Cuba Libre, Trinidad and Vinales

Beautiful Trinidad

It was finally time to discover colourful Trinidad. We took another overnight bus which left Santiago with an hour delay. Unfortunately, it also broke down early in the morning and we had to wait for 1,5 hours another bus to pick us up. It took us 14 hours to reach our destination and we were simply exhausted when we arrived in our new casa particular.

Trinidad is a UNESCO World Heritage listed town in central Cuba. It is a perfectly preserved Spanish colonial settlement which brings you back to 1850s with its cobbled streets, and horse carriages. Because of its magnificence, it became very popular among tourists. Therefore, it is definitely more expensive than Santiago. 

Our efforts of finding a cheap restaurant paid off when we met Odiladies and her husband, Airan who run a little paladar (a Cuban term for a family run small restaurant). They were a young couple who took advantage of the new laws in Cuba and opened up their own business. They had great fish for $4 which was quite cheap for Trinidad. We instantly became friends with them and spent great time together. Odiladies also helped us to find a good babalawo (a Saint in Santaria religion) to clear the negative energy Alex was experiencing in the last couple of weeks. Santaria (Way of the Saint) is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions. In order to get rid of Alex’s bad luck we were happy to try anything.

Colourful Trinidad

We visited a local babalawo, Dr. Jose Antonio, who is a medical doctor and also a medium. He delivered us some messages from the spirit world and told Alex to do a cleaning ceremony with some fruits. The next day, we did the ceremony in the Caribbean Sea. Believe it or not, Alex felt a sudden shift in her energy and her luck seemed to get better after that. It was amazing.

We spend most of our time visiting this beautiful colonial town and sharing great moments with our newly made friends. We met a friend of Airan, Juan, who was together with Mariana from Argentina. We got along very well and Mariana invited us to visit her when we will be in Argentina.

Our new friends

It was hard to say goodbye to lovely Trinidad, but we needed to make our way to the next city. Cienfuegos is a nice town on the southern coast of Cuba which was originally settled by the French Monarchist when Napoleon lost Louisiana. We were able to visit the entire city in one day. Some of the main attractions we visited include Palacio de Valle, Palacio Azul, the promenade of Cienfuegos, Pedestrian Boulevard, and the Cathedral of Cienfuegos. It was the cleanest city in Cuba and had an attractive French architecture. The only down side for me was a painful ear infection which forced me to pay a visit to an international clinic. After a thorough check up, I received a course of antibiotics and ear drops for the next 7 days.   

Palacio Azul

After one night in Cienfuegos, we made our way to Viñales which was a little, peaceful village with different coloured one storey houses. It is next to one of Cuba’s greatest natural attractions, the UNESCO Heritage listed Viñales Valley.

Bike tour with friends

On the bus to Viñales, we met Rafael from Colombia and his girlfriend, Tania from Croatia. They used to live in London before their trip around the world. Once again, we connected really well with these travellers and went out for dinner together. They introduced us to another couple, Felix from Germany and Natasha from Switzerland. Thanks to Felix’s travel book, we found a little paladar called Nora & Luis, which was quite far away from the village. It was worth the 45 minute walk. For $5 per person, we had lobster, salad, rice, fried bananas. It was fantastic.   

The next day, we rented some bicycles and visited the Viñales Valley with our new friends. The valley had a breathtaking scenery and a peaceful rural life. This part of Cuba is still very virgin and serene. The region is also famous for the production of quality tobacco and best Cuban cigars. 

We finished our tour around 3pm and had lunch in our casa particular. It is a common practice that these places offer meals to their guests to make additional income. It was a perfect way of tasting the local cuisine. After a long lunch, we said goodbye to our friends as they were going back to Havana the next day.

   

Cuban tobacco grower

The following day, we hired some horses and discovered the countryside with a local guide. We visited a cave, a tobacco farm and a spectacular lookout. We were shown how to roll cigars and were offered to try one with a delicious Cuban coffee. It was an experience to taste this freshly made cigar! After the tour, we visited Norma for a last meal before our departure the next day. While we were eating, she told us her life story which was quite emotional. This is what I loved about Cuba. Everybody is so open, welcoming and ready to connect. After dinner, we organised our transport to the Havana Airport for the following day.  

After an incredible month in Cuba, we were on our way to the airport in an old American car. What a closure! It was amazing to see that these 50+ year old cars still run quite well. The journey was a smooth and we made it on time to catch our plane to Ecuador.

We had several unusual experiences while we were in Cuba. We experienced theft, loss, shock, frustration, pain, anger, helplessness, relationship crisis, love, care, laughter, joy, rhythm, dance, friendship. I am grateful for the variety of experiences because they added richness and flavour to our journey, no matter how difficult they might have been at the time. Thank you Cuba!  We will always remember the warm hearts of your people. 

Santiago de Cuba

Streets of Santiago

After 4 challenging days dealing in Havana, we took a 12 hour overnight Viazul bus to Santiago de Cuba. Alex’s brother, Charly and his wife, Damaida, picked us up from the bus terminal. After a cheese&bread breakfast in a local cafe, we visited Damaida’s family, and had a beautiful welcome.

The average salary of a Cuban is around $20 a month. Many families live together as a community because they can’t afford to rent or buy a house. A couple of years ago, it wasn't even possible to buy because everything belonged to the government but now things are changing slowly. People who work with tourists are making a good living in Cuban standards. Charly and Damaida moved to Cuba from France 2 years ago to start a transport business when they finish fixing up their cars.

Charly fixing his Jeep

Cuba definitely takes you back to the 50's. It seems like not much has changed after the revolution done by Fidel Castro (1953-1959). You can still ride the old American cars from that era, visit historical buildings and experience a magical culture. It is a total contrast of a capitalist economy. And that makes Cuba a unique tourist destination. Imagine a country without McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola!

During our time in Santiago, I started to take Spanish classes from a lovely lady, Ines. She used to be a Russian teacher before the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1990, she got retrained to become a Spanish teacher as Russian wasn't taught at schools any longer. It was a great pleasure to study with her and it certainly makes a big difference if you speak the language as many Cubans don't speak much English or any other language. Great friendships can be made instantly if you can communicate in Spanish.

El Castillo del Moro

We also visited a couple of beaches around Santiago. It is possible to have a lobster or great fish for a bargain when you hang out with locals and pay the Cuban price. The sea food is very fresh and delicious. We also went to a nearby waterfall and visited the Castillo del Moro.

The nights were vibrant, energising and joyful in live salsa cafes and bars which we visited with our Cuban friends and family. If you are ever in Santiago, you can contact Charly and Damaida through Cubacontigo for an authentic Cuban experience. They can help you with finding accommodation, salsa & Spanish classes and excursions.

Alex kept having more misfortunes in Santiago. She burned her leg on a motorbike exhaust 
when she was coming off it. Due to heat and humidity, her wound got infected and we had to take her to the international clinic for a couple of times.

Our relationship crisis was also escalating and she was thinking about staying with her brother in Cuba for a while rather then continuing the travels. I felt very sad that our journey together might be ending soon. We still loved each other but regular fights were affecting us dramatically.

While the early months of a relationship can feel effortless and exciting, a healthy long-term relationship requires constant work and compromise from both partners. If a couple ignores difficult topics, the relationship can end up in crisis. An interesting article in Psychology Today by Jay Dixit addresses some of most important issues a couple can face.

We all come from different backgrounds and have developed certain patterns during our upbringing. Often, we are not even aware of these internal patterns and can easily get triggered by our partners’ behaviour. Effective communication is essential to shed light on each other’s behaviour patterns which helps us to develop empathy and understanding in a relationship. As for us, the end was not there yet. We decided to work harder to save it.

Our last days in Santiago were full of joy. Damaida's brother, Enriquito, had his 30^th birthday and we were invited to celebrate with them. Wow, what a fiesta. There were around 30 people in the small family house. There was a lot of food, beer and of course Cuban rum. I got offered to try a 15 year old rum by Damaida’s father that was superb. A couple of hours later, most people were quite happy with the flowing drinks while dancing salsa and reggaeton. This great atmosphere lasted until the early morning hours. We thanked Charly, Damaida and her family for the perfect Cuban hospitality during those 2 wonderful weeks in Santiago before heading towards Trinidad.

Enriquito's 30th Birthday Party

Viva la Revolucion: Havana, Cuba

Vibrant Havana

On our way to Havana on the 5^th of August 2013, I felt excited. Cuba definitely has a contagious energy of dance, music, and joy. My first visit to Cuba was in 2004 and I was thrilled to go back and reconnect with this Caribbean pearl. We were picked up by my dear friend and former salsa teacher, Claudio who happened to be on holiday in Cuba at the same time.

The Famous Malecon Street

We drove to Clarita and Orlando’s House, a casa particular in the famous Malecon street. Casa particular is the Cuban concept of a private home stay where you can experience the real culture and hospitality. It is a much better and economical option than staying in a hotel where Cubans are (by law) not allowed in unless they work there. Casa particulars can be found almost anywhere in Cuba with average prices ranging between $15 to $30 per night.

According to Cuban law, casa particulars must be registered by the government for tourism purposes. To avoid bad surprises, make sure to book an official one as it is illegal for tourists to stay in unregistered houses even if you might be staying with some Cuban friends.




A big shock hit us when we arrived at the casa particular. After thoroughly checking her backpack, Alex realised that all of our cash for Cuba and her credit cards were missing. Wow, we both felt sick in our stomachs and Alex had a nervous breakdown. Cuba is not like any country where you can withdraw money from ATMs, in fact there are next to none. To get money you have to go to special banks or Cadecas and pay high fees. So, the best way to travel in Cuba is to bring enough cash to cover your stay. After losing all that money, we weren't quite sure what to do next.

What had happened? We had no idea! When we called Alex's bank in Australia to cancel the cards, it turned out that her cards had already been used in Mexico. We realised that she got mugged somewhere between Holbox Island and Cancun Airport without even noticing it. It was really hard to come to terms with loss like this as we had lost our entire budget for Cuba. Thankfully, Claudio and Clarita were very supportive and helped us to relax a little bit. We went to a police station in Havana to get a report for our travel insurance. However, we were asked to go to the Mexican Embassy to get a report as the crime did not happen in Cuba. Claudio was very kind and invited us for dinner that night.

Streets of Havana

The next day was a day of bureaucracy. We started by going to the Mexican Embassy to get a police report. After long discussions, we couldn't get one as they wanted us to pay for creating it. We were very disappointed and frustrated. Our next stop was the French Embassy, which was not very helpful either. After spending half a day running around embassies without any results, we decided to find a place where we could get some cash using my cards.

We exchanged the last American dollars I had with me. It is not a good idea to bring American dollars to Cuba as they charge an extra 20 percent fee but we had no other option. We also managed to get some cash from a nearby Cadeca after waiting for an hour. So we were good until we get to Santiago where Alex’s brother lives.

At night, we went to "La Casa de la Musica" with Claudio where some of the best Cuban musicians perform. The uplifting music and dance performances from NG La Banda helped us to forget our troubles for a little while. It was a great night of salsa, dance, and joy.

Salsa Band

Cuba is probably the worst country if you need to use the internet or make international calls which we desperately needed at the time to deal with the banks and insurance companies. An hour of internet is $5 and we had to pay $3 per minute for international calls. It was a big hassle to deal with all that which certainly put some extra pressure on our already fragile relationship. We had some more serious fights and I wasn't quite sure if our relation would continue.

I also got quite sick in Havana. I had a burning fever and felt very weak for 2 days which meant bed rest. I felt tired, lost, and concerned about my relationship. One afternoon, I was looking out of the window towards Malecon Street and the Caribbean Sea, a feeling of gratitude came over me to be in Cuba. Although we were going through hard times, people all around were very helpful and supportive. Clarita was trying her best to cheer us up. A random taxi driver who drove us to the Mexican Embassy, refused to take money after hearing our story of mugging. Claudio was there for us when we needed him. These acts of kindness really touched me and it felt so good to have that support. This reminded me, once again, the importance of helping others when they are in need.

It was my first experience of being mugged. It was a challenging experience to deal with and my dominant feelings were anger and helplessness. On the other hand, it provided us with an understanding that no matter what happens, life still goes on and we always get by somehow. There is always a solution or help from unexpected sources. Here, I want to acknowledge the big hearts of Cuban people and thank them for their generosity. They have very little to survive on but they were always ready to help us with our struggles.         

Havana Cathedral