By Chris Klus, Special to the Ottawa Citizen
November 13, 2009
Havana is not a common tourist destination for Canadians. Though some
700,000 Canadians travel to Cuba each year, most go to the popular
resort areas of Varadero, Cayo Coco and Holguin, with maybe a day trip
to Havana.
But Habana, as the locals call it, is worth a visit on its own.
Your first impression will be of a city that is crowded, noisy, dirty,
polluted and smelly, but once you start getting to know it, you'll
discover a vibrant and exciting city with people who are friendly and
love Canadians and -- despite some begging and hustling of cigars --
really quite safe.
It's a great walking city with its centuries-old Spanish colonial
architecture, narrow cobbled alleys and '50s cars cruising most streets.
My wife and I left Ottawa on a grey, cold and snowy morning and, 3 1/2
hours later, exited our Air Canada flight at Havana airport and were
greeted by a hot, sunny sky and palm trees waving in the warm wind.
A half-hour cab ride later, we were at the hotel our travel agent
suggested -- the Tryp Habana Libre. The Havana Hilton until Castro took
it over during the revolution, it's now just a shadow of its earlier
opulence but is still large and clean and well situated for touring Havana.
The prime tourist area is Habana Viejaó -- or Old Havana. It is one of
the most condensed living spaces in Latin America, with some 70,000
habaneros, as the locals there are called, crammed into an area that's
just 4.5 square kilometres.
The original buildings with their balconies, wrought-iron gates and
internal courtyards are packed together along a maze of streets and
alleys. Most of the buildings are from the 1700s and 1800s and crumbling
and rundown, yet they still show their original Spanish colonial
character and colours -- though now muted with a patina of centuries-old
dirt.
We spent most of our mornings just wandering the narrow streets and
alleys -- most barely the width of a car.
When our feet got sore, we would take a covered bicycle taxi -- a
homemade tricycle with two seats for passengers -- for a few pesos and,
if we were lucky, we'd get a driver who spoke English and gave us a
guided tour with commentary on the history of the city and the buildings
we were passing.
During the day, the streets were filled with the hustle and bustle of
life: men sweeping their stoops, women hanging laundry, children going
to school or playing in the street and dogs roaming for food.
As you walk the streets, you'll hear "Hola! Where are you from?"
Sometimes we'd stop and say we were from Canada and would invariably be
told: "Ah, Canada. Good country. I love your country."
At lunch time the streets filled with workers searching for a place for
lunch. Almost everywhere you go in Old Havana there are kiosks --
really, only an open window with a little counter built into it --
serving the traditional Cuban sandwich or cubano. Looking very much like
a panini, the Cuban sandwich is typically made with ham or roast pork
and a slice or two of mild cheese, sometimes pressed and grilled and
sometimes just plain. Washed down with a cold cerveza (beer), they
really hit the spot after a long morning of exploring.
The streets of old Havana are linked to five plazas. Our favourite plaza
was Plaza Vieja -- the old square -- originally laid out in 1559 and now
undergoing a restoration. Since being declared a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1982, millions of dollars are being spent to reconstruct Old
Havana to its once glorious state.
Sunset and dusk is a magical time in Havana. We would walk from our
hotel to the Malecon -- a six-lane thoroughfare that runs along the
coast and offers great views of the Havana skyline.
Sitting on the seawall, I remembered something that photographer Freeman
Patterson once said: "Always look behind you." When I turned around, I
saw iconic old American cars whizzing by on the Malecon. It took me
about 10 shots to get the right focus and speed to capture the cars
clearly while blurring the background.
Old Havana is a different place at night. It's full of tourists and
locals strolling the streets and alleys or sitting in bars listening to
combos playing traditional Cuban music or jazz and drinking mojitos --
the Cuban national drink made with crushed mint leaves, lime juice,
sugar and lots of rum.
Though known world-wide for its rumba and mambo music, Havana is now in
a musical revolution with salsa and jazz as the new wave. We spent a
number of nights listening to Cuban jazz, drinking mojitos, chatting
with the waiters and waitresses and, on our way back to the hotel,
stopping for yet one more cubano.
As our travel agent advised, see Havana before the Americans take it over.
Ottawa resident Chris Klus worked briefly as a commercial photographer
before a career with the federal government. Recently retired, he has
now returned to photography.
Go beyond the beach resorts to see Cuba's capital (16 November 2009)
http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/beyond+beach+resorts+Cuba+capital/2219921/story.html
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