Jaanuary 3-10 and February 3-6 2015
The biggest change in Cuban life we noticed after a three year absence
was the proliferation of Private Enterprise. The number of Paladares
(private restaurants), street sales of fruits and household goods,
private taxi service, and especially the of Casa Particulares (Cuban
B&Bs) and the number of rooms in each Casa has increased dramatically.
Meanwhile garbage pickup continues to be a problem and the streets in
Havana are still pot holed. Several
streets in Central and Old Havana were torn for a big project to lay new
telephone cables and water lines. Internet is still scarce and
expensive, with almost no Wifi connection, available to tourists. Old
buildings, once Colonial style mansions and commercial operations are
still there to discover, and the profusion of old cars turns many of the
streets into old time movie sets. Still, renovation projects continue
all over the city. Often the exterior of a building in desperate need of
renovation hides a newly renovated apartment.
Once again we reserved a room in Hostal Peregrino, owned by Julio and
Elsa, who have expanded their Casa Particular operation. Starting with
just two rooms in their apartment three years ago, they now have three
locations and 14 rooms. We reserved to stay four nights in their new
Habana Vieja location. Our room, one of eight on two floors, had been
newly renovated with private bathroom, fans, AC and a mini fridge
stocked with bottled water, soft drinks and beer. It was very
comfortable and convenient for our forays into the old part of town.
I decided that I needed to bring my Spanish language skills up to the
level it was last year. Julio recommended Daisy, who used to teach
English to medical students until cutbacks in teaching positions and
salaries a few years ago prompted her to go out on her own. I hired
Daisy to give me 2 ½ hours of private instruction at our Casa every day
for one week. I did progress after my week with Daisy but I can once
again deal with the usual tourist inquiries and understand menus and
signs, but I am still not close to being able to carry on a long
conversation in Spanish.
Extending our stay in Havana by three days meant that we had to change
rooms as Hostal Peregrino was booked solid for the winter season. That
was no problem. Julio and Elsa have an arrangement with neighbours who
run Casas to book tourists they cannot accommodate. We had very good
options, both for our extra three days and for two nights when we
returned to Havana for two more nights before flying back to Mexico.
What did Ray do while I was busily trying to remember everything I once
knew and doing homework for new material? He wandered the streets,
taking in the sights. Sunday, according to our guide book, Rough Guide
for Cuba, was street art and music day in Callejon de Hamel, about a 20
minute walk from our Casa. Ray joined throngs of people listening to
music in outdoor settings and snapped photos of an eclectic mix of
murals, sculptures.
mural in Hamel district is an ode to
the eye |
Flamenco dancers in Habana Vieja
restaurant |
When I took time off from my Spanish studies, we roamed the town
together, taking photos of the buildings with a past, not always
renovated to its former glory, but still providing homes for Havana
residents. One night we attended a Flamenco show in a restaurant in
Habana Vieja. Daisy told me that was because Cubans consider Flamenco,
not Salsa, to be their national dance and hold the performers in high
regard. It was obvious the group we saw were accomplished professionals.
This is true of Cuban musicians as well. We were privileged to hear
several groups play in bars and restaurants at lunch or supper and on
street corners, passing a hat after a set.
 One morning, when my lesson was in the afternoon, we arranged, through
Julio, a taxi to visit Hemingway house, 15 km outside of
Havana. Ernest
Hemingway first rented the lovely house and property in 1939, bought the
property the next year, and lived there until 1960. The house is not
open to the public but the copious windows allow you to see almost a
much as an in-house tour. The property has been left fully furnished, as
it was in 1960. Besides the
house, there is a tower room where Hemingway wrote some of his novels, a
dog cemetery, Hemingway’s fishing boat, El Pilar and the large, now
empty, pool where Ava Gardner swam naked.
Julio suggested we include the fishing village of Cojimar, the
inspiration for his novel, The Old Man and the Sea. We wandered around
the old Spanish fort (1649), and admired the gilded bust of Hemingway
next to the fort. We had a good seafood soup for lunch in a restaurant
frequented by Hemingway and full of photos of his fishing expeditions,
before heading back to Havana. It was a worthwhile expedition.
What trip to Cuba can be complete, even if you don’t smoke, without a
visit to a Cigar Factory? Our guide book, bought three years ago for our
first trip to Cuba, recommended the Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas,
owned by H. Upmann company, the largest cigar factory in Cuba. It was a
bit complicated getting on a tour. We were told you had to buy a ticket
in advance at one of the major hotels in Central Cuba. We went to the
Hotel Parque Central and were directed to a Cubanacán tour office where
we purchased tickets for a tour. The agent suggested we take a taxi from
the hotel as it was too far to walk and tours were only given until
noon. Taxis wanted CUC$10 (about $10) for the trip. That sounded too
expensive for the trip as our book positioned the Cigar Factory just
behind the National Capital building. We hired a pedicab driver and told
him where we wanted to go and showed him where the map indicated the
location of the factory. Off we went, found the building and paid the
cab driver CUC$5. There was just a cigar and rum store at the address,
no tours. That is when we found out the factory had moved. What to do
now? All the renovated old cars line up next to a park across the
street, offering their taxi services. We went over and tried to find a
driver who knew where the factory had moved. Finally we found a young
man who understood what I was asking in my imperfect Spanish. He found
us to a taxi, jumped in with the driver and directed him to new
location, all for CUC$5. The tour was worth all the hassle getting
there.
We found out that the original building needed extensive renovations so
the factory had moved to another location, which turned out not to be
satisfactory. H. Upmann now operates in the former Romeo y Juliet cigar
brand factory, much farther west. An English speaking guide explained
that the factory now produced multiple cigar brands, including all the
H. Upmanns brands, Romeo y Juliet, Montecristos and Cohiba , all rolled
by hand in various sizes.
We all trooped up a staircase to the third floor where workers sat in
rows in long rooms on either side of a central atrium. We were able to
watch the workers through open windows where they toil eight hours a
day, five days a week, continuously rolling our cigars. Each worker goes
through a training process before graduating to their own work station.
We watched them expertly roll tobacco leaves for the interior of a cigar
and finish the process with a cover of higher quality leaves cut exactly
to size. Each cigar was placed in a mold holding multiple cigars,
according to the size being produced, and the molds were stacked in a
hand turned press. The cigars were removed from each mold several times
and turned to ensure uniform shape. Eventually the cigar was deemed good
enough to pass the stringent quality tests for which Cuban cigars are
famous.
Each worker is permitted to take home five cigars per day for their own
use or to sell, allowing them to earn extra money. The workers must have
an arrangement with the guide, because at the end of the tour, our group
took us to a separate room to answer questions and to offer us a
selection of different cigar brands, at half the price charged in the
official stores. A few in our group, jumped at the chance to pay CUC$15
each for a prime Cohiba cigar, large enough to take two hours to smoke.
Yes, Havana is definitely worth several days to explore. This was our
second visit and we still have more to discover in this vibrant city.
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