Tom´s central-american adventure

Arriving late at night i stepped off the plane and in to the terminal that was filled with cigar smoke.
Nice start i thought!

The airport in its self was pretty modern, i was surprised as from the outside it didnt look all that.
No problems going through customs, quickly changed some money and headed for the exit.
Went outside and a new yellow taxi drove me downtown.

Just about when Elton John sang, " Can you feel the love tonight" on the radio, we passed a wall with Fidel Castro painted on followed by a slogan in spanish.

The hotel was okay. My room was tiny with windows looking straight into a wall. Thats what you get as a backpacker i reminded myself.
Next morning i headed up to the top floor where breakfast was being served.
Having not eaten for a while i was super hungry, but im sorry to say the food tasted awfull!
I didnt eat breakfast there again

After breakfast i started the day with a short walk to the grand theatre.
Its here the world famous cuban ballett performs, but only on weekends so i wouldnt be around to see them on home turf! I was really dissapointed by this but not much i could do so i continued my walk around.
Past the capitol building packed with tourists so i just walked on.
Got kinda lost but was interesting to not follow the guide book.
Eventually i found what i had come for, the museum of revolution!
The place was huge, used to be the palace where batista once lived ( i think) but when cubans stormed the palace he fled and never returned to it.
Loads of pics and information about the revolution, but not about Che unfortunatly.
There was however a funny picture of Fidel Castro playing baseball with a cigar in his mouth

I swear walking down the streets i smell cigar smoke EVERYWHERE! i actually like it.
Lunch was eaten at a local cafe. As i entered " Its the final countdown" by Europe blasted out of the speakers.
Enjoyed a cuban national beer called Bucanero Fuerte, not as good as the beer in Panama.

During a walk in the old town i came across these street performers.
A colorful display of acting you might say!

Im not sure what to say, im in Havana, Cuba! and its amazing and weird and a thousand other things that can´t really be explained.
I´ve never seen so many yellow, red, white and black Lada´s in my life.
I even saw a Lada limo!
But then i get abit confused, because on the other side of the street i see a Renault, a Peugot, a Mercedes with dark black windows.
Allready i had second thoughts about the " old Havana" we all think we know.

It´s a beautiful city. Lovely buildings, not too high so you can feel the sun on your back.
Old cars and old people sit side by side in the streets.
Cigar smoke fills the air.
Now it seems like i´ve found the Havana i was looking for.

That´s Havana, full of the new and the old - i liked the old more.

Havana is perfect for walking about, especially the old town, only about 10 minutes from my hotel.
The second day i spent all my time there.
I started down by the harbour, overlooking the old fortress, moved my way past the 27 odd tourist buses and eventually walked around in this giant maze of colorful buildings, restaurants and back alleys.
Yes, there were alot of other people wanting to explore just like me, but only a few times did i bump into a big crowd blocking the entire street.

After lunch i headed over to the Museum of Cuban Art ( MOCA i like to call it)
They housed an impressive collection of both paintings and sculptures.
I really liked what i saw. Many of the paintings show cuban life way back in the days, before all the tourist´s started to visit.
The building in itself was pretty nice too.
A modern place you might find back in Europe or the States.

I could fill in page after page covering all the days spent in Havana, but i just dont have the time right now.
So im just going to jump to the end and if you have any other questions you´ll just have to ask when im back again.

Saturday morning, just before 6 i was picked up at the hotel by a Lada taxi.
Let´s just say driving to the airport, still dark outside and the car full of petrol fumes, passing old run down soviet-like buildings was a scary experience i would never like to do twice.
I thought we would blow up before we even reached the airport!

20 minutes later we made it and i jumped out of the taxi so quick the man thought i wasn´t going to pay for the ride!
I got in to the terminal, checked in, payed the departure tax and went to wait in line to go through customs.
Abit nervous with a 25 packed of cigars in my main luggage bought on the black market, i wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Turns out, they are more than happy to send people out of their country.
It´s just coming in to the country they treat you as a bad person or terrorist or american spy!

On the tarmack were new tupulev´s with Cubana written all over them, glad i didn´t have to fly in one of those!
Waiting for my plane to depart (an airbus 319, european in other words), i looked back on my trip and must admit i was pretty happy how it all turned.
Im happy i went before Cuba changes too much and im happy my hunger for taking pictures in streets with no tourists didn´t get me killed!

Now i´m back in San Jose, staying with my hostfamily.
Allready i´ve managed to attend another family birthday. (must be number 3 or 4 so far)
It seems like every weekend something is going on either with Jorge or Humberto´s family.
I like it, gives me a chance to see how costa rican life really is.

I´ll be heading to the coast soon, with another voulenteer.
Since i dont feel i have enough time to travel up to Nicaragua i´ve opted for a sunny retreat to Manuel Antonio.
Stop by soon to hear how it all went.

Tom