipment back home, first one was in Argentina. I had over packed in terms of clothes and therefore needed to send some stuff back in order to enjoy the rest of my trip (I also sent some souvenirs that I had bought along the way).
The security guy working at the hotel thought I was a millionaire when I was talking to him about my trip in South America. I seemed like a rich kid sitting in the lobby of a nice hotel in the old part of Havana enjoying a cigar and cocktails. The thing is since everything is owned and controlled by the government all drinks cost the same in Havana. A cocktail is 2.5-3 CUC depending on where you are, so drinking in the Ambos Mundos costs the same as in any small café or bar in Havana Vieja or Centro........so why not enjoy a nice relaxed place at the same cost.
DSC04734
DSC04056
DSC04059
Dos Hermanos
Dos Hermanos was one of the places Hemmingway used to visit, he basically visited every place in town so it’s not something so rare or special, but they like to use it for Marketing. Because Dos Hermanos is a bit out of the way (still in Habana Vieja, next to the rum museum) it is not as busy as the Floridita (or as expensive). The first half of the Cuban blog was written here, it was pouring that day and I stayed there (like 7 hours - the rain did not last that long though) until the rain had stopped. I passed my time there drinking beer and working on the blog/diary (bil cigar tab3an).
Dos Hermanos is a really nice place, very nice atmosphere with a sea breeze, it is very close to the sea and ship terminal.
DSC03235
DSC03236
Teatro Nacional de Cuba:
In Vedado there is another teatro, with a few night spots in and around it. I was at the Delirio Habanero Piano-bar (a club like place inside the Teatro), they usually have live shows at night, it was not a weekend night but I decided to go, it was the night before my trip to Vinales.
There is also another club right next to it (Cafe Cantante). The place only opened at 11 PM, so I had to wait outside until they would let us in. The club is on a top floor overlooking the Plaza de la revolucion which means you get great views of the plaza.
DSC04654
DSC03905
DSC03906
DSC04660
DSC04659
DSC04498
Everyone getting inside had some kind of paper slip that the security guy checked against their IDs. I later asked what this was, it was a receipt showing that they had already paid. They paid in advance (not sure where/why or how the system works) and once they got in they sat at their reserved tables and would get served with a bottle and some drinks (based on observation).
Since I did not have this paper, I had to pay (3 CUC if I’m not wrong) to get in but the guy just let me in and said I can order anything with these 3 CUC. I went in and got myself a table (with cafeteria like plastic seats and a plastic cup ashtray) and ordered a beer (2.5 or 3 CUC). I paid for the beer and was waiting for the change. I thought I had enough money with me but it turned out I only had 10 CUC, I had miscalculated the amount of money I had left in my pockets.
As I was waiting for my change a big ass bouncer (ghame2 tab3an) came over and asked me to step outside with him, I did not know what he wanted but it was loud and I had to go outside to hear him. The manager (also a big guy) found out that I did not pay to get inside so he asked them to look for me so I would pay the 3 CUC, he thought eny zawaght. I tried to explain that it was the guy at the door's fault for not making me pay bs batkalim ma3 se3idy tab3an. I did not have money since the waiter did not give me my change back and the manager insisted that I had to pay or else I would not get back in. After some explanation he agreed that I go inside (escorted by the bouncer) and find the waiter who had my money in order pay the entry fee....................which is what I ended up doing successfully....I just hate these small episodes, they just fuck up your mood and are uncalled for
The show only started after 12 AM, and before that they had some music playing with video projections of the MTV music awards.....in Cuba! Tab3an Beyonce w Rihanna akalo el gaw
Most of the people in the place were locals, except for another gringo old guy. I saw him with two local girls sitting with him on the table. I was having my beer and lit a cigar, waiting for the show to start. At that point a girl came up and asked me if she could sit down, at first I could not understand what she was saying but she sat down anyway.
I could tell she was a working girl because she looked like it and was talking to the old gringo before me. There were two girls at the table next to mine and they seemed to be working girls as well (but much higher quality than mine to be honest). They were closely observing the girl that came and sat next to me. You can see one of them in this photo (not very clear):
DSC04501
The girl tried to make conversation aiming to steer it to the negotiation part (acting all interested in me and shit........bs 3ala meen!). I knew that sometimes there were working girls in kind of touristic places. The girl could tell I was not interested, but she was still trying to get any kind of contribution from my side (first to help her pay the rent for her apartment which had to be paid the next day, then to pay a cab to take her home, then to buy a pack of cigarettes).
She had another girl friend (working as well but less pretty) that decided to come over and joined our table. I tried to ignore them and enjoy the show, but all of a sudden it looked like I was this dude with a COHIBA cigar, a beer and 2 working girls with him on the table clapping and enjoying a live show..................mafioso style.
I had to give the girl some money to get the pack of cigarettes so she would leave me alone, this meant one beer less for me since I only had 10 CUC (or what remained of it).
I left after a while as I was supposed to go to Vinales early next morning. Since I did not have any money left I had to walk back home, not a very easy walk...............probably the girl used my money to go back home by cab while I walked...........fucking world!!
Here is a video from the club with some people dancing:
Last day in Havana:
Beer Café
I had mentioned earlier the Beer Café in Plaza Vieja, the place where they brew their own beer. I wanted to try it out and went there on the last day. The beer was really good, they have different types (dark beer, light beer as well as beer cocktails)
DSC04674
DSC04668
DSC03308
DSC03333
DSC04678
After a couple of beers I went to Plaza de Armas to try to buy some old pins from the book sellers there. As I was negotiating with the seller, someone called me, I turned around and I saw Christina (the Greek friend from our trip a few days earlier). It took me a few seconds (maybe more) to realize it was her (after the few beers I had). We had left her in Santa Clara to take a bus to Santiago and from there to the Dominican. There was a cyclone hitting Cuba and some Caribbean islands but it was only passing through the other side of the island (Santiago de Cuba). Christina’s flight got cancelled and she therefore had to change her plans and head back to Havana in order to fly to the Dominican.
It was a nice surprise, we decided to get something to eat since I had not had lunch, we went to the place I liked hanging out at, just round the corner from the Floridita. Here is Christina on her Iphone as usual:
DSC04706
After lunch we went to the Floridita to check it out since it was my last day (she had been there before). I had always wanted to visit the Floritida even before going to Cuba. I think we even met the franchise owner of the Floridita in England in Sharm El Sheikh with my friend Tarek Bedir. It was one of the first places I looked for when I got to Cuba. I had imagined it completely different; I thought it would be like an open air café/bar with a small restaurant inside overlooking the sea. It was more of a fancy bar and it looked like the other bars you can find anywhere. I had wanted to go there but for some reason I always went to other places, it was my last day however and I intended on going.
DSC04748
DSC04719
DSC04720
DSC04721
DSC04725
DSC04731
DSC04713
DSC04715
DSC04726
DSC04707
DSC04712
Known as the home of the daiquiri and Hemmingway’s place this is the most famous place in Cuba. The most famous drink is Papa Hemmingway which is a daiquiri cocktail dedicated to him. They have a statue of Hemmingway sitting at his favorite seat at the bar.
DSC04716
Like all other places in Havana there was live music playing. One of the guests even joined the band, he seemed Cuban (the one in the red hat).
DSC04727
The Floridita is probably the most expensive place in Havana; it charges 6 CUC per cocktail. Most people just go for a drink and to see the place; almost no one stays there for drinking.
Christina’s detour meant that she had no money left after paying the hotel and cab to the airport. None of the machines would give her any money. So we agreed that she would pay by credit card for the both of us and I would pay her in cash. She also mentioned that she saw my blog (apparently someone posted it on my FB page 
), which now means I need to be more careful about what I write since I had promised her I would be nice.
We had a couple of drinks, she had to leave at 7 PM to see someone or something like that. Turns out that she got herself a Cuban boyfriend and could not wait to see him, she had been away from Havana for some time (she should have actually been out of the country a few days earlier). He was not just a normal Cuban dude, he was a wrestler in the national team (how very Roman of her!). They met on her flight to Havana. The moment she mentioned she had a Cuban boyfriend a few things made sense............mainly the loves bites on her arms (which I could not tell if they were bruises or hickies), there was a smaller one I think on her neck but you could not tell. I got her permission to write about her Cuban boyfriend but not more than that; I took my chances since she is a really nice person. She even mentioned she would send me photos of her Cuban wrestler boyfriend so that when people read the blog they would see how good looking he is.
After the Floridita we parted ways……
In Plaza Vieja there is a place called the Chocolate Museum, it was a place where you could buy chocolate and they had a cafe as well. They make the chocolate inside the place. I had a hot chocolate, I needed one after drinking for most of the day. The hot chocolate had some kind of pepper in it.......did not really like it but it was something new
DSC04742
DSC04739
DSC04740
I went back to Casa Margarita to pack, my flight was very early and I had to leave at 5 AM (for some reason I keep reserving very early flights). Margarita was having a party at the Casa, she had prepared some food and drinks since some of the guests in the other rooms were leaving as well. They guests were from Spain and Italy (the Italian guy was just in Marsa Alam).
They were listening to all the old music our parents listen to (Olivia Newton John, ABBA, etc.). I was forced to join the party even though I preferred to pack and have an early night. The AC wasn’t working, which made it impossible to stay in the room and pack..........joining the party in the garden was the only tolerable option. The houses in Havana have both electric currents (110v and 220v), the bigger machines like the ACs worked on 220v and the light and smaller devices used 110v. The AC was not working since the220v current was cut, but we still had music and lights.
I had a couple of tasty sandwiches, I hope they were not pork/ham.........I did not want to be impolite, I had to take them. As soon as the AC was back, I went back to the room, showered and packed. I organized a taxi to pick me up at 5 AM and that was the end of my stay in Havana.
This has nothing to do with this blog post, I just found the declaration form you need to fill when entering Cuba (it asks you if you have porn with you)!
DSC05418
