Cuba, Dec 2011 - Jan 2012

Los cuatro amigos, Havana 

Despite meticulous pre-planning, Cuba still managed to astound us. Admittedly we were warned. In its defense, a lot of what we'd been told would probably go wrong, didn't. The only bit of advice we chose to ignore (at our peril) was not to rent a car. No GPS? No problem, we'll get a map. What do you mean they don't sell maps in Cuba? Okay well we'll buy one in London. How bad can it be?
People actually aren't exaggerating when they say there are no roads signs, and when we finally found our way out of Havana and onto the highway there were massive potholes which we couldn't see because there were no street lights, and we nearly hit a dozen hitchhikers standing in the middle of the road (who we couldn't see because THERE WERE NO STREET LIGHTS). A tad stressful.
Four hours later we arrived in Santa Clara to find we no longer had a room at the casa we had booked months in advance (she thought we weren't coming). We ended up at the diabolical Cuba Libre hotel (former Hilton), which was hosting the biggest party in Santa Clara on its rooftop bar. Having arrived too late to catch the Christmas fireworks in nearby Remedios (the sole purpose of renting a car) we tried in vain to get a good night's sleep with Rihanna and Flo Rida blaring.

The disappointment of Remedios was soon forgotten thanks to the charm of Santa Clara. It's a small university city best known for its impressive Che memorial. The tobacco factory here is also said to be better than the ones in Havana. We found the tour very informative and stocked up on Cohibas afterwards. We also visited the place where Che derailed a train of Batista's troops with a bulldozer during the 1958 Revolution. For our second night we moved to our original casa run by a lady called Olga who was very hospitable. The casa was located on Carmen Square where Santa Clara was founded in 1689.

The next day we took a slow drive on the coastal road to Havana, passing through Cardenas and Varadero. Our first impression of Varadero was of a beach paradise. We whiled away an afternoon at a rustic beach bar fronting onto the bluest water and the softest sand. After a day spent in the car it was heaven. Only afterwards did we read the guidebook write-up and if we had done so beforehand, we would never have gone. Its reputation as a soulless strip of beach filled with all-inclusive hotels doesn't inspire any desire to visit. But if you don't go the all-inclusive route and actually venture out of your hotel, it's actually very pleasant. We returned to Varadero after five days in Havana and rented scooters to check out the rest of the island.

It was dark when we pulled into Havana Vieja (old town). It's hard to describe Havana. It's both grand and gritty and heaving with character. We liked its shabbiness and the fact that it is so lived in - Habaneros gather on the streets, barbers leave their street-facing doors open to the voyeur. There's music everywhere and noise, stray animals, street food. The architecture is extraordinary. What it lacks in culinary appeal (the food is abominable) it more than makes up for in culture. We were lucky to catch a gala performance by the Cuban National Ballet as well as an evening of jazz in Mirimar. We captured as much as we could on camera. Take a look.

We flew to Grand Cayman for New Year to visit Katie and Sean and to complete our PADI Open Water certification. Jess joined from South Africa and we spent four days braaing on the beach, diving and snorkelling and catching up with friends.