Roll another fat one

Before leaving Mexico we had to try and sort out some Cuban currency. Which was nothing short of farcical. A situation where you couldn't help but think you were being fleeced. Cuba has two types, one seemingly for visitors and one for locals! The visitors currency, Peso Convertible, or CUC almost matches that of the US dollar rate. The locals rate of the offical currency of Cuba, the Cuban Peso, CUP, is almost 24 times less in value than the CUC. Last year the cuba goverment decided that the American Dollar was not accepted any more in cuba. Still following us?   We also had to pay a departing tax to Mexico, this time though one standard currency. Mexican Pesos !

We'll be back in a couple of weeks only to leave again a few days later so will end up paying it again! Its money for old rope you could say. Cash only and no receipts" were the payment terms. What a racket! Our crumpled notes disappeared into the cashiers very large pocket.

Cuban airlines gave our first taste of Cuba. Coffee and cake that actually tasted of cigars. I kid you not. Not sure this was a good or bad thing? A smooth 2 hour flight and we landed in Havana.  Cuba is a country that is stuck in a time wharp in many ways. Aside with being a communist country it is also due to the ongoing embargo thats been in place by the USA for the last 50 odd years. Why, because Cuba chose to saddle with Russia and housed some of its nuclear missiles for the soviet regime at the height of the Cold War. All linking back to the race of who was going to be the biggest super- power in the world. Ever!

Some say Cuba is a legendary place that's only being kept buoyant by rum, cigars and salsa! In 1492, Christopher Columbus found and claimed the island for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898 and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. Between 1953 and 1959 the Cuban Revolution occurred, removing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

Lying like a crocodile between the fishing nets of it's neighbours, the US and Mexico, Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populous island nation in the Caribbean, as well as the largest by area.

Once off the plane we were met by smoking airport staff and an arrivals lounge that had a distinct 1980s feel and smell to it. At the security checks everybody beeped when passing through the scanners, though once patted down noone seemed to have anything on them of any concern, faulty kit? The very last check point involved 4 nurses, at least I think that's what they were. We were allowed to walk straight through, us whities are obviously not harbouring any fatal germs. We were greeted with a variety of items riding the baggage belt. Stacks of tyres for cars and bikes. Very large flat screen TVs seemed to be quite popular among todays arriving passengers, plus more shrink wrapped boxes than you could shake a stick at.

Taxi scrum negotiated we were off to our casa (Cuban home), without the full address, ooops. Spanish-English, now known as Spanglish, teamwork got us through!

Most tourists head to the coast and the designated tourist areas where large hotels are permitted, normally Spanish owned. Thus designed to push as much outside money through channels that can be monitored and controlled. These delevopements are dubbed where socialism meets salsa or communism with a dash of capitalism. A mix that is becoming a heady brew!

Havana is a place where tourism has been slow to take off, many see it still as a rare find. As part of a steady change to tourism though, in the last 10 odd years Castro has started to permit the opening up of Cuban homes to act as tourist accommodation. So with American chain hotels not permitted and the government not keen on encouraging backpacking or budget travel, a casa is the best bet if your on a budget it also means you get to live with a real Cuban family. Yes, you can see Cuba from a well protected bubble of a more luxurious run hotel but for the first 5 days of our stay we were staying with Lilly and her family in Vedado, on the edge of downtown Havana. The flat was fantastic, furnished throughout just like Thorton Court in Jersey. It contained some beautiful old furniture and was decked out to suit. Even the smell put me into a daze of fond memories of Channel Island living.

As normal once the bags, well one bag as again for this trip we'd managed to leave one backpack at Regina MC, we were keen to explore. After a quick run through of house rules and local knowledge we were off in the direction of the sea! We walked the Malecon (promenade) soaking up the atmosphere as the waves crash overhead. There were holes in the road and pavement because of these over active waves! Locals simply hanging out playing instruments, dancing, swimming or just sat relaxing enjoying the afternoons sea breeze.

We walked to the old town and wandered through the decaying colonial cobbled streets. Hundreds of dilapidated mansions, just crying out for Kevin McCloud to turn up at Jose Marti arrivals lounge. Or would they? Maybe the Cuban appeal is such because of this decayed look?

We felt like we were walking through a living museum of a bygone era. We were speachless. Architecture to match other countries touched by various conquests. But the Cuba system just isn't preserving the past. Many buildings have been allowed to crumble into derelict states. Many mansions are being propped up by half built scaffolding which is tangled by masses of electrical wiring. It's hard to believe some of the more crumbling houses still have people living in them. Many families, over the years, have moved in together to share the vast spaces within these colonial mansions (the buying and selling of houses is prohibited). In some of the mansions up to a dozen families are living. Brightly coloured washing strung across anything that would hold a line.

Some places put our renovation heads into a spin, being a couple of old romantics who love all things old. Some gave us a feeling of being downtown in say Capetown or central San Franciso or even remote French villages. Buildings with simply stunning multi coloured tripple height stained windows, turned pillars, romantic looking verandas with elaborate window bars and sweeping entrance steps. Every now and then we would get a sneaky view inside one of these rotting mansions providing views of beautifully carved wooden ceilings, double hinged half doors and folded lattice window screens. But all just calling out to be fixed up or at least preserved. Some buildings were being preserved and were "work in progress".

With plans for the Malecon to recieve a complete overhaul funded by the Spanish. Many trades were sat out front taking a welcomed drinks break. The afternoon heat and humidity wasn't really assisting project momentum. It will cost billions to save a lot of these buildings. Surely this country knows is sitting on the edge of something fantastic. Hopefully some day something will happen as if not it will be a tradegy if these fall to the grasp of the demolition gangs. Thankfully some of the inner city centro de historico areas have now been given UNESCO world heritage status. These now well safe from the swinging ball demo crews.

And then there's the cars! So this is where all the worlds Lada's have ended up. Guess there was always going to be a trade off for housing all those Russian missiles. But if Lada isn't your drive of choice the 60s Buicks will make you smile.

A world without America. No mass coca-cola invasion, no towering Hilton Hotels, brightly coloured McDonalds on every intersection, no huge K- Mart out of town style shopping malls. No Nike mega-stores. No giant advertising boards, no international newspapers or television stations, no internet! It's a strange one at first. All feels and makes for a very different lifestyle.

The result of being embargoed by the states is that sourcing almost anything is pretty tricky. Anyone else also known to be trading with Cuba is also black marked by America too. So they really are and have been going it alone! Raymond, Lilly's father, back at the casa said we had no clue of how difficult life was and the frustration on Lilly's face is heartbreaking. Try running a business and not advertising, no email account, she gets taxed on rooms that sit empty, and buying eggs and bread for guests breakfast is almost impossible.   Talk about dark ages. For years we had wanted to come to Cuba 'before it changes'. But now here we just hope change is round the corner for a brighter future for the up and coming generation.

Within the winding streets of old town Havana, mixed in with the neglect is the odd small tourist shop mixed in with the sweet smell of cigar smoke from characters puffing from the door ways. The few tourist shops that have been approved are mostly operating from small tables in the front room of their own homes. As for somewhere to grab a bite to eat, well the revolution has also done nothing for the country's cusine. Plus it's said that most Cubans spend the best parts of their days trying to obtain food that appears daily on approved hotel menus. Oh that heavy guilty touist feeling.

The country's agriculture system has been focused for far to long on merely being an industry that puts basic food on the table rather than even thinking about a culture where fine dinning exists. Let's just say you don't come to Cuba to expand you culinery knowledge. Often the waiter in the restaurant is a highly educated teacher or even doctor, but can take home a better wage from the tips!