The alarm clock rang pretty early. We couldn't have breakfast in the morning. We left our backpacks and waited for our transportation. Dito was not happy that we wanted to travel.
We made our way through the morning traffic of San José. When we arrived at the airport, we hoped that we could still buy our 'Tourist Card' at the airport. This is a visa that many tourists need in Cuba. Usually, you order it in Switzerland before departure and it is sent to you by post. But since we flew from Costa Rica, we had no idea how to get the card. Because 'No Card - No Flight'. I was sure that there would be a drama at the airport. We went to the check-in of our airline 'Cubana'. The first thing they asked us was if we had a tourist card. After we said no, he said, 'I can get you one as soon as my colleague is back'. We had to wait for about 20 minutes. Suddenly he waved at us and we went to him. He filled out a piece of paper for each of us for 20 dollars per person. In Switzerland, you usually pay between 80 CHF and 140 CHF for it. We went to our gate and waited. Funny enough, there were only about 20 people. So the airplane was quite compact. A smaller propeller plane. However, we had never had such a calm and pleasant flight.
When we landed in Havana, we quickly understood why everyone said that the country is about 50 years behind. The airport looked like an old warehouse.
But we didn't notice anything about the 'hardship of traveling'. We passed through security quite quickly and asked for a taxi. Once again, we were overcharged and asked for exaggerated prices. Since the local buses are reserved for locals, we had no other choice. Well, 20 dollars for a 45-minute ride is still acceptable. On our way to the Old Town of Havana, we quickly felt the special atmosphere. The highway was deserted on this Sunday, we rarely saw an old American car. However, we had a modern taxi. We arrived in the city and it was filled with those typical American cars. The unique buildings were also very impressive. We arrived at our hostel and checked into our room. Havana is probably the only place in Cuba with hostels. The accommodation was also typical, with high ceilings and a classic balcony. From there, we had a great view of the old fort of Havana. It was already evening, so we went out to find something to eat. It was a bit annoying that a Cuba Libre only cost 2 francs. By the time dinner was served, we had already had 2 or 3 glasses. But then we went to bed quite early. The next morning, we left the hostel and just wanted to stroll through the city. However, a Cuban approached us at the door and asked if we wanted a city tour in an American car. I quickly said 'no'. However, he said we could also arrange a tour ourselves. We negotiated the price and eventually booked a relatively cheap hour of service. We had a yellow convertible. No kidding, that wasn't ours, of course.That was it. We certainly didn't ride around in an eggshell-like car. We visited the old fort. The Christ Statue When a waffle seller gave me a waffle because he had to go to the bathroom. I then called out 'Waffles for sale' and made the deal of the day. In addition, we visited a viewpoint from where we could see the whole of Havana.Che Guevara's old house and a small military exhibition. It was worth it.
The next day, we explored the city on foot. Of course, a visit to the Revolution Museum was part of it.
Admission was 20 dollars. However, if you accidentally go through the exit instead of the entrance, no one cares. The whole history of Cuba is really fascinating. But I can't explain it all here. Important: Fidel Castro
and Ernesto 'Che' Guevara have greatly influenced this country.
They fought for the freedom of Cuba and they won. That's why they are still the national heroes. The museum describes all of this wonderfully. It is located in part of the old presidential building.
They stormed that building with a delivery van. You can still see the bullet holes.
Even in the palace, there are bullet holes everywhere from the attempted overthrow of the president. Very, very impressive.
It gave us chills walking through the rooms.
And step by step, we learned more about this country.After our museum visit, we walked through the cool streets of Havana and simply enjoyed the feeling.We constantly heard the traditional salsa music coming from various old bars with high ceilings. This naturally invites you to have a Mojito and enjoy the music. After all, this is the birthplace of the Mojito. While wandering around, we found a small park with about 50 cats. And we even witnessed the feeding, haha. An older woman feeds the cats every evening. Then she smiled at us and said, 'Someone has to do it, right?'Muriel immediately fell in love with a baby kitten and said, 'Now that we're at the end of our trip, couldn't we take a little pet with us?'. I told her that we were still exploring Cuba and if we returned to Havana before our flight home, we could consider it again.In the evening, we were at the hostel and the staff asked us where we wanted to go next. I must say, it's not easy to travel in Cuba. There are no regular bus companies, and if there are, they are very expensive. So, we thought that our next stop would be Viñales. She said, 'No problem, I have a colleague who has a house there, you can stay with her'. These are the famous 'Casa Particulares', families who rent out rooms. To get there, you take the 'Taxi Colectivos'. These are taxis that are shared by several travelers going to the same destination.
We were picked up by the Taxi Colectivo at 8 o'clock in the morning. Again, it was an old American car. With our backpacks mounted on the roof, we drove to Viñales like a big family.
