Havana ooh na na, My heart is in Havana

Every bit as picturesque as any photo you’ve ever seen of this time capsule of a city. The charm of the oldtime cars, the European-influenced architecture, and the best cigars in the hemisphere. I had the blessed fortune of spending Thanksgiving there one year with some friends on a whim-meets-coincidence. For you math-ish nerds out there: whim + coincidence = meant to be.

First of all, let me kick things off with an honorary prologue: at the departing airport, when/where you actually obtain the visa, there was a group of desi passengers. It was one of those situations where you keep seeing the same stranger(s) kinda everywhere you go? Also turns out that they sat right near to me on the plane. UNcharacteristic of me, I did indulge in conversation with the mom, who, btw, was cool af. Between that, the scores of empty seats and the complimentary in-flight entertainment, it was, all in all, a very pleasant flight.

José Marti International Airport is ah-dorbs, guys. I couldn’t believe that was all of it, but yeah, it was a surprisingly quick walk-through, no incidences. The only incidence was my nearly falling out of the taxi as we were pulling out to leave the airport, but my bad for assuming that I’d effectively locked the door of the 1950s Chevy. Anyway, we made it to the hotel in one piece and were promptly greeted with a welcome mojito. Vacation: On.

Night 1: Feliz dia de acción de gracias (Happy Thanksgiving)

Opted for dinner at the famed Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Heh, “opted for”. My Spanish is not that good, so I don’t know if it’s that we ‘opted’ or implored, but I do know that the charming fellas secured a table at La Barraca, one of the hotel’s restaurants, located in the gardens, overlooking the ocean and the entrance to the bay of Havana. ‘Blessed’ is how I felt that night, sitting under the canopy, listening to the calming rain fall and charming live Cuban music, enjoying quality time with old—and new—friends. I had a lot to be thankful for!

These following few events are out of chronological order. (We were greeted with welcome mojitos every night… and by greeted, I mean I kept ordering them.) Here some of the places we hit up in Havana ooh na na.

Plaza de la Revolución and the museums/speaking halls in that area. We also ended up walking through a car show in the lot down the hill a bit. That was mad cool, yo! A sea of bomb classic cars in a metro-y area against, semi-melting under the tropic atmosphere. MAD. COOL.

Habana Vieja (Old Havana) – a must see! A huge collection of shoppes, restaurants, art galleries, squares/plazas, and home to the gorgeous Catedral de San Cristóbal. When cruise ships dock in Havana, this area is where the passengers disembark/tour first. It was amazing simply walking around and taking in the sights (which now included a flood of new American tourists). Truly, just the walk-around discovery is enough, you don’t need to pursue any guided tours or anything like that. There are plenty of places to stumble upon and patronize without needing to pre-schedule. I mean, obvi, if you want to hit up a hot spot that typically has a line out the door, you’d want to see about making reservations there.

We returned to the area a second day and ate at the famed La Bodeguita Del Medio (La B Del M for short), an institution partly for the fact that nearly every inch of most surfaces are covered in handwritten notes from (some very notable) patrons past. And present.

After lunch we walked around the area which was teeming with people. I think there was some sort of event happening there because the streets were packed. Making my way through this massive crowd and who do I bump into? The desi woman from the flight! What are the odds, amirite? But see, this is what I mean when I say I have the most interesting travel stories—all the ways I end up connecting with people in the most random and memorable ways.

Buena Vista Social Club – a night of dinner and live music in the stylish Marianao neighborhood. I mean you really get a sense of the throwback in this place and it soooo… Havana? Know what I mean? It’s an authentic, preserved-in-time supper club featuring some of the best local musicians. There’s opportunities for audience members to get involved, either as musicians get cheeky with their interactions or to get up and dance. But also, the great food and drinks tend to keep people in their seats as well. It’s a 50-50 tie with no losing side, really.

A mercado, which I believe was Mercado de Artesania. My bongos were calling. I’d gotten my fedora already, but I could not leave the island without getting bongos! And eating some more local fare. Oh yeah, I ate everything that was put in front me (shocker, I know). Literally, everything.

Day 4: We went to Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña (Fort of Saint Charles), a fortress complex with a quaint little church, resident quarters I believe, and awesome cigar shop on the grounds. It was cool to walk around and, honestly, I think everyone was pretty chill because I couldn’t actually fire any of the cannons. The views of the bay, stretch of the Malecón and Old Havana were fantastic!

After that we hit up La Cabana de Che Guevara and El Cristo de La Habana – residence of Che Guevara and the giant statue of Jesus Christ. We didn’t go inside the house, but it was interesting to see how nicely he lived while the rest of the country was war-torn during revolution. The statue of Christ did remind me of Cristo de Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, though a smidge shorter. The oceanview around all of it was perfect though. Something about the totality of that day – the sun, the warmth, the ocean in the background, even the everyday residences and guarded gates at historical sites oddly made everything serene. I just soaked in all the sites and felt gratitude every second.

We ate lunch at…oh. I honestly have no idea the name of the restaurant, but it was something of a big deal. Apparently, Jay-Z and Beyoncé had eaten here when they’d visited Cuba. From the outside, you would think it was just an unassuming, charming home. But the restaurant itself was spacious and beautiful and the back garden/patio where we ate, even more so. The food was SO good! OMG there was this potato side dish that we ordered that was out of this world. I do recall I became quite ummm… let’s go with ‘adamant’ when they tried to take the potatoes away from me. Promise, it was cute ;-)

Later, we visited the Museo del Ron Havana Club (Havana Club Rum Museum), which I highly recommend you don't miss! The rum in Havana was so beyond smooth and enjoyable. Our last night there, we ended up going through an entire bottle of rum, just hanging out on the rooftop of our Airbnb, sitting, dancing, chatting.

Throughout our trip, we took bus rides through town and really got to see the sites of the various neighborhoods, not just city center. It was a good way to check everything out without the hassle of formalizing plans or having to choose between things to do/see. Plus, the cool breeze on your face sitting on the top of a double decker bus was a welcome reprieve from the endless tropical heat. Here are some pics from our random drives and walks around Old Havana:

One “tip” I would offer is to either be fluent in Spanish (like, fluent fluent) or be accompanied by someone who is. I was fortunate to be with people who are native Spanish speakers and were able to grace the daily conversations that helped locals guide us on where to go and how best to get there and around and, of course, the price haggle. At the time, Cuba still had two currencies, the CUP (Cuban Peso) and the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso), and lemme tell you—the place wasn’t as cheap as you’d think it’d be. Converting dollars got tricky at times and no way I wouldn’t have gotten ripped off if I were not with those folks in particular.

I would like to go back someday. It's an easy destination to get to from the East Coast of the U.S. and totally doable for a long weekend. Next time, I'd love to actually make it to the ballet (tickets were sold out when we'd gone) and will attempt to eat more pastries. But until then, hasta luego, Habana,