Cuba

In 2019, despite all the travels already planned for the same year, I decided to also go to Cuba to spend New Year’s Eve on the warm side of the planet.
I’ve always wanted to go to Cuba, there was something that attracted me and I am happy I decided to go. I travelled with Viaggi e Avventure nel Mondo, the same company I travelled to Sri Lanka and India before. This time, also a colleague of mine joined, Mauro, and it was interesting to travel with a friend in a group. You may think Cuba is small, but it is not so. Indeed, we had to skip some stops not to rush all the time. Still, we managed to cross the entire island!
To read this diary with the right atmosphere, I suggest you put on the entire album of Buena Vista Social Club. It seems a cliché, but the truth is those songs accompanied us along the entire trip.

Day 1
We left Milan on the 29th of December. We were supposed to leave on the 28th but there was no flight availability, so we had to skip one day. The flight was so looooong and, even if I took the anxiolytics my dad gave to me, they did not work that much (yeah, I do suffer a lot when flying). When we had some turbulence, I started feeling bad. We flew with Blue Panorama, I think one of the few companies allowed to go to Cuba but quite bad in terms of entertainment. There was no screen and you had a selection of maybe ten movies to watch on your device using the onboard Wi-Fi. On the other side, the food was really good. We had lasagna and it tasted like real lasagna. Maybe not the one you would get in a restaurant but still I guess you can’t have everything. We arrived in Habana around 11 PM and we spent more than an hour trying to exchange our money into CUC.
- Small note about money in Cuba. When I travelled there (now it has changed), there were two currencies: the CUP and CUC. The first one is the peso cubano, also known as moneda nacional, and it is the currency used by Cubans. Public salaries and pensions are paid in CUP. The second one is the peso cubano convertible, whose changing rate is the same as the American dollar. This is used by tourists and Cubans for hotels, petrol, restaurants and so on. Now, 1 CUC is worth about 25 CUP, meaning that whoever doesn’t work with tourists has a small amount of money compared to the others. This led to a huge gap between Cubans as some can afford much more than others. –
There is a fascinating machine at the airport where, in an idyllic world, you put inside euros and gets CUC. I say idyllic because it took us many attempts and the help of a woman working there to actually get the money changed. And not even all of us managed as 100 bills were not accepted and the machine liked to make disappear a bill here and there. Anyway, after a while, we were done. We went out and bought some water before jumping on a taxi and head to the city centre. The fascinating thing about Cuba is that, as they don’t have internet (more on that later), they have an incredible memory for the street names. In about 40 minutes we arrived at our casa particular (private house) and we divided into three rooms. We were so tired that we just had a quick shower and went to bed. In Europe, it was 5 in the morning.

Day 2
In the morning we had breakfast in the casa particular. It was average but gave us the strengths to start the day. We discussed few things about the itinerary and then left to explore Habana. We were in Habana Vieja, so everything was nearby. We started going to see the Capitolio Nacional. It is an impressive building started in 1926 by the dictator Machado. At the time, sugar brought much money to Cuba and 17 million US dollars were spent to finish it. On the way there, we met first a taxi driver that was very friendly and then a woman, Isabel, that started talking with us and told us about a special deal to buy cigars. Since we all wanted to buy some, we followed her, and she took us to a house where they showed us the different brands. We then bought some at a good price and left.
A bit further, we arrived at Parque Central and decided to take two cars to do a tour of the city. Of course, the cars were American convertibles and we were excited. I took one with Mauro and other three people of the group. Since the time we moved, we realized our driver Rudy had some issues with the gear, but we thought it was something related to the old car. We went to the Barrio Chino, where there are no Chinese as they all left when the Revolution started, then went to Plaza de la Revolucion, famous for the big murals of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. We then retook the car and, after a bit, the accident. As I mentioned, Rudy was not the best of the drivers, and, trying to stop, he rear-ended the car in front of us. Luckily, the crash was not too intense but still, we had to stop. Rudy was really afflicted because he said he had to pay back a lot of money and he just started driving cars to help a friend, Lazzaro. In the meantime, we also asked him to call another car as we had to find the other half of the group and finish the tour. After a good 40 minutes of waiting and our very first Tukola we bought in a nearby bar, a car arrived to pick us up. We drove along the Malecón, a long road along the coast, and then went back into the city.
Unfortunately, we did not meet the others when the car stopped, and we started looking for them. We had not managed to find Cuban sim cards to buy and so we had to rely on SMS and common sense. It took some hours to finally reunite but we made it. We kept exploring Habana Vieja with the four squares, the cathedral, and, of course, the two iconic bars made famous by Hemingway: Floridita and Bodeguita del Medio. These bars were full of tourists, so we were just ok with seeing them quickly, but we did not stop. By then, it was already starting to get dark, so we walked along the Malecón to go seeing the sunset. It was very suggestive also because a lot of people were there to enjoy the view. After that, we had our very first mojito…that tasted horrible, or better, it did not taste alcoholic. Anyway, it was nice to seat all together at the end of the day and talk a bit. I was still trying to understand our travel mates. We were kind of tired then and went back to the hotel. Just me and few others went for dinner.

Day 3
Here we are on the last day of 2019 and with still some adventure before finishing the year. Yes, because we had to go super early to the airport to get an internal flight to Baracoa, but the driver took us to the wrong terminal. When we realized it, he was already gone and we discovered the terminal we had to go to was super far, like half an hour walking in the middle of nowhere. We managed to find two taxis who agreed to take us there even though in theory they were not allowed. We were 10 with the luggage and the taxi could take 4 people only but we puzzled us inside and here we were.
The airport was small, very small, and the people kept on telling us to line up for checking in for destinations like Cayo Coco or Cayo Santa María, popular destinations among tourists. They really did not understand why we wanted to go to Baracoa. Finally, we found the right line and checked in (quite slowly, each boarding pass was hand-filled), and then headed to the gate. The waiting room (there was one gate only) looked pretty much like a hospital one for the small it was. The bar was offering just a couple of things and there was nothing to do besides waiting.
About bars, shops, and restaurants, there is definitely something to say. Often they have nothing to sell and when you ask for something like a soft drink or a local beer, you’re answered they finished it up. It is something we could never imagine. Yet there are inside people “working”. It left us quite shocked and never got used to it. There are also special shops in the cities where Cubans can go buying some basics things such as rice, meat, coffee, soap with a discount through a government card. They line up for hours and still, what they get is not enough for survival.
The flight was ok, I even fell asleep and there was no turbulence. We arrived in Baracoa after a couple of hours and the atmosphere was completely different from the one in Habana. First, we were the only tourists, the airport was super small, they were almost bringing us directly the luggage from the plane. Outside, we found a van to take us all to the casa particular and, along the way, we fell in love with the city.
Once arrived at the casa, we had breakfast as it was probably 9 or 10 in the morning. Finally, I had something nice to drink. I don’t drink coffee, I really dislike it, but tea in Cuba is simply disgusting. However, Baracoa is famous for chocolate as it is the only city in the country using it in its cuisine. So hot chocolate to begin the day! Afterward, we went out to see a bit of the city. We soon realized that everyone was killing/cleaning a recently killed pig in the middle of the street. The reason was cerdo asado is the typical meal for New Year’s Eve, so everyone was preparing dinner. For me that I love pig was a bit shocking at first but, in the end, they take care of their pigs with the idea of eating them one day but at least, while alive, they are free to move around, not like the animals we eat here, that never even see sunlight. Surely, seeing some intestines floating in the sea did not increase my appetite…
We saw the cathedral, the caves of the Tainos (one of the first populations of the island) and then walked along the malecón. In the afternoon, Leonardo (one of the group) said he wanted to see the hotel of La Rusa, so I walked there with him as some people went back to the casa particular and we split up. The hotel itself was nothing, just a small hotel. However, the guidebook said that La Rusa was a fascinating person and we were curious to know more. On the way back we found Valerio (another guy from the group) and we noticed there was a small sign saying Museo La Rusa. It seemed to be a private house, so we just rang at the door and they opened. A few moments later, an old man arrived and led us to a room of the house where he stored a lot of objects of La Rusa. And then, he told us his story. La Rusa was Magdalena Menasse Rovenskaya, an aristocratic Russian whose family was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917. Only she and her mother managed to escape from Saint Petersburg to the Caucasus. At that time, she was only 6 years old. In 1924 she arrived at Constantinople (Istanbul), where she met Albert Menasse, a Russian diplomat in Turkey, with whom she began a journey through Java, Italy, France, and finally Cuba, the land of her legend. To survive, she started performing as an opera singer in the main theatres of Europe like the Opera in Paris and La Scala in Milan. She arrived in Cuba in 1930 and from there she started managing some businesses in South America thanks to the banana boom and the hotel that still exists. When the Revolution came to Cuba, she decided to support Fidel and his men providing money, food, and shelter and risking her own life. When Fidel eventually took the power, she became an eminent figure in Baracoa. And then is where her story meets the one of José René Frometa, the old man who was telling us the story.
He was born in a poor family of Baracoa, being one among 27 children. He grew up with his grandmother that always wanted him to study to improve his social status. Every day, going to the city to school, he was attracted by La Rusa and her friends that were always meeting in a bar. He was fascinated by the strange language they spoke, and, thanks to his curiosity, Albert finally noticed him. He offered him a small job, but his grandmother forbade him to take it as he had to focus on his studies. He decided to do it anyway in secret. He had to bring the milk every day to their house and they would have paid him some money. Later, when Jose was 8 years old, his grandmother died, and the Russian couple decided to adopt him officially as they grew affection for the child. However, his family had different plans and did not agree. They believed the spirit of his mom and grandmother would have suffered. In the end, they managed to take him, and he could finally join the family he, in fact, already had. It was moving to still see in his eyes the expression when he told us about the moment he entered the house as their son. However, by the time he was saying all this and showing us clothes, objects, pictures of La Rusa, the rest of the group started to go around looking for us. Thankfully, they passed by the house and we saw them through the window, so they also joined.
After that, we went to La Casa del Cacao, where we had a hot chocolate with some Ron. By then, it was already about 5 PM so we headed back to the casa particular to shower and prepare for dinner. The owner prepared one pork as well and we were all going to celebrate with other guests in the terrace. The evening was really nice, we had the traditional food, a lot of reguetón (at this point you can temporarily stop Buena Vista Social Club to listen to El Mentiroso by Gente de Zona , the song of the night), some salsa and a lot of mojitos. At midnight, after cheering, I went to the main square with Barbara, Mauro, Costanza, and Americo to dance and celebrating.

Day 4
After a long day and night, here we are in 2020 (maybe it was not the best thing to celebrate, after all...)! We left in the morning as we had a long transfer ahead. On the itinerary, we were supposed to go to Cayo Saetia to the beach and then to Banes for the night but, once at the entrance of the Cayo, we discovered Raul Castro was there and so the access was forbidden. The transfer itself was nice, though. We were split into two cars and, how we soon discovered, that was the normality. Even if old, they were quite big and therefore comfortable, but it was good just the fact that nowhere in the world you get to travel like this. Of course, they have their problems, but our unexpected stop was not too long.
After finding the Cayo closed, we told the drivers to take us to another nice beach and so we went to Guardalavaca, north of Banes. The beach was amazing, the classic postcard you picture in your head when you hear the word Caribbeans. The sand was white, the beach wide, and the water light blue. It was wonderful! And thinking that in Europe it was cold and grey made the experience even better. We stayed there the entire afternoon, got one Tukola (local cola, almost better than the real one) and one Crystal (local beer, very light and good!) and sunbathed. What can you desire more to kick off the year?
In the evening we went to Banes, where we were divided into three different casas particulares and I ended up with Mauro. Our house was not bad, but I don’t mind anyway that much when traveling, especially when I am not in Europe. The casa where Barbara, Americo, Valerio, and Leonardo were was good, too. Unfortunately, the one where the other four people stayed was terrible: no sheets on the beds, no proper bathroom, and half room under construction was the house. We had to stay two nights in that place as we wanted to include some beach and sun in the itinerary and this was the area that worked better. Unfortunately, everything else was booked so we had to stay in Banes. Also, the dinner was not the best. Let’s be honest, Banes was shit but we were there so… better adjust to it.

Day 5
Even in the morning, Banes was not exceptional, especially after breakfast with pineapple, bread, butter, and hair of unknown origin. But it was fun, come on, and we also discovered there was a car parked in the kitchen, or better, that the garage, the living room, and the kitchen were one unique space. Watch to believe.
After a long wait as one of the drivers was almost two hours late, we all went to Playa Esmeralda, not far from the beach we were the day before. For the day, we had a beautiful Ford from the ‘50s and an American military jeep of the ’48. Unfortunately, in the rush of making amendments to the delay, the driver drove so fast that he did not see a dog suddenly crossing the street and he killed him. This put us in a bad mood but there was nothing we could do. Playa Esmeralda was beautiful as well, with the water really looking like an emerald. We spent there an entire day before driving to a restaurant in the area and then driving back to Banes.

Day 6
We left the beaches heading south to Santiago, one of the best cities we have been to. The travel was about three hours long and we also had the pleasure to see president Miguel Díaz Canel (well, his car, to be precise) and all the cars around him passing by super-fast. The two drivers we had, again to apologize for the delay of the previous day, decided to take us to the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia, just outside of the city of Santiago, to save us some time. Of course, this is one of the compulsory stops in Cuba. The main protagonist is Jose Marti, whose mausoleum is quite big and visible from the entrance. Since 2016, another celebrity arrived here: Fidel Castro. Not to become an icon as Che, he forbade the use of his images for any propagandistic activity and wanted to be buried in a stone. No huge tombs and statues for him. For the joy of visitors, at fixed times there is the ceremony of the changing of guards as Marti’s mausoleum is always guarded by three soldiers. Besides them, there are also other personalities resting in this cemetery: Compay Segundo (you listened to Chan Chan, right? That’s my favorite from the album), Emilio Bacardi, and many others.
- In every place you go in Cuba, you won’t see any Castro or Guevara street/square/station and so on. On the other side, you will be bombed with Marti’s name everywhere and see many busts. The reason is Jose Marti is considered the undisputed father of the nation. From a young age, he promoted the idea of liberty and went on being a poet, philosopher, and professor, a sort of free thinker. At the time, Cuba was a Spanish colony, and spreading ideas about independence was dangerous. Because of it, Marti had to spend many years abroad and came back only in 1894, the year in which he died in the battle of Dos Rios. Probably also because of his heroic death, he is still considered the most relevant figure in Cuba. -
After this dive into Cuban history, we went to our casa particular. This time we divided into two houses, one in front of the other. Mauro and Valerio went to one while the rest of us to the other. We had a small briefing to exchange reflections before going out and exploring the city. The day Santiago was very nice and we walked a lot. Being the city on a hill, we ended up exhausted. On our wandering, we also stopped at the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina, a museum detailing the underground struggle against Batista in the 1950s. The museum was a former police station attacked by M-26-76 activists (26th of July Movement, was a Cuban revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro) on November 30, 1956, to divert attention from the arrival of the tardy yacht Granma, carrying Fidel Castro and 81 others. The museum was really interesting, with a lot of pictures and documents of those years. Then, we kept on going in our walking and we arrived in the main square. As I stopped to buy some postcards, an old woman approached me and started talking.
I discovered her name was Isabel and she was 70ish years old. She really seemed to want to talk about her story, so she told us about the times she was young, and Cuba was ruled by Batista. As Santiago was the city from where the Revolution started (the Castro family was originally from the area), the people really had bad times when the army arrived. In the attempt to stop any support to the fighters hidden in the mountains, they killed many innocent civilians, often poor farmers. Her family was secretly aiding the fighters and she risked her life more than once, due to soldiers sent to search the houses and the bombs. She also told us that she saw Fidel twice, the first time on the 1st of January 1959, the day he took power and had his first speech in Santiago, and then later in Habana. Later on, I went with Barbara (our amazing coordinator and friend) to a bar to have our first pina colada in Cuba. It was strong because my head started spinning soon but at least we relaxed for a while. For dinner, we went back to the house, where the owner (Mabel) prepared lobster. It had a strange taste, but I liked it.
After dinner, we went out and I ended up with Barbara, Mauro, and Valerio at La Casa de la Trova, a bar where there is live music every evening. I also managed to dance a bit of salsa, finally! However, I must confess I thought I would have had more chances to dance but it seems Cubans really dance only among themselves at private parties. We had a great time and we came back at 2. The sleep time was getting reduced more and more every day!

Day 7
The morning after, Barbara was not feeling well so she stayed back while we all decided to go to visit el Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca. It took us a bit to contract a car and a sort of open van to take us there, but we managed. This fortress is at the entrance of the bay where the city of Santiago is built, about 10 km out of the city so it took us some time to arrive, but it was totally worth it. It is one of the best-preserved fortresses in the Caribbean and, since 1997, also a Unesco site. There was a guy explaining to us the story of the monument and we discovered that it was projected by an Italian architect, Giovan Battista Antonelli, to defend the city from pirates’ attacks in 1637. It took 42 years to complete, during which there were indeed attacks led by English pirates. For this reason, the original plan was later modified in order to fortify the coast even more. Nowadays, the built is made up of different parts of different ages due also to the different use of the building. Starting in 1775, the fear of pirates was not so high anymore, so the fortress became a prison for political prisoners, and it was eventually used for the last time in 1898 when the United States fleet attacked the island during the Spanish-American War.
Once back to Santiago, we arranged with the owner of the casa the next car transfer and housing. Everything was really organized day by day thanks to the contacts of the houses and the drivers. That same evening we were taking the night bus to Santa Clara, but we still had no car waiting for us there and no place to sleep in Trinidad, our next destination. Fixed that, we divided into two groups. I went with Barbara to the bus station to check the bus status for the night. It is not uncommon that buses are delayed and/or canceled. We took a tuk-tuk to go there, so fun! The rest of the group walked to el Cuartel Moncada, probably one of the most iconic places of the Revolution and the most famous of Santiago. We arrived shortly after them and went inside together to visit it. The yellow building nowadays transformed into a school and little museum was the second-largest military garrison of the island. On the 26th of July 1953, Fidel led a group of about 135 men, including his brother Raul to an attack with the idea of taking over the control of the building and possession of the weapons. The men were divided into different groups, all dressed up like soldiers. The first men arriving at the barracks killed the guards but some of them escaped and gave the alarm. Fidel’s men were then killed on the ground or taken as prisoners. Later, almost all of them were tortured and killed inside the very same building. Only Fidel and few others managed to escape to the Sierra Maestra and were found days later. Thanks to this delay, they saved their life and Fidel had a proper trial during which he gave a speech, a copy of which was smuggled outside and was then published with the title History will absolve me. Written to defend himself, the speech is indeed an accusation of Batista’s government crimes. The museum is interesting to follow the events that led to the attack and what happened before. There are some memorabilia and many pictures and panels. Since the guided visit was free, we also had a woman walking us through everything but it was indeed a must-do in the city.
Afterward, we went for a drink and I had my first daiquiri, another cocktail invented in Cuba. In the end, it is just a mojito with no mint, nothing special. After restoring, we went back to the casa, showered, and had dinner before going to the bus station. Everything had to be simple: we just had to go to the ticket counter of Viazul, the bus company, and get the actual tickets after showing our reservation. But we don’t like easy things and, once our turn arrived, the woman said to me and Barbara (the others were looking after the luggage) we only had 8 tickets instead of 10. Of course. It took us more than half an hour (thankfully we were early) to have 10 tickets. She insisted on the computer she had only that, that at the moment of the reservation something went wrong and she could not help us as the bus was full. Barbara told me not to move unless we had all the tickets we were entitled to and kept on insisting. The woman also threatened us to call the police (maybe it would have helped!) and then, suddenly, she said she could check by the names instead of by reservation number and, voilà, the 2 missing people magically appeared on her screen. You may think everything was fine then but no, she had to give us the proper tickets and, again, of course, she had to fill them all by hand! In the meantime, the line behind us grew super long even though no one was complaining, and we started breathing again after risking few heart attacks. Even after all this, the story was not finished as the bus was delayed for some mechanical problem. We had to wait a couple of extra hours but then, we made it!

Day 8
The bus ride was long, more than 12 hours, and extremely cold even though we prepared warm clothes in advance. We stopped for breakfast around 7 and had one of the most memorable ones with coffee, sandwich, and ice cream. Then, we continued our ride until Santa Clara, where we arrived with more than 4 hours of delay. Thankfully, we already had a car to pick us up otherwise we would have lost other precious time looking for one. The car, if it can be called so, was enough big to bring us all together but I still wonder how could work. Besides being old, like every other car in Cuba, it was literally falling apart. Also, the noises it made all the time were not heartening.
Santa Clara is a small city famous for being the place where the Revolution took place and for the connections with Che Guevara. The first place we visited was indeed the Che Mausoleum. In 1997, after his tomb was discovered in Bolivia, his spoils and the ones of 29 fellow fighters were moved here. The mausoleum is a very peaceful place, where a sort of jungle has been recreated. Next to it, there is a museum with many objects, letters, and pictures of Che, depicting his life in Argentina and then his battles in Cuba and beyond. Outside, there is a huge statue of Che with the iconic sentence: Hasta la Victoria, Siempre. After that, we went to visit the museum of the train that, unfortunately, was closed. However, it was still possible to see the monument with the remains of the armored train that, in December 1958, was captured by the men of Che. This event, even if not as big as you could think, led to the escape of Batista from the island and to the ultimate victory of the revolutionaries. With no guide, the army surrendered, and Fidel finally took power.
As we were already late on the program, we decided to then skip the visit to the city of Remedios and drive directly to Trinidad. It was a long transfer, especially with that car, but still scenic as we drove along the coast. Arrived in Trinidad, we split between two casas particulares as the one we booked did not have space for all of us. All the women were in one and the men on the other side of the street. We just had time to shower and then we went out for dinner. Dinners were one of the most difficult moments of the day because already tired and exhausted, we had to battle with one part of the group wanting to eat “fancy” while the others wanting something more authentic and spartan. In any case, why would you go to Cuba if you want to eat well? Cuban cuisine is indeed awful and there is no variety, probably the fact they had no food for a long time did not help… That night we ended up in a restaurant that, even though the food was good, looked terrible. As we asked to explain what some dishes were, the waiter switched the TV (huge screen, better than the one I have at home!) on and showed us a video with the food pictures. I was shocked and the entire situation was paradoxical. After dinner, we walked around the town and listened to some live music while drinking some mojitos.

Day 9
After a restoring night and a huge breakfast (breakfasts are quite good in the casas as they usually give you coffee, juice of some fruit, bread, butter, jams, cold cuts of mysterious origin, and fruit), we left to go exploring the city of Trinidad. It is a beautiful city even if very touristic. It was strange to see so many tourist shops. Shops, in general, are not common in Cuba and, if there are, most probably they will be empty while these were exploding with any sort of souvenir. Among the usual stuff you would find as a souvenir in any country, I bought something original. Out of cans, they made “cameras” which, when clicking would open and a spring would jump outside. Ok, the description is weird and probably does not give an idea but my Tukola camera is amazing. We made a tour of the city that was interesting, even if the city is very small. We also went to the top of Palacio Cantero, where there is the Museum of the Municipality History. The view from there was beautiful but the palace inside was interesting, too, as it contains old furniture and pictures of various periods of Trinidad. Another interesting moment was when we found the house of the Santeria, one of the religions practiced in Cuba. Mauro was (still is) terrified by the black dolls they keep inside… The priest inside, when we ask to explain something about the religion, started saying a lot of bulls**t and we were nodding just in the hope he would have stopped soon but he had to say a lot of things, apparently.
In the afternoon we split up as some people wanted to relax at the beach while others wanted to visit la Valle de Los Ingenios. I went with the second group. We rent a car to take us to the panoramic point from which we could see all the plain. This area, nowadays Unesco with the city of Trinidad, was inhabited by the creole aristocracy between XVII and XIX centuries as this was the perfect place where to plant the sugar cane. Today, some of the haciendas are still open to the public even if most of them are in ruins. We visited first San Isidro, where the house of the family and the tower are still standing. Around the house, there were no trees so that from the tower it was possible to observe the slaves working all the time. Later, we went to Manaca Iznaga, another old hacienda of which the main attraction is the high tower. From there, the view is breathtaking!
Once back, we realized we had to go Cienfuegos the day after, but the owner of our casa did not find any car, so I went with Barbara to the main square and we started asking. I had never done such a thing before, but it was quite fun. Of course, even when we found the cars, we had to contract to save some money but, in about 45 minutes, we managed to have our transportation means. Then, it was time for dinner, the real stress of the day. Finally, we arrived in front of one restaurant and decided to enter. It was not better nor worse than any other. The dinner was ok but the entertaining won. The owner of the place, an old man, invited me to dance while two guys were playing and singing (yes, also Chan Chan). Barbara even bought the album of the singer: Frank Batista Cubano soy. After dinner, we headed to la Casa de la Trova as it seemed everyone wanted to go there but, once there, everyone started with random excuses not to enter. Eventually, just me, Barbara, Mauro, and Valerio went inside. It was nice: live music, mojitos, just a normal day in Cuba.

Day 10
As planned the evening before, our two cars came to pick us up. The one I went on was indeed the best of all the travel: a Ford of 1935, canary yellow. Like any other car, inside there was some small modernization like a stereo and a Bluetooth connection. This meant I connected my phone and we listened to regueton music all the way to Cienfuegos. How can you even think of something as absurd and yet genius as this?
We went to our casas, two next to each other, left our stuff and went out to see the city. Even though Cienfuegos is a Unesco site, too, the city is disappointing. Except for the square, which is nice but nothing particular, the city does not really have anything interesting to see nor the atmosphere is particularly enjoyable. We walked a lot but there was nothing so interesting to see. Probably, the best moment of the day was when we stopped to buy 'mortadella' at a local shop. I still wonder how that was made...
Finally, we split up and I stayed with Barbara. We found a local market and, inside, there was the shop of a photographer. We decided to enter to have our own portrait. It took a while, but we got a super kitsch photo with us, a romantic sunset in the background, a Cuban flag in one corner, and the tagline Cuba Particular to complete the masterpiece. I still need to find the appropriate frame to exhibit it at home. Then, we spend the rest of the afternoon calling one of our contacts in Cuba. The issue was everyone was supposed to leave the day after to go to Vinales. There, it was possible to do the excursion in the tobacco fields or go to the beach. As the beach was not super close we ended up deciding to split the group into two parts: one would go to Vinales as planned and the other to a beach area. However, it took some time to have all the necessary confirmations in terms of casas and cars, so we were not sure about it until the very end. It was a bit stressful, especially because everyone else went to the swimming pool to relax while we stayed behind, but then everything was confirmed. We met the others to get a drink at sunset and then we went back to have dinner in our casa.

Day 11
The morning after I was already pissed because we would have not continued all together and I was not really in the mood of talking with anybody. We waited for our cars, which were late, and then left Cienfuegos without nostalgia. Our first stop was Museo Giron, close to the Bay of Pigs. Here, in 1961, there was an attempt organized by the CIA to overcome the dictatorship of Fidel. Many Cubans who escaped in the previous years were prepared and given weapons to lead this attack that, on the outside, had to appear as something Cuban only. The attack ended up bad for the invaders, who were badly organized, and Fidel won. The museum is interesting because there are a lot of photos taken in those days and maps that explain what happens. On the other side, Cuba is still a dictatorship so everything Fidel and his men did is shown as good. As we should know, however, wars and conflicts never bring fairness and, even the parties with the best intentions may end up doing bad. Many Cubans were killed after the invasion because they were enemies and they did not get a trial. Anyway, it is still a museum that is worth a visit. After that, we split up in two: I went to Vinales with other five people while Barbara, Mauro, and the other two went north, to Varadero.
Our transfer was quite long, about five hours but we still managed to arrive there before sunset and to catch a glimpse of the valley. Vinales is not beautiful, it is just a city made up of two main streets with tourist restaurants and shops. However, the valley around is stunning and it was one of the best things of the travel. Our casa was ok but not one of the best. We talked to the owner of the casa to organize the day after in terms of excursions and cars and even if with some challenges, we set everything. Done that, we went out to have dinner.

Day 12
This was probably the best day of all the ones spent in Cuba. We woke up a bit early to do the horse-riding excursion. It is the most common one as Vinales is famous for the tobacco fields and the only ways to explore it is walking or riding. I had never been on a horse before, except for a pony when I was 9 years old so, even if I was super excited about it, I got a bit scared. However, my horse was super calm and peaceful. His name was Caramelo and he had to be second in line. No matter what, if someone was trying to pass him, he had to stop him and keep being the second. When the position was secured, he could walk slowly as before. The riding was beautiful, two hours immersed in green fields with no artificial noises, no machines but just us, other people, and animals. We stopped twice, the first time to meet a family of farmers who explained to us everything about tobacco. For instance, that the seeds are spread in the fields and then, the best plants are taken and replanted in lines. The State knows exactly how many plants there are and takes 90% of the production at the end of the season. The remaining 10% is left to the farmers for their own consumption or private selling. The tobacco plants have three levels of leaves, the higher ones being the best in quality. The farmers only keep the highest ones and the middle ones while the State take a bit of all the three levels. The highest ones are the best and used to produce top-quality cigars. All the leaves are collected and sent to the State Factories, where they follow a chemical process to ferment and then are pressed in order to produce cigars. The different names they get it is just a matter of size as the same leaves are used for all the cigars of the same quality. The homemade process is a bit different and the guy explained it to us. They produce a sort of infusion with different fruits and spices that then they put on the leaves. They are then packed into palm leaves and left there to ferment for about 6 months. After that time, the leaves are ready to be transformed into cigars. He showed us how to do a cigar in 5 minutes. Probably you need to grow up there to be able to do such a thing! The best thing is no artificial product is used to create one and the leaves just stick to one another.
After this demonstration, we took again our horses and kept going. The second stop was for a coffee plantation. They showed us the plants, the process of toasting, and then the coffee seeds ready to be used. Then they showed us some honey and some Rum. We had a try of everything and then headed back to Vinales city. We refreshed a bit and then the car we booked the day before arrived. Late, obviously. We had a bit of a discussion because they wanted to charge us more and so on but then we left. We wanted to go and see Cueva de San Miguel, a huge cave. It was indeed interesting, but I did not dare to go too far because it was not easy to go down and then back up, so I preferred to stay behind. After that, we did a short stop at the Mural de la Prehistoria, a huge painting made on a mountain in 1961. Then we drove on the opposite side of the town to reach another panoramic point (well, not so panoramic to be honest) and have a drink. We then came back tired but satisfied with the day.

Day 13
This was basically a transfer day. We left around 10 to go to Habana and we arrived around 12.30. we met the others and then we split into small groups. I wandered with some in Old Habana with no destination. It was nice just being on the Malecon with the only worry of getting a Crystal somewhere. At one point, since it was 4 PM and we had nothing to eat except for breakfast, we entered a fast food shop. Forget about Mc Donald’s, that’s something that we still won’t see there for many years (I hope!). Still, they have some shops where they make hamburgers and, being it for hunger or just out of curiosity we ordered food. Of course, we ordered the only hamburger left among the various choices on the menu. Have no expectations when asking for food, what you want will never be available. The meal was actually pretty good, and we felt better thinking with our bellies full. We reunited with the others after we managed to call them and kept wandering around until about 6 PM when we headed back to shower before dinner. For that, we went all together to a nice restaurant downstairs our casa. After dinner, we found a place nearby where you could shoot with pneumatic guns. That was so totally random! Then we split again but we could not find any place where to sit and have a drink. It seems you really need to go to tourist places to find some nightlife in Cuba and, even there, only until midnight.

Day 14
And then we arrived on the last day of our adventure in Cuba. Thankfully, the flight was in the night, so we had time to still do some things in the city. I went with Barbara, Americo, and Valerio to the house of Hemingway, a bit out of the city center. Only getting there was an adventure as we took a city bus. In the beginning, it was not clear why there was more than one line at the bus stop, then we understood that entering with priority was more expensive but gave more chance to sit. Arriving there was quite long as there was a lot of traffic and the bus was stopping everywhere. At one point, some guys put some music on. No one was complaining or was upset as people are in Europe or Western countries in general. They were patiently waiting for their stop and that was all. Once arrived, we made our tickets and entered the park.
The house is not big, and you cannot enter but all the windows and doors are open, so it seems you are spying into someone’s private life. We were thinking this would have made the visit less interesting, but it was a perfect idea as everything is exactly how it was left (well, probably not but it looks like). All the windows give the house a sense of light and relax and the wind flowing around made it comfortable even if it was very hot. And there are books everywhere, even in the bathroom they are organized with proper libraries.
Hemingway was in love with Cuba, even when the relations between Cuba and the US started to deteriorate. Besides writing from his house, he was often out fishing on his boat, Pilar, now parked in the garden, next to the swimming pool where, it seems, famous divas swam naked. He was also enjoying the parties in Habana and his favorite bars were La Bodeguita del Medio and La Floridita, now open to masses of tourists. After our visit, we had to find a way to go back. The bus schedule was not clear (not sure there was one at all) and so we opted for a taxi. We tried to stop some and then we jumped on what there is called a collective taxi. It works almost like a bus, but it is a taxi. You jump on and then you get off at your destination. We asked if it was going where we needed to go so we were sure, but the rest of the people was just boarding without even checking if the destination was correct. One of the many mysteries of Cuba. The good part was the price was very low, even with the foreigner extra. Once back, we went to the Museo de la Revolucion, but it was huge and the ticket very expensive, so we decided not to enter. From the outside, it is visible anyway its main attraction: the Granma. This is a small boat, 19.2 m long, that Fidel and 81 of his men took to go from Mexico to Cuba in 1956. The idea was to reach the island and start the revolution but, after 7 days in the sea in such a small boat, everyone arrived sick and exhausted and the original plan was not respected. In any case, Granma is a symbol of fight and freedom and even a newspaper is called that way. Then, Valerio left to go around alone, and I went to eat with Barbara and Americo as the meeting with Leonardo and Mauro was later. We found another hamburger place and ordered there. Again, the food options were limited but still, we were satisfied. In the afternoon we walked around again and then I went with Barbara and Mauro to take the last cocktail in Habana.
Before leaving the city, we could take a shower in the casa and then, around 6, a taxi came to pick us up and go to the airport. We bought a couple of Tukola and something to eat before boarding the plane (Barbara almost missed it!). The flight back was ok, Barbara gave me some pills to sleep and I did not suffer much, I suffered more because I was leaving behind an amazing journey and a wonderful country. I do really hope to go back one day, wishing Cubans to improve their lives and freedom but hoping they manage to stay true to themselves and keep the spirit of this country alive.