Travel Tips

I never knew the Caribbean before, though they are geographically close to my home.
I am more familiar with Europe, through culture & life experiences, & with Asia a little, since I lived there a while before I went to Cuba.
The Caribbean world was a total discovery for me, a world apart from what I sensed already.
It was wonderful & awful all at the same time. I did read all I found about it before going, etc. but that's nothing when you actually get there (unless you're Latino & can understand the culture without even knowing it) I’m from Quebec & have some of that latin culture in me but I’m also North American. Anyway, as you are all travelers, you might understand, I was in a new world. Thrilled but eyes wide open, let's say. :-)
Actually, I found it humbling to be so disconcerted in a place so close to home... the way of life and the whole mood of the country is so different from Canada. Cuba was not an easy country for me. I was possibly thorn between my desire to see its reality and my need to be in some kind of control of my situation. Here, I felt vulnerable. Well, you learn. Or you shut yourself off. I did a bit of both.

The Hotel Inglaterra is the first one I saw, on my first morning in Havana. I needed to send a fax and had been told to go there.
The hotel appears quite splendid after a long walk in a dilapidated street. There is a big terrace, usually bustling with activity and live music, with a great view on the Parque Central. You can buy some postcards inside and have a delicious juice in the shade outside. Or rum.

The Inglaterra is the oldest hotel in Havana. After a couple of visits, it seemed old-fashioned to me but still most attractive. Great architecture and a sense of past grandeur.

They have Internet access in the Lobby but it wasn't reliable. I soon made a habit of going to the hotel right beside it, Il Telegrafo, modern style and efficient service, Internet access in the bar.

The sun also shines, on the day I snap a pic of The Nacional.

The Nacional is almost a myth. I enjoyed exploring it a lot. There's a bar full of photos of all the famous people who stayed there, and many good paintings, of the Cuban school, all over (downstairs, I think.)

The pool is fabulous!

There's a quiet garden in the back, facing the Malecon. I climbed on all the walls I could find to take pictures of the sea, no one bothered me. Pictures of the sea are pretty dull though, at least the ones I took. :-)