Yum. Cubans love Canadians obviously, but they also just really love people. They love entertaining, and I imagine, or what I truly hope is that with the new tourism climate there, there is an opportunity for them to show off their culture and have it be embraced. They LOVE to sing and dance and feed you and get you drunk. They want people to love it there. I hope that continues, and I just hope it doesn't become obscured by mindless tourism and overdevelopment for $$ only.
My air bnb host is already fantastic, and reading through her reviews is so fun. I am there for researching & photojournalism, and her best friend works at the primary newspaper and she offered to put us in touch. Her father hosts breakfast for people. She connected local professors with travelers on topics of interest.
This is exactly why I want to go now - while it's still fairly unaffected by US tourism dollars.
This is so interesting, and reassuring! This is exactly how it works, you meet one person and then suddenly you're connected to everyone you need to do all the things you want to do. Like the Dad with the breakfasts lol. Every time we hired a driver, we ended up at the home of someone in his family and they cooked an amazing meal for us.
Post by onesweetworld on Jun 30, 2016 17:05:10 GMT -5
I went in 2015 (Canadian here).
Where are you staying?
I loved the water, beaches and old architecture/cars etc. I went there mainly to take photos and lay on the beach.
I didn't love the food (this may have changed now that the USA has opened things up). Edited to say that the local food was great. The resort food was not.
The cockroaches were very large.
There was no real internet but it didn't bother me.
The tours we did were okay. I enjoyed all the old cities and the culture.
No advice, but please do a post about it when you get back. We tried to book a trip right after they lifted the travel bans but there was still no commercial flights. It is definitely on our list to doin the next couple years.
Cuba is gorgeous. The food in AI is terrible but i dont think that is trie for all of Cuba. One of my best friends rents a house there every year with her DD, so does her dad. It's pretty cheap, the beaches are gorgeous, it's safe, it has an amazing healthcare system.
I'm surprised at all the anti-food posts! Cuban is one of my favorite cuisines and I've considered a trip down there JUST for the culinary adventure!
I can't wait to hear about your trip. This is definitely on one of my must-see places ASAP.
I can only speak from my personal experience there last year, but Cuban food like you get in Cuban American restaurants did not mirror the food I ate in Havana at all. For example, the Cuban sandwich doesn't exist.
I was definitely in the "Cuban food is bland" camp. We had rice, beans, and some type of protein for basically every lunch and dinner. Salads were tomatoes and cucumbers. It was right up there with Costa Rican cuisine for me, and by the end of the week I was so desperate for something else that we ended up at an Italian restaurant in Havana and that was by far my favorite meal of our trip. Of course, you may have a totally different experience, as more paladars open up and highlight better cooking, but I found the restaurants left a lot to be desired, personally.
I worked at a Cuban restaurant owned and operated by Cubans. We did have Cubanos (sandwiches) on the menu, but most of what we had was authentic. I love real Cuban food.
I stayed in Varadero, but did take the day trip into Havana, and it was AMAZING!!! The food was a little bland, but it was fine. The sand was fine and the water was like a warm bath (I went in April).
- bring money
- bring Dollar Store toys/toiletries/etc to give to people. They really are poor, but don't beg... I left "things" as tips for housekeeping, and they generally appreciate it more than money, because most of the things like shampoo and soap are a luxury.
I bartered with a woman at a market for some jewellery for my DD, and we talked about our children. I gave her a bunch of little notebooks and erasers for her kids, and she hugged me and cried.
- don't turn off the light in your bathroom, or it will be cockroach city!
- a lot of the staff in the resorts speak English, and in places like Varadero, they have to actually work at the resorts to live in that city. I felt very safe there.
It's a beautiful place, and I'm so glad that I went when I did. I read four books in five days on the beach, got to see Havana, eat in the same restaurant as Hemmingway, saw the Tropicana show, flirted with the natives... it was a pretty great adventure.
Post by sunshinedaydreams on Jun 30, 2016 22:33:10 GMT -5
We went last year on a very similar trip to @sfgal530 , and I agree with a lot of her recommendations.
Tropicana was really fun! They give you a bottle of rum and a cigar when you go in. The dances are fun and costumes are crazy! We did get a bit bored after a while and left before the show was over, but it was a good night out. You'll have to buy tickets with cash when you get there. Our hotel had a concierge that sold tickets.
We took one of the classic convertibles from our hotel, down the Malecon to the Tropicana and then he came back to get us. One of the best experiences. The driver was awesome and told us so much about life in Cuba. We actually met up with him a few days later and he drove us all around Havana and refused to let us pay because we had become his amigos.
Jaimanitas was really awesome! Jose Fuster has tiled almost every single inch of his entire neighborhood over the last 20 years, and it is crazy! His house is insane (pic below), and every corner in his neighborhood has a different mural tiled on it.
Paladars are definitely the way to go for food. El Cocinero was one of our favorites. They have a really nice rooftop patio and good food. It's in a restored peanut oil factory, so it's kind of industrial chic. Another we did was La Casa. They had excellent seafood and a pretty big menu.
My absolute favorite thing we did was to see a show by the Compas Dance Group. I'm not sure if you can schedule this yourself or not; we visited their studio as part of our Cultural tour. They have this gorgeous studio that they've hand-painted and it's a women's group that does rhythmic dance, plays drums, and plays on traditional Cuban chairs made of wood and leather. It was AMAZING. So intense and soulful. I felt the rhythm to my core.
Definitely wander Old Havana. There's some cool stuff there. You can pick up a local "guide" in most areas who will charge you 1-2 CUC to tell you basics of what the buildings and things around you are. There's a HUGE indoor craft market in Old Havana; not sure if it's open every day - we were there on Sunday. Super cheap art and all sorts of crafts, clothes, kitchen utensils, books, etc.
Mostly get out into the city and approach people. Most we found spoke English, and they are SO excited about relations with Americans. They want to talk and tell you about their life and learn about every day life in America. The most genuine and best experiences we had were with our convertible driver and people we met in art shops, cafes, bars, etc. I'm glad we did the tour because we saw a lot of the inner workings - ration markets, health care facilities, etc. - but it was obvious that some of the tour stuff was propaganda.
Have fun! We loved Cuba and are so glad we got to see it before it changes too much.