A Week in Cuba - Part 1, Getting There

After our return from Cairo at the end of March, we had two weeks to relax, do our taxes and enjoy Spring before heading to Havana, Cuba for a week.

Mother Nature greeted us with a cruel April Fool's Day surprise snowstorm - where was our Spring?

 

After a few days, the weather warmed a bit, the ice quickly disappeared from the pond behind the house and migrating waterfowl began stopping off on their route north.  Those are hooded mergansers in the left photo seeking the attention of a lady merganser.  We even had a surprising visit from a loon - they usually look for larger lakes but those still had ice.

  

 

We departed for Cuba via a flight to Miami, early on the morning of the 14th, leaving home at 4:30 a.m.  Weather in Havana appeared to be warm as we settled in at Miami International Airport to await the short flight to Havana.

We departed Miami about 1:50 and since the plane was not very crowded, I had a window seat with a nice view.  We headed west across the Florida Everglades and about ten minutes later, I noticed that we were turning north; "that's odd," I thought as we did a full 360 degree turn and then an additional 180.

The pilot announced that he had a "red light" in the cockpit and we were returning to Miami.  Meanwhile, a flight attendant had asked the two airline personnel sitting behind Linda if either was a mechanic - they weren't.

We had an uneventful return and landing in Miami coming in over the familiar Goya Foods building.  Our captain received a round of applause as we rolled up to the terminal again.   American Airlines has a large presence in Miami, and staff quickly went to work on the problem.

  

 

We never did find out anything about the nature of the problem, but after two hours back at the gate, we were repaired, signed off and ready to try it again.  Unfortunately, as we neared the runway, a large storm was approaching and we sat on the ground for another half-hour as we waited for it to pass.  We finally took off at 5:10 pm versus our scheduled 1:25 pm.  This time we headed immediately south, passing over Homestead Air Force Base and Key Largo.  

  

    

 

 

While you may think of Cuba as just 90 miles from Florida, that measures the distance from Key West to the closest point on the island.  From Miami to Havana is about 235 miles, or 280 as the plane flies.

In about 40 minutes, we had our first glimpse of the island in the distance and we quickly crossed over the coastline above an attractive shallow bay and beach.

  

 

We landed in Havana at 6:00 pm and were through immigration and customs by 6:40.  Our B&B had arranged for us to be picked up and our driver was waiting outside the door with a sign.  Fortunately, through the miracle of modern communications, we had been able to let him know that we would be a few hours late.

Our driver welcomed us to Havana and ushered us out to a spot where he picked us up in a well-cared-for 1956 Ford.

Jose Marti International Airport lies about 13 miles to the southwest of Old Havana where we were staying and taxi fare is $30.  Prices are not like in Egypt, where a $5 Uber fare across town is the norm.

Our B&B was located in Habana Vieja (Old Havana) on Jesus Maria Street, just a few blocks from the harbor and maybe half a mile from the Cuban Capitol building.  There are quite a few rooms available in the area, mostly in older homes that have been updated to serve as B&B type operations.  The one we stayed in had five rooms available, with a sixth under construction.  The building was typical of the area with very high ceilings.

  

There was a comfortable public area upstairs with good reception of the hotel's WiFi network and two nice breakfast areas on the first floor.  I loved the yellow rotary dial phone on the buffet. 

  

Outside, the neighborhood was full of activity.  People tended to gather outside as evening approached, seeking relief from the heat.  We had air-conditioning in our room, but most people in this neighborhood do not.  

 

On Jesus Maria, we were just a three block walk from the harbor in two directions and about six blocks from the large Plaza Vieja square bustling with restaurants.  There are several other public squares in the immediate area.

 

We had our first dinner on the second floor balcony of a restaurant overlooking the square.

The next morning we had our first breakfast at the hotel, starting off with juice, coffee and a large fruit plate, while our hostess prepared our eggs and toast.  This turned out to be a wonderful beginning to each day.

Reading about travel to Cuba makes it seem subject to a good deal of complications.  It turns out to be quite straightforward.  Some restaurants price their menus in U.S. Dollars; many translate the tab into U.S. Dollars.  Dollars are cheerfully accepted by tourist businesses.  We used a credit card to charge a dinner show and saw ATMs in use.  Your results could be different - ask your bank or credit card company.  Passing through immigration in both Cuba and on our return to the U.S. was as simple as with any other country we have visited.  If you are considering making the trip, don't overthink it; bring cash and have a good time.

As always, just click on a photo to enlarge it.  This will take you into a Flickr album with most of the photos in this post and additional ones not displayed here.