My minds realing, too much to process in such a short amount of time.
I'm on the bus to Trinidad, we're still picking up everyone from Hotels so
we're still in old Havana. I had a late night last night, really late haha
conisdering I needed to get up at 6:30am. I was rushing this morning but I
managed nearly everything...except for probably something super important. I
didn't have time to book a place to stay when I come back from Trinidad, I was
about to put in my deets into the system and the tour bus showed up D= I still
had my luggage upstairs in my room and really needed to change some more money
and return my key. I ran up and got that all done at least, I probably changed
a lttle too much which I'm bummed about now because it means I need i'll
probably need to change it back when I get to the airport on Wednesday. Err I'll
land on my feet, I'm sure there's got to be at least one internet cafe in
Trinidad right =S and the families who rent out their homes are usually heaps
nice and give directions for things, plus Ivan my tour guide is also going to
be in that town and he gave me his number incase I run into any trouble. I just
need to find a public phone I guess coz my phone doesn't seem to work here but
I haven't ever tried calling a local number.
Hmm so does necessity breed confidence? Because I've done so much here that
I wouldn't of done alone back home. I mean, I could, it would just take a
significantly larger amount of persuading haha. I guess it's because I have
little choice here and I don't want to waste the opportunities I'm presented
with because I highly doubt I'm ever coming back to Cuba. It's been nice but
there's so many other places I'd rather see in the world.
Oh jeez, this is a long trip, we've just finished picking everyone up, it's
9:07am, he says we'll get there around 3-4pm S'all good, I slept like 1.5hrs
last night.
So I'm going to pick up where I last left off in my previous post before I
went to diner. Lol I can't remember what we did in order, I need to look at
pics. One second. Ahhhh yup. So it was Friday and we packed up our things and
got our usual free breakfast and we were back on the road to Havana. Along the
way we stopped at a government housing project community called Las Terrazas.
It was pretty cool, we stopped off at a bar first, at like 10am lol got our
free cocktail and listened to a few songs by the band there. Everyone was kind
wahhhh, but lol it's never too early for drinking and live music. I totes made
the right choice of tours here haha. There was two to choose from but I only
chose this one because in the tag line it specifically mentioned dancing and
they weren't wrong XD
Las Terrazas was kool, Ivan (tour guide) explained a lot of the socialst
reforms that Cuba's got in place. I drilled him for more info because I was a
little confused by it since it almost seemed like this town was the only one
where all that stuff happened but turns out it's generally across the whole
country, minus the free houses. I think it was back in the 60's they tried to
repopulate the area after masive deforestation and so the government was looking
to find an agricultural workforce willing to regnerate the bushland in the area
and in turn give the people free housing as an incentive which worked out great
for that partiuclar area because there was so much poverty in those hills.
Other programs in place are the food rations that everyone gets given. That
still exists across the country, everyone is entitled to a certain amount of
basic food products necessary to survive; eggs, milk, sugar, flour, ect. Plus
Ivan said they also have a thing where kids get free milk until they're 7 years
old...or maybe it was all their food. Tbh I can't remember how it works,
because they have a set amount of things they can buy from their rations, but
they do have to pay. I think it's to ensure everyone has access to food because
there have been times in Cuba, especially in the 90's where there just wasn't
enough to go around for everyone. So if you want to buy more than your quota
you can go to the free market and barter there with people.
So Ivan took us walking around the town and we stopped at a coffe shop/bar
thing and got a free coffee each because that place is known for it's coffee
plantations. Obviously I went for the typical coffee from the area which was a
cold frappe type thing. DELICIOUS. Not the worlds best but it tasted a bit like
the iced mochas I used to get at work.
Oh..we did a pitstop like 30mins into the ride =S I spoke to the drivers
and asked them for directions when we get to Trinidad. I managed to get pics of
the map and adress of the house I'm going to so at least I managed that this
morning lol. They said it's close to the drop off point but I really don't know
haha...oh well, I'll figure it out, he says I should get a bicitaxi, they're
pretty popular here, guy on a bike with a cart type thing at the back for two
people to sit in. We'll see, I'm not too woried, it seems pretty easy to walk
to, but with my massivo backpack lol a little tiring.
Lol I tried talking to a few people from the bus I'm on when we stopped off
just then but they werent too receptive haha..oh well.
Anyway, back to what happened Friday. We got out coffees and then took a
5min bus ride to the first coffee plantation built in the area that is no
longer in use, they really don't seem too big, I can't imagine they would
produce much there. It used to be owned by a wealthy french family who used
slaved from Africa to help farm their land. So that was pretty but mossy as all
fuck and damp, I stacked it like 3 times but only made it to the floor once =P
Then we were back on the road to Havana and finally made it around 2 or
3pm. Back to our starting hotel and everyone dumped their shit and met up for
lunch in the restaurant across the road from ours, the most expensive one in
Havana. The irish guys had been raving about the burgers there so we were all
craving them by that point, all of us missing a little bit of western food.
They were tasty! Probably one of the best burgers I've ever had, big too. Then
we all parted ways and I went hunting for internet. Internet in cuba runs off these
cards that allow you to buy an hour of internet and then you put in the code
into the computers. My hotel ran out of cards
Later that night our group met up for one last night all together for
dinner and dancing and to celebrate the Cuban girls birthday. We went back to
the restaurant we went to the first night where I had a massive lobster which wasreally
tasty and then we went to a slasa place. TBH it was kinda shit. We headed back
like at 2am with most of the group having evaporated through the night. When I
got to the foyer I met some drunk British chick.
I fell asleeeeeep, woke up just in time as we pulled up to our next pitstop
for lunch. Was chatting to this sweet old couple from Wales. Anyway, back to my
recount.
So I had met this drunk girl in the foyer who wanted me to come dancing
with her and the guy she was with and it all felt a little fishy, they couldn't
communicate with each other so I was translating but she was so drunk she just
kept talking over him and repeating the same shit. I got her to calm down and I
don't know why I followed them, i guess I was bored, Friday nights in Havana
should be better spent than hal-heartedly dancing with a bunch of people I
should have bonded with all week. So I made sure I knew where we were walking
so I could walk back and we only went straight and they stopped at a bottlo and
brought the drinks back to the plaza across from my hotel so I felt safe.
There's cops around most places anyway, I was suprised they didn't stop us
because drunk chick was making a lot of noise and kept arguing in broken
spanish with the dude. It all chilled out once we got to the Plaza because he
had a set of speakers and she connected her phone and we just danced around
haha. The chick was hella drunk though, kept showing me her
"professional" dance moves and looked like a damn wanker haha but she
was nice enough, and enamoured with me I guess, kept telling me I was her best
friend and we commonwealth buddies need to stick together. I got stories out of
her and it was alright. I really didn't trust the guy alone with her though, he
would get all seedy with her and she obviously didn't want that. Eventually I
convinced her to go back to her apartment so I told her I would walk her so we
finally left and some homeless guy followed. Gah. He offered her straight rum
from a fucking popper, the cheapest kind you can get and she just kept taking
swigs while I'm telling her to stop drinking because she had fallen over like 3
times already. We got to a corner and I asked her if she knew where she was
going and she was just lost, and realising how drunk she really was, meanwhile
shes still drinking straight rum off a homeless dude =.= After about 15mins of
her unable to focus and not being able to tell me where she was staying I gave
up and wished her luck. She said she would be fine...and Cuba's actually really
safe but jeez, what a trainwreck.
I enjoyed myself though haha, I got to dance freely and finally to some
music in english and met some rastas haha. Then ended up dancng with some taxi
drivers on my way back to the hotel, they were in the parking space with their
soundsytems blasting and dancing there with some people so I just joined in
haha. I think I got to bed around 5am hehe.
Up at 8am again the next day to gt breakfast, book my transfer to Trinidad
and say goodbye to the last few memebers of the tour group who were leaving.
Some of us where staying a little longer in Havana so we decided to hang out.
Most of them wanted to meet at 11;30am which was too late for the Colombian who
had to be back at the hotel for her flight at 12:30 so the two of us went
exploring. She stupidly stepped out the door of the hotel and opened up a giant
map at the door so suprisesuprise we got swamped with taxi drivers lol. We
ended up getting a bicitaxi to where she wanted to go, I felt so sorry for him
haha hauling her AND me around in the backseat. We didn't really find what we
were looking for but we walked around the block and then got back on the bike
and he did a quick tour and showed us their China Town and then took us to La
Plaza de la Revolucion, we took pics and then head back because I was meant to
meet up with the others. I walked in and they weren't around =( So I just left
again with the Colombian girl and got lunch together and then crashed out like
a light.
That's when I started writting the previous post! The sweethearts had left me
a note on my door that I never saw because I was asleep but they called me up
to the room. We went to the beautiful little italian place, good lasagne. Then
we met up with our bcitaxi guy from earlier because he had told me he could
take us out somewhere good. I had told
him they wanted to go to the Hemingway bar and he said that was a rip off but
we went anyway, lol the group walked in, I took a pic and by the time I was
done they had already decided it was too expensive and bailed. Instead he took
us to a bottlo, we got some cheapo rum in a popper and some coke and sat by the
seaside wall waiting to make some time. It was fun, they had buskers who would
come and play us songs and the taxi dude would poiint out to us which girls
were actually prostitutes with their pimps LOL soooooo many, and pretty too.
Once it was time we walked to La Casa de la Musica which was lovely. They have
them all over Cuba where they do shows before they open up the dancefloor. They
had a group of contemporary salsa dancers and a few solo singers and then the
Salsa band came on. They were funny, all dressed in what looked like a mix
between BBoys and old school emo kids. Tight bright skinny jeans, flashy
sunnies, high tops or vans and brightly coloured, open-collared fitted button
down shirts. Their hair thoughhhh lol, some horrific side fringes, the really
scene kind, where half the face is covered and the sides of the head are shaved
down. That or some wierd shark fin type dealios lol.
So we lasted in that until like 4:30am and then I got up at 6:30am to pack
and get ready today =.=
It's not 12:52 and we're still on route. I've been on a lot of buses since
I got here, it's comfortable and I've gotten to see the countryside heaps and
authentic towns which aren't all touristy. It's been cool. Hmm I need to look
for an internet cafe when I get there. Geh I need to try and book a hotel.
Totes staying at a different one this time. Not that the Plaza was bad butttt
the taxi dude wants to hang out when I come back Tuesday and although he's got
a few sesh moves I'm totes not bothered meeting up with him alone =.= Plus I
know he works out the front of there and he's going to see me if I come back
there lol. Before I left this morning I found the perfect place and on the
other side of town, wifi, pool, clean, and infront of the ocean, wth a few
restaurants to choose from. I'm just going to be there for one arvo, I have no
plans of stepping out of that hotel until I leave lol. So that's the plan,
spend sunday monday in Trinidad, get a bus back tuesday, arriver around 4pm
again, get dinner in Havana in the hotel, go for a swm maybe, maybe get mah
hairssss didddd coz the foils are an awful rank hoe colour atm from washing it
like twice a day. The hotel has a massage service and beauty salon so we'll
see. Could totes use a pedi haha. Jeez I look like a leper atm, my legs are
absoloutely covered in mossie bites and I've started getting those random
bruises again.
Boo I wish I had fb, I wanna write to peeps =( I managed to open it, read
some of the msgs and then got called out to the bus =(
Anywhoozle, I'm going to transfer all my pics onto the laptop.
LubchuLongTime.
xx
