Cuba - Mojito, Salsa, Sea (2016)

Cuba, I had been dreaming of it for a long time. I went to the Caribbean for a week... without kids and family. The destination was Havana. After a three-hour delay, I landed in Havana in the middle of the night. After arriving at the booked hotel and being told that there were no more available rooms, I was taken to another hotel and fell exhausted into bed after the long journey.

The first day started with a move to my originally booked hotel :) But then I couldn't wait to explore the city. Havana, the pearl of the Caribbean. Beautiful old colonial buildings, cheerful smiling people, Mojito with and without alcohol, music in every street, restaurants and small market stalls... that's exactly how I imagined it!

In addition to the obligatory visit to the Capitol, which unfortunately was under construction, I was able to admire the many colorful old American cars.

Havana

I absolutely had to ride in one of these! Before that, I had a traditional Cuban meal consisting of black beans, rice, and chicken. Then I got into an old American taxi. The outside looked great, but the inside... not so much :) The seats felt like an old worn-out sofa, but it was really cool to ride in such a thing. The taxi driver took me to Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, which overlooks Havana.

Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Moro

Here you can enjoy a great view of Havana and the sea. Sunsets are also highly recommended here. In the evening, I went to a flamenco bar in the city. There was a band playing and actual flamenco dancing on the small stage. Wonderful! And I had a Mojito sin alcohol :)

The next day, I decided to walk from the hotel to the city. I successfully managed 15 km in flip-flops. It went along a street where all the embassies were located. Further along the Malecon promenade, past an old stadium, and into the old town of Havana. Some walls and buildings were adorned with the revolutionary Che Guevara. Once again, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the city.

Che Guevara

I also visited the famous Buena Vista Social Club.

Buena Vista Social Club

Street musician

Everywhere, I could take a little glimpse into living rooms, into schools where the children were resting, but also into sad corners where the decay was palpable.

For the next day, I signed up for a day trip to Valle de Vinales. After a drive through the countryside, we arrived at a tobacco factory. They showed us how the cigars were made here.

We continued to the Mural de la Prehistoria rock painting. The mural was created between 1959 and 1962 by the painter Leovigildo González Morillo, a student of the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, on a limestone rock in the Viñales Valley. The approximately 120-meter-high and 160-meter-wide artwork is said to be one of the largest on earth. The mural on the cliff of a mogote depicts the evolution history of Cuba in 12 scenes.

The path led us to an observation platform where you can overlook the entire valley. Beautiful! On the platform, a salsa dance group was dancing... I didn't know that something like this existed before :)

The last two days, I went to Varadero - the ultimate tourist resort. I couldn't miss swimming in the Caribbean Sea. I arrived there by taxi, checked in, and walked to the beach. And what I saw there was truly breathtaking. Turquoise-colored sea greeted me, just like in the most beautiful travel catalogs.

This is how the Cuba vacation came to a wonderful end :)