Cuba 2018 Trip: Havana Day to Day Things

Yes Cuba! We went to Cuba as a family which was a very unique, eye opening, and surreal experience. Everyone we met was very open at the struggles they have faced as a country and continue to face. What they wish would change and also the love they have for their land. To stay in Cuba you need to stay in a casa particular where a citizen stays there with you. We stayed in an apartment where they had their cook & maid stay in a room off the kitchen while we had the rest of the house. We could pay her extra to make breakfast for us and she was a sweetheart.

 

It is more difficult to find places to eat there because some restaurants are only for citizen, some only for tourists, and some that are mixed. They aren’t really labeled where and you can’t just google where to eat. You really have to ask around. Our first meal out was on the 12th story of an apartment complex where there was a gorgeous restaurant with beautiful views of the city.

Usually when we travel we like to arrive and buy a bunch of groceries. We only like to go out to eat once a day and make the other two meals at home. Although grocery shopping in Cuba is rough. I have never seen grocery stores like that…what is available for them to buy is not consistent or balanced. Some weeks there are rows and rows of huge jars of mayo and other weeks tons of shrimp is available. The grocery stores are sparse, don’t have the basics, and are very hard to find things in.

So we went out to eat more than normal and found a neighborhood bakery that sold delicious bread to fill up on and a pizza place down the road where pizza was just 1.00 per pie.

There is also an ice cream place where all the locals can go for free ice cream. It is perhaps the oddest place I have been to in my life and I would like to see either a horror movie or documentary done about it. You stand in extremely long lines with police everywhere to sit together in the amusement park sized ice cream place. There are a dozen of counters of ice cream bars, all with the same ice cream, that you can order from and then sit together an eat. The police are scary and honest to goodness I wonder if the whole population is being drugged through the ice cream. Tourists are NOT allowed to go in or eat the ice cream the locals eat. There is a little stand right outside the park where you can order lame flavors of ice cream to eat as a visitor.

To get around town you can walk or take “taxis” which are all pristinely taken care of older cars. We had to take a pink convertible just once on our trip!

We also spent a lot of time walking up and down the Malecon which is right by the ocean and has the best breezes to help you cool down in the humidity.

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