So it was that, with a little background knowledge & some key words in Spanish I boarded a Cubana Aviation midday flight to Havana from Cancun, Mexico. It was a Russian-built petrodactyl, complete with rust, cracked windows & seats that fell forward when hitting mild turbulence.
Upon landing, the equivalent of a standing ovation was given the pilot by the passengers for his skill in flying one of those dinosaurs.
Waiting in line at immigration consisted of listening to all the yanks practising: “no stampe mi pasaport porfavor”. Yes, there are many Americans that travel to Cuba, not many – but enough. The ones I met? Rum, women & cigars seemed to be the sum total of their motivations for breaking the Embargo, still, I admire them for thumbing-up Uncle Sam`s restrictions. On the other side of customs I negotiate a taxi ride to Havana, 20 mins away. Starting at $20US & eventually down to $12US after rejecting several offers, I`m on my way.
It was late, raining and - for early afternoon - noticebly dark on the road to Havana. The air smelt sweet though & the streets were busy with people criss-crossing in their comings and goings. I checked into my `casa particular`, an alternative to the $60-a-night State-run Hotels,where people rent their homes to travellers for a fraction of the Hotel prices. For anywhere between $10 & $25 you can get a nice room, or sometimes an entire apartment, depending on whether the `casa particular` is a liscenced or an illegal one. The illegal `casas` are naturally cheaper as they don`t pay the huge taxes foisted on the liscenced ones.
Settling-in was an easy-going formality, as Cubans are by far the most hospitable & friendly people in the world; in no time at all I felt part of the family. I ventured out on that first night – only to be robbed by a teenager wielding a hair-comb, hoping I wouldn`t notice that it wasn`t a knife. Instead of participating in what could have become an altercation, I parted with $5, a gesture of thanks to him for `not combing my hair`.
I realized the boy must really need the money. `I hope he buys a real knife`, I thought, as I walked off into the darkness.
Not having much electricity makes Havana appear rather murky at night but despite this – and despite the hair-comb stand-up story – Cuba is in my opinion one of the safest places in the world to travel. The people have an undeniably friendly nature & furthermore, the fact that they can be locked up to serve a 2 year sentence for just `pestering` a tourist, is a great deterrent for them.
The next day saw me being hijacked – albeit, yes, in a very friendly manner – by a young man named Etian. Though I spoke no Spanish & Etian, no English, he insisted, with great charm & professionalism, on being `my friend`, my professional friend. Guiding me to a near-by `paladar` (private restaurant) a co-ordinated attempt at having me charged &10 for a bowl of rice & beans was underway. Having done my research I knew that in this situation the price of the meal translated to a meal-ticket for Etian, who would have been cut a commission for taking me to the `paladar`. I left immediately, on the way explaining – as best I could – to my professional friend that there was no way a bowl of rice & beans could cost $10 in Cuba – but it was useless. I knew I had to cut Etian loose which I only managed with great difficulty, as I did not want to offend him.
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