Farewell to Havana

Cuba is a very interesting place. The history of the country and Havana is everywhere to see. The buildings from various rulers are everywhere to see, as is the diverse ethnic mix. It’s not like I was expecting, which was both good and bad.

By the time I reached Havana, I’d already been on holidays for two months. While that seems like a lot of fun, by the end of this time, it’s starts to be a bit of a grind. I was starting to look forward to being at home, sitting on my couch and watching a bit of tele. The constant drive to get out and see new stuff was getting a bit much. The last few days in Cuba, I was spending more time by the pool and less on the streets. I suppose that’s what you’re meant to do on a holiday, but I felt guilty, knowing there was good stuff out there to look at. Oh well, maybe next time!

What surprised me, was just how grim and depressing this place is. I was expecting the place to be a bit run down and poor, but I wasn’t ready for just how poor these people are. Sure, the cute 1950s cars everywhere are cool, but it’s from necessity, not from any great love of the period. These people are so poor, that’s all they have.

I’ve been to poor countries before, so the poverty didn’t really worry me. What was striking, was just how little there was to buy. Even in Myanmar or Morocco, every corner has a little shop selling drinks, food, fruit and various other stuff. Not in Cuba. The shops are few and far between. When you get into one, there’s a lot of shelves, but not much on them. What is there, is ridiculously expensive. It was pretty grim going into “Harris Brothers” and seeing basic necessities locked up in glass cases behind counters with bitchy staff to assist you.

The worst thing I saw, was an assistant helping a lady with a purchase. She was obviously a new mother, as she had the baby strapped to her front. The assistant was having a long discussion with her on the merits of buying disposable nappies. In most countries, you just push your trolley past the aisle, chuck them in and away you go. Here, the nappies were locked up behind a counter and were obviously very expensive for the poor lady. I found that rather shocking.

Another huge surprise was just how many tourists there were. Even more surprising, was how many of these tourists were English! As expected, there was a lot of Spanish tourists, but the Brits were out in force with their sandals and black socks. Some areas of the old town were so crowded with tour groups, that it was hard to move around.

After chatting to some people, I figured things out. Most people fly into Havana and go straight to an all inclusive beach resort to the east of town. They’re then bussed in for one day to experience the “real” Cuba. Some even throw in a few nights in a hotel in the city. Unfortunately, this seemed to be MY hotel. That explains the Chavs everywhere!

I had a good time in Havana. Walking around Havana Vieja is great, but there’s not that many other things to see and do. I think the trick is to go out and get drunk on rum every night and then lie by the pool. But if you’re going to do that, there’s really no need to come all the way to Cuba. As with a lot of places, the people seem great, but are being really let down by global politics. Viva la Revolution? Maybe...