December 24, 2014
Vancouver to Santa Clara
One of the few airlines that can sell air tickets only (instead of the whole package tour) is Sunwing Airlines, though it still fixes a return date of 7 days later. That's good enough for me and my flight departed on time at 8:00a.m. on Christmas Eve.
The plane landed at Santa Clara Airport very on time at around 5:00p.m. local time (a 6 hour flight). Immigration was straightforward though the officer did ask some friendly questions. Changed some Cuban Convertibles (cuc) at the currency exchange desk outside the airport (about the same rate as in town but much faster) and took an “official” taxi to town for 20 cuc (expensive but there is no other choice – it seems all other passengers on my flight had package tour buses waiting for them).
Checked in at the pre-booked Hotel Santa Clara Libre with little problems. The room is actually quite OK, with clean beds, a/c, TV with CNN and stable hot water. The staff is also helpful, though English is limited. Getting out of the hotel in the evening, I bought a 1.5ml bottle water at a nearby convenience store for 0.70 cuc and had an unforgettable dinner at Hostal Florida Center (ropa vieja, or shredded beef, for 10 cuc).
 |
| Teatro La Caridad, Santa Clara |
December 25, 2014
Havana
The major form of transportation between cities in Cuba for foreigners is the Viazul bus. It's essential to book at least a few days in advance during high season such as Christmas/New Year. My initial plan was to go to Varadero first but there was no suitable bus on my date so I changed to going to Havana first instead.
After having breakfast at the hotel (included in the price), the hotel arranged a taxi for me (3 cuc) to get to the bus station. There is a process of “check in” to get the actual ticket from reservations (this also takes time and it can be a long queue so it's advisable to get there 30-60 minutes before departure).
The bus arrived in Havana in the early afternoon and I had a shared taxi to take me to Habana Vieja for 8 cuc. There are plenty of casas particulares in the old town so finding a place to stay should not be an issue - even in high season. I had no problem checking into the recommended Casa de Migdalia Caraballe Martin for 30 cuc per night (shared bathroom and this seems common in Habana Vieja).
Before I went to tour the city, I booked two tours for the next day at Hotel Ambos Mundos - One for Vinales (59 cuc including lunch) and one for the Cabaret Parisien show at Hotel Nacional (50 cuc including buffet dinner). The sales representative speaks very good English.
The best way to see Havana is the ever popular HabanaTourBus (5 cuc all day). It passes through key areas such as Habana Vieja, the Malecon, Plaza de la Revolucion and Mecropolis de Colon. As it's not very frequent (about every 30 minutes), I only got off at Plaza de la Revolucion to take that famous photo (Che Guevara on the front of Ministry of Interior Building).
Dinner at El Meson de la Flota was basically pleasant, though the portion of the food was not huge. The first flamenco performance started at 7:30pm and that's really the best time to get to the restaurant. The show was actually quite good.
December 26, 2014
Vinales
It's probably more interesting to visit Vinales on your own and stay overnight. However, I didn't have enough time so just joined a day trip from Havana. It's not too bad and the money is quite worth it.
The tour visited a rum factory and a tobacco plantation but did cover key sights in Vinales - Mural de la Prehistoria and Cueva el Indio. Before leaving Vinales, we did stop at the viewpoint to take that famous photo (appearing on almost all brochures and postal cards in Cuba). The tour finished in Havana around 7-8 pm.
It's worthwhile to book the Cabaret Parisien show from a travel agency, as for 15 cuc extra you get the buffet dinner (25 cuc on site). The buffet is quite good (price includes one free drink). The show is nothing special but good to check out. It finished around midnight – not too bad to get back to Habana Vieja (taxi 5 cus), compared to the Tropicana show which is very far from the city center.
December 27, 2014
Havana – Matanzas - Varadero
The breakfast at Casa de Migdalia Caraballe Martin is so-so so I decided to try the buffet at the 7th floor of Hotel Park View. For the same price (5 cuc) it turned out to be much better, and there is a good view of the city too.
It’s also a pleasant walk around Habana Vieja as there are not many people in the morning. After checking out the casa, I walked to the pier and got on a boat (0.05 cuc) to Casa Blanca to take the famous Hershey train to Matanzas. Unfortunately I was told that because of technical problems the train only run as far as Hershey on the day (1.40 cuc).
The train is quite pleasant and a great opportunity to watch the locals. There are a couple of small stations on the way. After about one hour and half, it arrived at Hershey Train Station. Following the locals, I went to a bus stop, waiting for buses to Santa Cruz del Norte where we could get another bus to Matanzas. While we were waiting, a local guy saw a truck coming and stopped it asking if it could take us to Santa Curz del Norte. The truck driver said “si” and everybody started to climb to the truck. It was a fun (and free) short ride and shortly after we ended up at a major roadside area in Santa Cruz del Norte waiting for buses to Matanzas.
It's a long wait (over 30 minutes) and a guy who acted as an officer charged me 10 cuc (local price is much lower I assume) to get me to a local truck-turned bus. The bonus was that he did manage to get a front seat for me.
Arriving at Matanzas and hungry, I decided to eat something at Cafe Atenas first. It turned out to be the cheapest meal I had during this Cuba trip – pork chop for only 2.5 cuc. After the satisfactory meal, I walked around Parque de la Libertad and checked out the famous bridge south of Plaza de la Vigia before heading for the bus station. The bus to Varadero at 7:10pm was really full. Luckily it's only a 40 minute ride.
Checking in at the pre-booked Hotel Herradura was also straightforward. The hotel has a currency exchange desk but charges 4% service fee so it's better to do it at the bank nearby unless you are in a hurry. This budget hotel is the cheapest beach-front hotel and actually offers a good value. Two rooms share the same living room with ocean view, and breakfast (right on the beach) is included.
Dinner at the popular Esquina Cuba also turned out to be a good choice – fish fillet for 8 cuc. There was live music too.
 |
| A Classical Car in Habana Vieja |
December 28, 2014
Varadero
I had a whole day in Varadero and initially planed to join a short tour. Interestingly both the 2 hour boat adventure tour and the adventurous Skydive tour were not available for immediate booking, that gave me a very relaxing day in this “largest beach resort destination” in the Caribbeans.
Like most independent travelers, I used VaraderaBeachTour bus (5 cuc full day) to tour the “city” and stopped at Plaza America (for Mansion Xanadu) and Varahicacos Ecological Reserve (for the trail to see Cueva de Musulmanes and a 300 year old cactus). Dinner at the private La Casona del Arte (pasta with shrimp for 6.5 cuc) was not interesting but acceptable.
 |
| Mansion Xanadu |
December 29, 2014
Trinidad
The 8:15am Viazul bus is scheduled to arrive in Trinidad (passing Santa Clara and Cienfuegos) at 3:00pm but my bus actually arrived shortly after 2:00pm (no lunch break probably contributed to the early arrival). It was actually not a bad thing. After checking in Hostal Sandra y Victor (20 cuc, non-A/C) near the bus station, I started touring the city.
All the major sites are around the picturesque Plaza Major, with Museo Romantico the most important museum and Museo de la Lucha Contra Bandidos the most famous and photographed building of the city. For the later, it's very worth paying the 1 cuc entrance fee to climb to the top of the tower to have a panoramic view of the city/mountain and Plaza Major.
After touring the city, I went to Ruinas del Teatro Brunet to rent a bicycle to the beaches but was rejected because it was too late. Luckily a guy working there took me to another place that rented me a bicycle for 6 cuc (incluing 1 cuc for the guy's “fee”). Equipped with the bicycle, I headed for La Boca first. It was a 30 minute pleasant ride as most of road is “downhill”.
La Boca is a little seaside village with a small beach and a couple of casas particulares. It's very cozy and actually good to stay here overnight if possible. Heading southeast along the shore and passing a couple of small little beaches (including Playa Maria Agular where Grill Caribe restaurant is located), I arrived at Playa Ancon just before sunset (roughly 45 minute tough ride). The beach is of the same quality as that in Varadero. There are only a few all-inclusive hotels at the beach so it's not practical for independent travelers to stay here.
Heading back to Trinidad on a bicycle is not fun, due to the fact that it's mostly “uphill” and it was already dark. However, I managed to complete it in about one hour and a half and got very exhausted. I decided to have a lobster dinner (11.5 cuc) at Malibran in Trinidad – the portion was huge.
 |
| La Boca |
December 30, 2014
Cienfuegos
The 9:00am Viazul bus from Trinidad arrived in Cienfuegos on time at 10:30am. After “checking” my luggage at the bus station, I started walking to Parque Jose Marti to explore the city. After admiring the grand buildings near Parque Jose Marti, I walked to Museo Historico Naval Nacioal but was told the museum was closed but I could see outside. I walked around and took some photos. When I was about to leave, I was forced to pay 1 cuc by two old ladies at the entrance for “photos” - no big deal.
Back to the shopping zone of Ave. 54 & Calle 37, I got a bicitaxi to take me to Punta Gorda for 1 cuc and had lunch at the famous Palacio del Valle. Food at this restaurant is really so-so but it's good to take the opportunity to see the interior of the building. To take a photo of the whole building, the best way is to get to the upper floors of the nearby Hotel Jagua.
There are some other interesting buildings in Punta Gorda, such as Club Cienfuegos and Palacio Azul. It's also nice to walk around the southern tip, La Punta, now a park. After a few pleasant hours spent in Punta Gorda, I stopped a bicitaxi to take me back to the bus station for 2 cuc (uphill). As I tried to get my luggage I couldn't find it. It didn't take a long time for me to realize that my luggage was taken to another city. The room is actually a “check luggage” room for the bus, not the bus station. I finally learned that my luggage was sent to Varadero. The staff at Viazul promised to get my bag back to Cienfuegos the next morning. Because of this incident, I didn't take the bus to Santa Clara (virtually canceled the trip to Cayo Las Brujas) and stayed at the popular Hostal Colonial de Isabel y Pepe in Cienfuegos for the night. The couple doesn't speak English (their daughter does) but are very friendly. Both dinner and breakfast were huge.
 |
| Arc de Triomphe at Parque Jose Marti, Cienfuegos |
December 31, 2014
Santa Clara
I went to the bus station in Cienfuegos in the morning waiting for the bus from Varadero that was supposed to carry my bag. When the bus arrived I got the bad news that the manager in charge forgot to bring my bag on to the bus. That means I will not get my bag. I have to fly out of Cuba in the afternoon. It seems I will lose my bag...
Because there are not much options for me, I wasted no time to get a taxi to Santa Clara (20 cuc) to see the last sight of my trip to Cuba - Complejo Monumental Ernesto Che Guevara. The museum staff there are quite strict on photos. After this sight, I got a bicitaxi to Parque Vidal and had a late lunch at the nearby Santa Rosalia (rice with fish, shimp and lobster for 6 cuc – not recommended).
A taxi took me to Santa Clara airport (15 cuc) and the staff at the Sunwing office at the airport offered to take my bag from Viazul and send it to Vancouver on the next flight. Let's hope...
 |
| Complejo Monumental Ernesto Che Guevara, Santa Clara |
Summary
Cuba is an interesting destination in the Caribbeans. The biggest advantage is it's very safe. The revolution related products like the classical American cars make some unique experience. There are live music and dances in many cities and tourist places, though most actions take place after 10pm. Transportation and accommodation systems are also different from most other Caribbean countries. But once you know how to work with it, it's actually easy and straightforward.
No comments:
Post a Comment