Tag 49, 50, 51 and 52 - Havana, Salsa and the accompanying hangover

Day 49 - Wednesday 9th November 2022
Havana and our first experience with a cunning scammer

Today was another travel day. We had to go to the bus station early in the morning and had a 7-hour journey ahead of us. Manfred was afraid that we would be crammed into a tight bus with small seats again, but on the contrary, the bus was comfortable and there was enough space for our feet. We passed the time by sleeping, using 'Duolingo', and making jokes.
Around 2:00 PM, we arrived in Havana. We negotiated a decent price for our taxi (a motorcycle with a sidecar for two people) and drove to our new Casa. Once settled in a room without a window, we rested for a while and then set off for the city. After a 5-minute walk, a Cuban man approached us and asked if we could lend him a lighter. Of course, we did, and we started talking to him. He told us that he was a musician and was flying to Vienna next week to give a concert. We were immediately excited. He invited us to an event at the Buena Vista Social Club in Havana and took us to the nearest bar to show us his 'VIP ticket'. Anna was already very suspicious and researched on her phone. The man immediately ordered three Super Mojitos and asked if he could keep the lighter. Manfred, in his kindness, agreed immediately. Then everything happened very quickly. Two Asians, obviously tourists, came into the bar and told us excitedly that the man was a fraud and that he only wanted us to pay for his cocktail. Chaos suddenly broke out, with the waiters surrounding us and three or four other Cubans connected to the bar also standing there, all wanting to voice their opinion. We tried to explain the situation using Google Translate and wanted to leave, but the waiters, who were both very friendly but overwhelmed, insisted that we at least pay for our two cocktails. Slowly, the chaos subsided and the Asians, as well as the scammer, disappeared. Slightly shocked and confused, we drank our Super Mojitos, which were excellent by the way. We paid for the two drinks and left the bar. Thank goodness the Asians warned us, so we only lost our lighter. Unfortunately, this experience tainted our first impression of Havana, so we just had dinner and went back to the Casa. We were so upset with the man who lied to our faces so boldly that this topic dominated the rest of the day. In retrospect, we are very glad that nothing more happened, and it served as a reminder that we need to be more careful.

Day 50 - Thursday 10th November 2022
Free Walking Tour and a lively Salsa evening

Today, we went to Café Arcangel, a nice little place that we found on TripAdvisor, for our ritual breakfast. Here, we met Sascha and Javier, a German-Colombian couple who highly recommended the house croissant. Of course, we had to try it, and it was extremely delicious. Thank you Sascha and Javier. We chatted for a while and told them about our planned evening trip to Club 1830. After breakfast, we joined a free walking tour. Our guide took us to the four most important plazas in the Cuban capital and explained in great detail everything we needed to know. After the tour, we went home to freshen up because tonight was salsa party night. We met Nadine and Robert at their apartment and enjoyed a homemade traditional Cuban Cuba Libre, prepared by Robert. After this refreshing drink, we went with Robert to his workplace, Club 1830. He seated us at a table in the second row, and the first Mojito was ordered. Sascha and Javier arrived in the meantime and joined our Mojito party with pleasure. While the two of them happily danced, with Sascha being a dance teacher and Javier having salsa in his blood as a Cuban, we still didn't dare to join in. A few hours and a few Mojitos later, we couldn't resist anymore, although our coordination skills were a bit lacking by then. Around 2:00 AM, we headed back with Robert. We would say it was a highly successful evening.

Day 51 - Friday 11th November 2022
Hangover in Havana

Since last night was a bit wild, and we're not as young as we used to be, we had to stay in bed for a long time today. It took a few hours until we finally managed to get up and walk towards the city. We strolled through the streets of Havana, looking for a place that could revive us with its food and drinks. We found ourselves on a small balcony in the Old Town and treated ourselves to two "pick-me-up" dishes and their accompanying fruit juices, despite the limited selection (in Cuba, not all items on the menu are always available due to certain ingredients being unavailable). We already felt better and went to buy some souvenirs from Cuba. After our walk, we returned to our Casa and freshened up for the evening. Originally, we had salsa lessons planned, but the dance teacher postponed the class to tomorrow at the last minute. As an alternative program, we arranged for a dinner with Nadine and Robert. They showed us a really nice restaurant near their apartment. Just 20 minutes into our meal, with our food just arriving, Javier and Sascha walked in through the door. We all laughed and joked about their "stalking" abilities. After that, we went to Nadine and Robert's home and enjoyed the rest of the evening on their rooftop terrace.

Day 52 - Saturday 12th November 2022
Salsa and our final hours in Havana

Today, we got up early again because we had scheduled dance lessons at 9:00 AM. Manfred was the driving force behind this and insisted that Anna finally learns salsa. When we arrived at Robert and Nadine's place (where we had arranged our lessons), Robert was already accompanied by a friend who was an absolute salsa pro. And so it began. Anna seemed to effortlessly keep up with everything, while Manfred struggled to keep up. After an hour, we were sweating and had mastered the basic steps, at least somewhat. After this workout, especially for Manfred, we treated ourselves to breakfast again at Café Arcangel. We really fell in love with the croissant. After some minor issues with the bill, we continued on to the city for one last time in Havana. We strolled through the charming streets and found a great souvenir for Manfred's necklace. During our walk, we once again ran into Sascha and Javier, and the running gag about "stalking" naturally continued.

Afterwards, we wanted to grab a light bite to eat and stumbled upon a pizzeria that advertised a really cheap pizza. But by the time we realized that the price was only for the cold take-away pizza, it was already too late. In the end, we had to pay five times the price and were completely taken advantage of with the bill. The waitress wrote down 2000 instead of 1000 pesos and then casually said she had made a mistake. We have to mention that in certain places, attempts are repeatedly made to deceive tourists because some people simply cannot handle the currency conversion and the current exchange rate. But she messed with the wrong people because we were slightly annoyed and walked back to Nadine's apartment. We were able to freshen up there and then it was time to head to Medellín. At the airport, we ran into Sascha and Javier once again, which by now didn't surprise us anymore, but it was still incredibly funny. After a two-hour delay, we were finally able to begin our journey to Colombia.