Thursday 11th – 15th November, Cienfuegos Trinidad and Havana Cuba

Wednesday is just “One of those days” ...... The bus trip that should take 4 hours ends up being part of a tour and after leaving at 7am we arrive at 4pm. We stop for breakfast at the very bizarre “Fiesta Campienesa”. The literal translation is “Party campsite” where the communist regime tries to convince busloads of tourists that rural life in Cuba is wonderful. After guinea pig gambling and a very expensive coffee I have my photo taken on a giant cow. The tour leader is getting to Sav with his utterings of useless Cuban facts well before we sit down to a very poor lunch in another tourist trap in Cienfuegos where we manage to leave our Cuban guide book. When we eventually get to Trinidad it takes us 30 minutes to find our guesthouse that turns out to be 50m from where we arrived (that guidebook with the maps we lost at lunch would have been handy) who only have one room available, not the two we booked! To top it off we are so tired we head out to an early dinner with the rudest service imaginable (although its not the first time we’ve been denied drinks!) and then discover as we trudge home wearily after seeing a good local rhumba band (definitely the day’s highlight) that all of the music bars and clubs that Trinidad is famous for are just starting to get going. Sometimes you’ve just got to take a deep breath and let it go.
Our next day is a vast improvement. Half a day on a beautiful beach, followed by a long ciesta and a magnificent meal of the largest whole lobster I’ve ever seen cooked for us by the very friendly owners of the guesthouse that Ron and Rosemary are staying at. Tonight we’ve timed our run far better and hit the main square just as a couple of hundred people are gathered around outdoor bars watching local and tourist salsa/rhumba dance enthusiasts groove away to one of the local 8 piece bands. Ron and Rosemary join in like seasoned pros and look great. We try another small club around the corner and after enough Cuba Libres (basically rum and cokes) Sav and I try to put into practice what we’ve been learning at the salsa classes ... thankfully there is no video evidence of what occurred.
We stay Ciefuegos the following night, at a casa right on the water. Although it's communist Cuba, our casa has a pool and there are mojitos on arrival! After a very decadent breakfast the next day, we make our way to Havana for one last night.... and have time for one more much needed salsa class!

Sunday 7th – 10th November, Havana, Cuba

If you have the stereotypical postcard image of Cuba in your head of colourful but severely dilapidated buildings, people of varying racial heritages hanging around the doorways and windows of the aforementioned living ruins and American cars from the 1950’s cruising the streets ...... then your spot on. Throw in great live music coming from various bars and lots of rum and cigars and you have historical Havana to a tee. Our first day is spent exploring on foot and there seems to be something happening around every corner. That night we see a brilliant show with great music and singing from one of the original members of the Buena Vista Social Club and Ron and Rosemary hit the floor to show off their salsa skills whilst I politely decline under the pretence of finishing off my first fat Cuban cigar!
Our second day in Havana and we visit the magnificent Capitola (old parliament built in the same style as the US whitehouse), a cigar factory where we get an appreciation of the slave-like labour that goes into producing those bad-boys, china town (the Croydens appear to be the only Asians there) where we meet a couple of fellow Aussies, Natalie and Simon, at lunch before we find ourselves at a non-english speaking salsa lesson! That night we head out to the legendary and extremely cheesy Tropicana show where we’re given a bottle of rum to share as we get our fill of latin music, cabaret dancers, feathers, sequins and g-strings. It’s a classic!

Day 3 and it’s off to the rum factory after breakfast (hey .... we’re on holiday), checking out more art galleries (there’s loads of great local artists in Cuba) and a visit to the very factual ”Revolution Museum” where we learn all about the heroic exploits of Fidel, Raul, Che and Camillo without any hint of propaganda (I think someone may be watching us as we write). More much-needed salsa lessons in the afternoon (Sav looks great but I’m not showing many signs of improvement) before we head out to a couple of bars for rum, cerveza, cigars and dinner with Natalie and Simon.