Hasta La Victoria Siempre: Summer in Havana

Cuba… what comes to mind when you hear the word Cuba? Comrade Fidel Castro? Cohibas?

For me Cuba is the people; the music; salsa; cigars; beautiful men and women skin sunkissed and long hair…yup you get it. I was introduced to Buena Vista Social Club album in 2005 and fell in love with the first track Chan Chan. I had known  of Comrade Fidel Castro before then of course and his ideals on communism but I’d be lying if I said that’s what attracted me to Cuba

Playing the Buena Vista Social Club album took me to a place far away. I pictured myself in a maxi dress, straw hat; levitating in the streets of Old Havana; sundowners in my hand. I pictured men with tailored bodies in fedoras; topless or unbuttoned shirts. I said tailored bodies not umkhaba. I pictured old men drinking whisky or rum in this case and cigars; I pictured driving into the sunset in a pink vintage car.

Fast forward 12 years. A phone call took place: Let’s go to Cuba. Simple response: Summer in Havana!!! Si por favor

Checklist: Vintage cars; Straw hat; salsa; old lady smoking a cigar and Ernest Hemingway

You do know who Ernest Hemingway is, right? The American author? Yeah him. He spent a few years in Havana, Cuba. Internet says he lived at the same hotel whenever he visited Havana. The Hotel Ambos Mundos in old Havana. So what do you think we did? We booked a room same floor as his. I wanted to breathe same air as this author and hopefully get enough inspiration to write a book. Well here you are reading a blog written by me LOL!!!

His room 511 has been preserved. It looks exactly as it did when he stayed there. So surreal I tell you.
   

 

We flew via USA. The President of America has introduced a rule that if you’re flying via his country you need a VISA stating the reason for visiting Cuba no matter your citizenship ee-fckng –magine. We crossed the Atlantic not sure whether we’d get VISAs to Cuba, a risk I’d rather not take again. They told us the VISA we’d obtain at our exit airport which would be Charlotte in our case. We landed in Charlotte just after dark and Our flight would be in the morning meaning we'd spend the entire night at the airport not knowing whether we’d be in USA or Cuba the next day. They had us by our balls literally. So to while away time we went to Peter Thomas’ Bar One. Peter Thomas of Real Housewives of Atlanta runs a night club in Charlotte that he goes on and on about on the show. We arrived at the club after midnight and were shocked that not even a single car was there, even graveyards have better ambience than Bar one. I was so disappointed, I thought I’d be rubbing shoulders with Cynthia Bailey. Man listen!!!

We went back to the airport, found a bench and talked smack as always. My goodness that airport was cold, Woolies food would not hold a candle to the polar temperatures at Charlotte airport.

We arrived in Havana, took a shower and hit the streets. Rest is for the dead

                                               HOT GIRLS IN HAVANA

   

      

                                                        



   

When a toddler is your role model

We take our running shoes wherever we go. Why do you think we look so good?

Highlights/Lowlights/Observations

    - Ladies in Havana have an awry dress sense. Heh man ladies at our hotel had skirts so short, suspenders on their pantyhose were out to play
    - People in Cuba look  old. Skin looks like dough, please do not chastise me for saying that. I  don’t know man. It’s hard to tell their age

She's probably younger than me **shrug**

                

    -  No statues of Fidel Castro anywhere. I hear it was his wish to not have any of those. I  heard in the news that Government of Cuba would prohibit naming of streets or monuments monuments after this great man in keeping with his desire to stop a personality cult            developing. I wish our country followed this trend and rather idolise nature and animals        at least they have a rather predictable behaviour and only change with season.

   - There's music in the street, Music in every restaurant and every hotel lobby. Ok so lark we love music, it is after all one of the main reasons I crossed an ocean but when completely different music plays simultaneously in adjacent restaurants and you find yourself not knowing whether to sokie sokie or break dance that’s a problem!!!

    - Driving in a pink Plymouth. Listen I think it’s time to revisit that bucket list. My last breath on earth I'll take with a smile and a zap sign in my back pocket

Arguably my most favourite picture of this entire trip 

   - I salsad to Chan Chan at the Buena Vista social Club. OH. MY. GOD. What have I ever done to deserve so much love from heaven? 

    

 -  Visiting the Partagas factory. Google says Cohibas were Comrade Fidel’s favourite      

   - The promenade looks like it once was a place to be, well built and all. Today it is mostly  unoccupied buildings. Hell, one could easily own a mansion with a view, buildings are        left unkempt.  

I take stunning pictures

     

  - There’s no free wi-fi. What a mindfck. We had to buy 100MB for 5 USD at the hotel.    What  can one do nge 100MB Bazalwane? Download a GIF?

 -  Cuban peso is determined at the time of landing. Fck your USD LOL! The value is stronger le kwaMs*nu not in Cuba. AHAHAHA

 - We flew back via Miami. So here’s something I did not share with Noz at the time. They made us identify our luggage on arrival in Miami before connecting to the next city. Something hit me, I had not locked my suitcase and here we were just arrived from Cuba. What if someone snuck in contraband? My heart was pounding until we were cleared. It was only then that I told her. Why had we not thought of wrapping our luggage, why why why?

Anyway we toured Miami for the day and even visited the Kardashian store. Well it’s  just a YDE. The less said on this subject the better

MIAMI, USA WHERE THE DOLLAR MATTERS

  

                                                

I have told you about similarities between Noz and I in the past. This tops all similarities. We both lack emotion, it’s worrisome. Sht happens we accept and move on. I think we silently use the “How to not give a fck method”

The one afternoon we were sitting at the Ambos Mundos lobby relaxing after a long day of walking. I charged my phone a few feet away. Once I was done she charged hers, no problem. While we were sitting there was a bunch of boys doing their best to get our attention. They were a mild annoyance but we tried to not let them mess with our chi. They would whistle at us from outside and some make their way inside to touch us and run. Typical group behaviour nothing unbecoming, I thought. Later as we prepared to go out for the night Noz calmly said “Those kids stole my phone” She was sitting put when she uttered those words.

What? The phone had been charging a few feet from us. Between the running in and out and whistles the young men must have grabbed it unnoticed.

I looked in the direction of the phone and yeah it was gone. I asked calmly “Wuuu Noz ok let’s find a solution. How much have you lost. What was in that phone? We’ll use my phone to call your family. You did not take pics using your phone anyway. We’re cool.”

Noz: “I had transferred most of my pics to my laptop before this trip so yeah I haven’t lost much”

Throughout this conversation neither of us bothered to look for those kids or whatever. We moved on like nothing happened.

This incident still bothers me. How come we didn’t even bat an eyelid about losing a phone? We were so pragmatic

 1. What have we lost?

 2. What’s the way forward?

It reminds me of the 31 Dec 2015 when a car I was in landed on its head next to a fire in Ethiopia and how we walked out unscathed and continued to a New Year’s Eve party later the same day.

One would think we don’t care. We really really really really do care LOL!!! but we do not let negativity linger for too long.

Our true character was tested that day and we passed with flying colours

To more and more countries with this girl. I love her from boarding wrong trains in Greece to escaping an abduction is Dakar 

Every trip has a soundtrack

                                               PRESS PLAY!!!

To the people of Cuba, gracias muchos and thank YOU for reading


                                                 HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!!!