Cuba 1: Day 1 (travel to Havana)

We booked a five day, four night trip to Cuba. Right away, I recognized it as a three day vacation, plus a day for traveling on each end.

In my mind I was preparing for a repeat of my November 2015 trip to Cuba. Believe me when I say, even I was tired of saying "when I was here eight years ago," but I said it to ground myself. Then I was up at 2:30 am for a 6 am flight to Miami to catch a 3 pm flight that was delayed to 6 pm, then to 6:50 pm. Finally at 9:30 pm we boarded a cigar-scented airplane with sealed ashtrays for the 45 minute flight. Sat on the tarmac for  the shuttle to take us the short distance to the airport. A surprisingly short spin through customs brought us to an enormous room where it was obvious people had been waiting for hours for their luggage. On that trip we were each limited to a 10kg (22 lbs) bag as our carryon, or maybe it was 10 pounds? Most people checked a bag. I did not.

So when we took a regularly scheduled American Airlines plane (albeit on an older model) on time, landed when we said we would land, walked through a jetway into a bright, shiny airport that was prepared for tourists, and our longest wait was for border control I was pleasantly surprised, and a bit confused. I should have realized then many other changes were in store for us.

Lian, our Road Scholar leader for our trip, guided us to a shiny 40-passenger bus complete with a bathroom in the back, air conditioning, and cup holders -- a far cry from the bus we had (repeat after me) eight years ago that broke down on one of our excursions. Our charming driver, Ollie, also stayed with us the whole weekend. His constant presence reassured us we would not get on one of the many other shiny, blue, 40-seat busses that are now ubiquitous. 

So far the changes were positive. The excitement that was in the air eight years ago seemed to be coming to fruition! Back in 2015 the United States embassy reopened and diplomatic ties had been restored. We all know the sharp shift that happened after January 20, 2017 when someone else became President. That shift meant those ties were once again severed.

CUP on the top, CUC on the bottom

The next change came when Lian talked about using money in Cuba. Eight years ago we were instructed to go to the currency exchange booth and convert our money into CUCs (pronounced "kooks") at roughly a 1:1 ration. This was the ONLY place we would be able to convert. When we landed after 10 pm, the booth was open and we exchanged our money. There would be no opportunities to use credit cards, and very few chances to use US Dollars. Choose the amount carefully. I exchanged $200. I seem to recall Marth exchanged $100. Martha bought more souvenirs than I did, so she bought some CUCs off of me. It worked out perfectly. They also had a local currency called the CUP (pronounced "coop") that the tourists would likely never see. The long-term plan was to do away with the CUP and convert to the CUC.

Following me, so far?

The day before we left, I googled Cuban currency to confirm something that was written in the Road Scholar preparation email. It said the Cubans are only using the CUP and that tourists should use either US Dollars or Euros. I wondered about tipping the sand lady and buying a stamp in the post office. Surely, those would be in local currency. I was organized enough I could find my leftover money. I left the CUPs at home, and brought a few CUCs (surely, that's what the message meant to say -- why keep the fragile paper money when you have shiny new coins?). I tucked them away in my carry-on bag because I also read if foreigners are carrying Cuban money it will be confiscated (and land in the official's pocket). 

Surprise, surprise, the internet was right. So, I snuck the wrong currency back into the country and left the correct currency at home. 

Yes, at this point in Cuban history the US Dollar reigns supreme with the Euro in second place, and the British Pound and Canadian Dollar battling for third and fourth places. If you must use the CUP you can, but it will cost you.

Here is where money becomes confusing. If we exchanged our money at the airport, we would receive 120 CUP for each USD. On the surface, this sounds good. But, if you exchange money on the street, it might be as high as 300 CUP for each USD. Or not. Each business (restaurant, etc.) sets their own exchange rate somewhere between 120 and 300. Many show their prices in USD to discourage any other form of currency. Even in the most non-touristy places, such as gas pumps, the prices are listed in CUP and USD. The sand lady prefers a tip in USD. A far cry from eight years ago, though she will accept $1 for up to four people going to the bathroom. She does not want coins. We were advised to ask the exchange rate before ordering, or see a menu with prices listed in USD.

We waited at least 30 minutes for a missing couple, who ended up taking a taxi because they could not find Lian. I never fully understood the mix-up. Flight delay? Wrong door? Impatience? Finally Lian and Ollie took us on a 30-minute bus ride to our shiny hotel.

The Hotel Grand Aston Havana opened in May 2022. It boasts the city's only 24-hour fitness center and other amenities Americans are used to having. At the hotel, for $50 we could purchase a card with money in CUPs. It seemed the main reason to do this was to spend the money at the hotel bar so we passed. Any money left over could be converted to (get this) Euros at the airport currency exchange booth, with the coins in CUPs. Fast forward to going home ... the exchange booth was closed when we arrived at 7 AM, so those who did exchange for the CUP was not able to exchange back.

While waiting for our rooms, the hotel served us pretty blue welcome drinks. Welcome drinks are a popular show of hospitality. Upon request, often rum is added to the drinks. I seem to recall eight years ago they came with rum in them, but I could be wrong. It was still nice and refreshing even if I have no idea what gave it the florescent blue color.

Finally we were given room keys and the precious code for WIFI. This was the only place we could check the internet, and even here it was spotty. Each morning we had to log in again with a long code. It was so complicated the main thing the concierge desk by the front door did was help us log into the internet, then explain it might be slow. Considering that eight years ago the only option was to buy an expensive card to connect to the internet at random places in Havana, this was such an improvement. To those of us used to being able to use our phones every minute of the day around the globe, this was culture shock. Someone in the group said she bought the international plan to use in Cuba and was surprised it didn't work. Someone else said at the end of their trip they had a $300 bill from their cell phone company even though they made a point of putting their phones in plane mode from the moment they left Miami. Hopefully that bill got straightened out.

After our drink, we were told we were due back at the hotel restaurant in half an hour for dinner at 7. Unfortunately most of that time was spent waiting for our carry on bag to make its way from the bus to our room. We tried to explain that we could carry it ourselves, but the request fell on deaf ears. Either they were trying to show they are a high class establishment, or they wanted a chance to rifle through our bags (note: nothing seemed disturbed when we opened them), either way all I wanted was a shower and a change of clothes.

Dinner was okay. It was buffet. Lian warned us this meal would be the least exciting lunch or dinner on the trip. The next morning when I saw the leftovers being served as our breakfast (and nothing we consider to be breakfast food) I readily agreed. We were able to watch the sunset over the Havana Bay.

While many of our group retired to their rooms after dinner, Don and I walked 

along the Malecon -- the 5-mile walkway along the Havana Bay. It was a lovely night for a stroll, especially considering it was mid-March. At times we could hear music playing. People were fishing and spending time with each other. It felt perfectly safe.

An hour later we were back at the hotel for the night. The next morning we were to meet in the lobby at 8:15 with any donations we brought with us. Donations were optional, but encouraged. We brought some crayons and paper. Others brought basic toiletries. It seemed the more seasoned the traveler, the more they brought.

Before going to our room we had been warned not to expect too much. If we have toilet paper, we might not have soap. If we have soap, we might not have towels. If we have all that, we won't have a view of the water. I didn't want to brag, but we had a beautiful view of the Havana Bay, soap, shampoo, towels, and all amenities one would expect. Though, the first day we had a bath mat, hand towels, and regular towels. The second day we lost the bath mat, but still had hand towels. The third and fourth days we only had the main towels. We survived. I wasn't sure if our air conditioning was working, but it could have been user-error, or after mentioning it to Lian she was able to get someone to fix it. 
 

The rest of the days will have multiple posts with a lot more pictures.