Hola Havana

We spent 4 days in Havana, just a one hour flight from Cancun, Mexico. Even though there's lots of tourism on Cuba, the country seems still quite isolated, stuck in time a few decades back. Which is kind of awesome, but also kind of awkward. The nostalgia has its charm, but at the same time the "good old days" seem to be long lost and the charm is giving way to an imbalance and discontentment.

Our first impression of Cuba was actually positively different, very likable people, classic vibe from all the classic cars & buildings, and a surprise: very good vegetarian food (= happy brother). But we also experienced ridiculous overpricing on everything touristic, mismanaged city planning, and just the sheer contrast of paying $20 for an ok meal - being the equivalent of a monthly medium wage here. Hence no wonder you will find many people looking to make a dollar or two with tourists, we called them "hustlers" and met very many of them :)

It's also impossible to find a normal supermarket here. We were "chasing" simple things like toilet paper for days... ;) Oh, and Internet access is extremely limited also. But we also had a fantastic time, enjoyed good food, drinks and fun excursions to the fort, Che's house, and the charming city center. One of our highlights was the wind and waves by the water - so beautiful, we could have watched these forces of nature for hours.Read more