An American in Cuba: Day 2 Arrival

This is the big day.  We are ready to go!  We met in the hotel lobby at 7:30 AM.  We handed over our passports, visas, and plane tickets to Suzanne, our escort from Carlson Travel, and went to enjoy breakfast while she did the hard work of getting us all processed.  We were all proudly displaying our Cuba and American flag lapel pins.  The wait staff in the hotel recognized us as Cuban bound and were excited to tell us of other travelers that had seen similarly destined and their hope to go there someday. Suzanne returned with my husband’s paperwork but not mine. We were such a large group, 44 in total, that they seemed to be processing us in small groups.  This actually proved to be beneficial for the next phase of check in. While waiting for my paperwork we met a couple in our group from Denver.  Each of us was excitedly anticipating what the day would bring.  Our new friend shared with us a comment made by one of his Canadian friends.  When he informed his friend that they were travelling to Cuba he was quite disappointed and stated, “That is one of the last places we can go in the world without Americans.  Now you’re going to ruin it for us!” We all had a good laugh that we would like to escape Americans occasionally too!  But I think that was one of the first times we all started to realize that Cuba does have a tourist industry, just not one that includes Americans.  Once again I found myself in a situation where American arrogance was at play – if we didn’t travel there why assume any one else does?  It became evident after arrival that Cuba does have a thriving tourism industry.

At last Suzanne returned and it was time to head to the “dark side” and our first line.  We waited to check in with American Airlines charter. When we learned we would be flying American it seemed both ironic and comforting at the same time.                                         We were advised to check in together if we wanted to sit together. We were called to the desk where our luggage and carryon luggage were weighed. We handed over our ticket, passport, and visa.  I have to say I am very protective of my passport and do not like it to leave my possession.  This was the second time that I was asked to part with it in the same morning.  I guess I would need to get used to this way of travel.  We then went to the side to wait to be called back to the desk. When our name was called we went back to the desk to pay our luggage fee and taxes- $90 for both of us.  This covered $20 per person combined luggage up to 44lbs and our $25 departure tax.  Fortunately this was a round trip fee so it could be paid in U.S. currency and by credit card.   Also if we packed our suitcases full of souvenirs we would not be weighed again so no more charges. We were then given our passports, visas, boarding pass, and return tickets.   Now it was off to gate F78 and a resounding send off from Suzanne of “it’s mojito time for you!”

The flight was comfortable and uneventful.  As we approached Cuba many people on the plane were taking photos of the coastline through the window.  The water was not filled with boats as our coastline had been.  It was interesting to see how little traffic there appeared to be on major roadways. At one point my husband looked at me and said, “We’re in communist airspace now.”  I didn’t want to think of it that way. I think part of me thought if I entered with a bias it would cloud my view of what I would soon experience.  But there was definitely a suppressed anxiety that was underlying that comment for me. We really did not know what to expect from this political climate.

We were fortunate that multiple charters did not arrive at the same time as ours. We apparently breezed through customs and did not have many people waiting outside the terminal.  On days with multiple charters arriving at once apparently it is chaos in the airport.   For some reason customs seemed harrowing to me.  I can’t say I am always greeted by happy, friendly customs’ agents in foreign countries.  I had stood in line for a while watching others pass through customs ahead of me, many of whom looked Cuban.  They all looked so serious while standing at the desk in the dimly lit hallway.  When I was called to the desk I was greeted by a young man who barely looked up at me.  When he did I had difficulty understand what the agent was asking me about Africa.   Finally I just answered no I hadn’t recently been in Africa. I just hoped that was the question he was asking me. He kept telling me to look at the camera. I thought I was.  Then he buzzed the door to let me through. I thought it opened automatically but finally realized it needed me to turn the dang handle.  Somehow I felt more scrutinized that I ever have on entry to a foreign country.  My husband and I reunited in the security line.  The personnel at the scanner became very agitated. They were loudly talking and pointing and I thought they were calling me. But they soon made their intentions clear to me since I was pointing at myself and asking, “Me?”  “No,” they said, “your man!” It soon became clear he had taken a picture on his phone and they were not happy about it.  Oh no.  I thought he was going to be detained. Things were getting a little heated with the Cuban security guard and my husband was just trying to get ready for security so he had turned his phone off.  He was trying to explain that he would turn it back on and delete it but it would take a few minutes. The security guard was insistent he wanted to see him delete it. But after making him practically strip to go through security everyone seemed to forget the need to delete it.  I don’t think anyone in our group made it through the scanners without a second scan.  Once through security we headed to the nurse’s desk and dropped off our paper, careful not to make eye contact.  The nurses looked innocent enough but I didn’t want to risk a friendly smile. Now to luggage pick up.  After luggage was collected we made our way to the bus through the waiting families outside.  The crowd that awaited us was apparently small by comparison to most days.  We were told that flying to Havana from Tampa is much easier than Miami.  Miami is a bit of a madhouse apparently due to the large numbers of people transporting goods to the island.

And we were off. We boarded a large comfortable Chinese manufactured tour bus where we met our guide and driver for the duration of our stay.   Our guide took this opportunity to begin to introduce us to Cuba.  We were told that it is a very safe place to visit.  His main reason was that they have no second amendment.  But he did point out that as in any place there are thieves present.  The most coveted property that we possessed were Apple products.  He told us if we were to leave an iPhone on a restaurant table it would be gone before he and the driver made their final sweep of the premises.  As a result we left our phones in the safe in the hotel room.  Only Verizon works for calls to the U.S. in Cuba so we really had no need for phones.  We were also told to leave our passports (there I go being separated from it again) and American cash and credit cards in the safe as only Cuban currency would be accepted while we were there. We were also told we could take pictures of anything except the military and the police.

Cuba has two currencies; the CUP, or Cuban Peso and the CUC or Cuban Convertible Peso.  The CUP is considered the national currency of Cuba.  It is the currency that Cuban’s wages are paid in.  The CUC is often referred to as the tourist currency.  It is worth roughly 24 times what a peso is worth and has a 1:1 exchange rate with the U.S. dollar.  The CUC was created after the collapse of the Soviet Union as a means to eliminate use of the American dollar and to give Cuba a hard currency.  Cubans can only pay for certain things such as a gas bill in pesos.  They too must pay for groceries outside of ration stores in CUC’s and according to our guide those groceries are not inexpensive.  Therefore Cubans need both types of currency and due to the low value of the peso they are paid with they must stretch their rations as far as they can. We would be converting our cash to CUC’s at the hotel.  There is a set 13% exchange rate so we would receive $87 CUC’s for $100.  Money can only be exchanged in Cuba and any leftover will also have to be exchanged before returning home.

We would learn that 15 municipalities form the city.   Sights were pointed out to us as we traveled through the city.   We stopped at Revolution Square for photo ops.  This is actually a municipality of Havana.  This is perhaps the most recognizable landmark of Havana to me.  The square is an important place in Cuba as many political rallies have taken place here over the years as well as celebrations on May 1 and July 26, and visits from the Popes.  The tower that resides in the square is part of the Jose Marti Memorial which features a statue of him at the base.  The tower is shaped in the form of a five pointed star.                        On the Buildings of the Ministries of Interior and Communications are the steel memorial facades of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos.  These are lit at night.                                                                                Near the square are also the building that houses Cuba’s military and the National Library.  The square was completed in 1959 and renamed Revolution Square when Fidel came into power after the Revolution in 1959. This was also our first opportunity to get up close to some classic cars.  There is no charge to take your picture with the cars unless you get inside the car.

We saw several diverse areas on our way to the hotel. Once at the hotel we received our welcome cocktail during our group check in. Now time to relax, change money, buy wifi card (which required our room number), and check out the roof top pool and bar.  We were told that we would be sick of mojitos by the time we left the island.  None of us believed Suzanne about that so of course we had to order a mojito from the bar.  We were given mojito’s as a welcome cocktail at every lunch and dinner but no two were the same.  Some brought rum to the table and poured after they were served.  Some left rum at the table for self service.  Some came with rum.  Some were sugary sweet, some had muddled mint and some didn’t.  I think the first one on the roof top of our hotel was the tastiest one.

Our hotel was the NH Capri. 

It is located in downtown Havana just steps from the famous Nacional Hotel.  We were told that the Capri actually is better maintained than the Nacional.  It definitely felt like walking into a 1950’s era hotel.  It was comfortable.  Our shower routinely left the whole bathroom wet but that was fine by us.  If we opened our window the a/c cut off automatically but the only reason to do so was for pictures.

At 7 we met in the lobby and walked to the famous Nacional Hotel.  

We saw the hall of fame where numerous celebrities who have visited over the years are featured and had our welcome mojito.               Then we headed outside to a delicious dinner.  Rice, beans, carrots, green beans, potatoes, fried malanga, chicken, pork, and a dessert of papaya with cream cheese was served while overlooking the water and Havana lights with a peacock, hens, and a couple of feral cats.

We enjoyed a lovely walk back to the hotel where we watched some serious anti American propaganda on TV.  This show was in English and subtitled in Spanish.  At times it had graphics similar to the nuclear war cartoons that appeared in the U.S. during the 50’s.  But to make it real the show included interviews with current “U.S. military personnel” detailing the harm our weapons have done to them and their families.  It was interesting to watch this “version” of us.  According to this show all of our weapons produce nuclear radiation that damages our soldiers.  When it ended we watched of all things Naked and Afraid.  I believe the only other TV we watched during our stay was BBC CNN a few times to stay caught up on news.

Day one was in the books.