First Impressions of Cuba, Part 1

Ft Lauderdale

Waiting with Ken in the arrivals lobby at Havana airport.

Many Cuba-bound travelers attempting to check shrink-wrapped luggage: cocoons of blue plastic wrap. Jet Blue staff quizzing, questioning, “What’s in that?” Eyebrows up. One young man just ahead of us with a giant box containing—-we overheard—-televisions.

The Flight
Easy, pleasant, 55 minutes. Lots of Spanish-speakers. Chatting with fellow first-time Cuba visitor, Ken, an English speaking artist/architect from Maine. Quickly hatched plan to team up and share cost of ride into town. But first…

Mysteriously shrink-wrapped luggage arrives in Cuba.

Baggage Claim
An endless wait for luggage in hot, airless concrete vault of a room. Sweat dripping down my back. Cubans relaxing on the luggage carousel because they knew. They knew… Finally, after about 90 minutes, luggage appeared after, I suppose, security had finished opening and inspecting every single item. I guess they weren’t alarmed by the cornucopia of unmarked pharmaceuticals tucked among our snorkel gear.

Arrivals Lobby
Outside the sweltering luggage area, families waiting, reuniting, kissing babies. Hugs. Laughter. Shrink-wrapped suitcases rolling out into the bright Cuban sunshine. We changed money at an electronic kiosk. $1.35 Canadian per CUC and rolled out, too.

Dashboard of our first collectivo ride, a 1952 Ford.

Outside the Terminal
Bright yellow taxis and classic cars—-some gleaming, some rust buckets. A blue behemoth seemed to be waiting just for us.  $25CUC sounded like a good deal, so our driver stuffed our luggage in the cavernous trunk, and off we rolled, Craig and I in the back seat, Ken in the front.

The Car

Passenger door handle fashioned out of wood.

1952 Ford: a huge blue beast. How could anything be more perfect for our first car ride in Cuba? Steering wheel wrapped in blue leather, now thin and shredding. Dash redone with wood. Original instrumentation gone; aftermarket gauges visible on dashboard. Passenger seat door handles crafted out of wood. Right passenger window shut, missing a handle to roll it down. Left passenger window open, but handle to open the door missing. Front door required use of key outside to keep door closed. And the engine sounded okay for a 68 year old car! It’s only Cuban creativity and perseverance that keeps these classics running.

Oh, the cars!

The Ride into La Habana
City driving aggressive, to say the least. It was hard to tell who had the right of way, who was supposed to yield, and why there weren’t more casualties. Cars old and new, but mostly old—-everything from Model A to modern Fiats, and everything in between: mid fifties Chevys and GMC dump trucks, Soviet-era Ladas, modern Hyundais and Mercedes. There was lots to see as we tried to locate Ken’s casa particular in Vedado; his Airbnb map showed the wrong location.


Home, Sweet, Home

After a lot of driving around and one phone call, Ken happily arrived at his casa, and then we to ours. It was all good—- good company and captivating first impressions of Cuba.







Continue to "First Impressions of Cuba, Part 2"
http://mycubadream.blogspot.com/2018/02/first-impressions-part-2.html