Cuba Day 1 – Arrival In Havana

Today is the first entry in my Cuban diary, which I will be publishing every day over the next couple of weeks. Things start off pretty tame in Havana. They certainly didn’t end that way. Enjoy…

Packed my visa in my backpack rather than hand luggage. Immediately got fined 50 quid in Madrid and stormed off. Watched Annie Hall on the plane.

Incredible lightning storm above Cuba. No rain or thunder, just constant white flashes. Beyond explanation how amazing it was.

plane lightning

Lightning behind the wing of the plane

Took forever for luggage to arrive. Mine was first off by itself for some reason. Semi angry semi flirty women on check in.

Got cash changed at the cadeca and had to try very hard to not get robbed – she was insisting my 330 pounds was 300. Pressed the issue and demanded a receipt, too.

Got a taxi from the information desk, ignoring people offering rides outside. Two guys asked if I was alone and said they would both take me to Havana. Assumed I would die as usual. They said I could sit in the front, which meant the other stacked Cuban guy sitting behind me in the dark. Basically sat side-on the whole time to avoid death by strangulation.

Driver had to ask loads of locals where the hostel was. Drove past so many landmarks and iconic looking buildings. Hostel is lovely and very homely and clean while still feeling rustic and Cuban. I’m the only one in a five person room, which is pretty lonely. There’s a white girl here who seems to speak Spanish, was hoping she’d be a backpacker and I’d have a friend. Two black guys who can’t speak a word of English seem to be running the hostel. They seem very friendly.

Fuck knows what I’m gunna do tomorrow.

Tomorrows’s entry:

Day 2: Rum, Thieves and Lightning

“He kept asking if I wanted a beautiful mulatto prostitute or any marijuana. I said no and maybe, respectively.”

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