Atlantico Aparthotel Havana

... they give it a unique charm. We strolled down Obispa, the main shopping strip, to the book market, square and Palicio de los Capitanes Generales and Palacio Segundo, both impressive stone buildings, and then to Castillo de la Real Fuerza. We had fun poking around the Art market in old Havana. I got a coconut drink to try then once I'd finished it the man cut the top off it for me so we could eat the fresh coconut inside, yum. Next we wandered through the streets to ...

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Ham (jamon) is Cuba's national delicacy. It's in and on EVERYTHING. Pizzas, rolls, pasta and rice. Even the tap beer at our local (30c a glass) tasted hammy. Eat it or starve.







After the keys to your room, the three most important things to make sure you have with you when you leave for the day are: toilet paper, forks (for the cheap street food served in cajitas - little takeaway ...

... chill. I don't mind paying a few bucks extra for a place with Internet, but that's per day, not per hour! Cuba is in the dark ages with respect to Internet, not a wi-fi signal anywhere. Other 'Communist' countries are replete with them. Other commodities are similarly lacking. What passes for groceries here is pretty pathetic. Ever bought a box of cookies from a jewelry showcase? Fortunately the street is ahead of the shops. They learn ...

... mecanismes de poder financer, el BM i el FMI) són cada cop més visibles, però gens publicitades. En canvi, ens bombardegen amb la informació dels suposats èxits i els comparen amb els fracassos de les nacions que no se'ls someten, com Cuba. Lo que a mi em resulta irresistible de Cuba és que és l'únic país del món que ha conseguit evitar, d'una manera o altra, la invasió dels USA, tenint en compte que els USA ha fet evident al llarg de la història el seu interès en Cuba. I ...

... and was shared with a dining area. The bathroom looked like the typical 50s American style, with old porcelain fixtures. Aleida explained that if and when I was ready for a shower, I should inform her 15 minutes ahead of time so she could light the burner under the small, wall mounted, water heater. Every window in the place is barred. My room, at the back of the flat, had a 3-foot veranda overlooking the tired landscape of Vedado. The entire porch was ...

... started an epic saga in which I was able to log onto my user, compose a letter to HP support, to continue to try to solve 'Happy's' problems and then just manage to log off before the 30 minute timeout. Yes - one email takes 30 minutes!! I want to buy more cards to take back with me but the receptionist has no change. She points to a bank, which has a long line of people outside it, so I decide to return to our hotel. I pass a shop selling liquor and water, go inside and ask for 4 ...

... was apparently discovered by the Mayans would you believe) in the pouring rain sans ponchos (it wasn't raining when we left) for a hot chocolate and a fantastic brownie. After having a brownie sundae in Flores which was a burnt bit of chocolate rock, we were very happy to have discovered this shop! After this, we headed out for dinner with the group to a local Mayan Restaurant where we sampled the Pina Coladas and I had turkey cooked in a black pepper sauce stuffed ...

... paint is peeling off all these buildings simply because they can't take the loud music. The only reason it hangs on is because the music is soooo good. There are government stores here that would astound you. They're nearly empty grand old department stores from the 1930's whose broken display cases house rusty spare parts for God knows what and vases that are so hideous that they may never see a flower. In the center of the display fortress (they're ...

Having seen everything Varadero has to offer, we decided to check out Havana. However, all the options offered to tourists were pretty pricey. In the end we went down to the local bus station and bought tickets for $5. Much better then the $80 dollar day trips we were being offered. Edwin's mom has a friend in Havana. Edwin placed a call to the guy and he was very excited that we were coming in. He offered to show us around and ...

... sunbathe in an exotic beach and in the premises of an expensive hotel. We are not in the mood of following any group and try to see and learn everything from this one trip. We just want to idle around and do whatever we wish. This is the reason why we fly privately this summer.

EVERYTHING IS READY

Today is the 23rd of July, and we are flying to MADRID at 7.20. We arrive at 10.05, but our flight from Madrid to Havana ...