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.