Cuba

One of the most exciting things about taking time to get an MBA is the amount of time that we have off for breaks (especially in the second year!). I finished up my classes on December 12^th, spent a couple of days wrapping up loose ends and celebrating the season and some birthdays in New Haven, and then set off for the first of many destinations of my winter travels.

I joined a great gang of friends to depart Newark for Havana Cuba for a 5-day stay before heading home to Austin for the Christmas holiday. Boy, we had a blast! We had heard mixed reviews from our classmates about Havana, as many had traveled there during the fall and Thanksgiving breaks, and we were anticipating it to be “very expensive”. I suppose there’s a way to do Havana expensively, but our trip ended up being quite the contrary!

Let’s start with accommodation – AirBnb has become a popular booking platform, but there are downfalls of AirBnb that make it a more expensive platform than others in a lot of countries. The biggest part of this is the cleaning fee and other hidden fees that owners can add to the per night price. These don’t pop up until right before you confirm the booking, so you may think you’re purchasing something that’s $40 / night and end up paying $80 if it’s a one or two night stay. Instead, I’ve found that booking directly at casitas, bed and breakfasts, and through hostel world or booking.com to be much more economical. For this trip we booked 2 private ensuite rooms (one double and one 3-bed) in a hostel located about a 10-minute walk from the Old Town through HostelWorld, and it came out to less than $50 / person for the entire stay. The accommodation wasn’t perfect, but I loved it! It was an old mansion converted to a hostel, and still had a lot of its charm from Havana’s hay-day. The ceilings had intricate crown molding and were painted with bright blues, oranges and golds. There were beautiful chandeliers in the common area, and a big huge sturdy oak table outside the kitchen that served as a gathering point for all of the guests. There was also a little courtyard that let in the natural light and allowed people some fresh air. The rooms were air conditioned and provided a safe for passports and valuables – it was very nice accommodation for the price! But, of course, the best part of where we stayed was the people we met. The staff was lovely and helpful, and we had a great time getting to know other travelers visiting Havana. We shared many a beer, played cards, and went out together on walking tours, mojito crawls, and to the art and jazz clubs. We spent a lot of time the Germans, a guy from Finland, and a girl from Switzerland. The hostel name was Hostel DRobles – would definitely recommend it.

Moving on to food – with the exception of one dinner at the nicest restaurant in town, we spent on average $3 per meal. There was a great sandwich shop called Algarabia located about 3 minutes from the hostel that made great Cubans and also sold fried rice dishes, grilled meat, and other hearty but quality meals. We did breakfasts at the hostel for less than $5, lunches at this spot, and dinner at a variety of spots. In Cuba there are 2 forms of currency – the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) that they give to all tourists, and the Cuban Peso. The exchange rates are different, and we were originally very confused by this, but when we were able to get prices in Cuban Peso we found that things were incredibly inexpensive. The CUC is 1:1 to USD since it’s pegged to the dollar, and is 25x the CUP. The inexpensive prices start to make sense when you learn a little more about the local economy, which I’ll go into detail about later. In short, the minimum wage is 20 CUC per month, and government employees at the hospital sometimes make 40 CUC a month. Tourism has a huge impact on the economy, so even a $5 meal could make a big difference in the restaurant owner’s life. The food in Cuba is good, but simple. We had a LOT of pork and eggs, very little dairy, and a fair amount of plantain. My favorite meal was at the FAC (more about it later) where we had tacos, croquettes, and plantain chips with fresh salsa. A more simple, but lovlier meal was the midnight Arepas made for me by the hostel housekeeper as she was preparing for the next day’s breakfast. The other really good meal was at a restaurant called la Guarida, which is the most expensive and famous restaurant in Cuba. I had a Ropa Vieja dish (a stringy and spiced beef dish), and we shared some bread and tacos as a table beforehand. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the tacos were Tuna, so I didn’t get to partake, but I heard from the others that they were good. This meal cost around $20 / plate, so it was pricier than everything else, but worth the atmosphere and break from the fare we had been enjoying.

The next really cool thing worth mentioning about Cuba is the lack of internet and LTE connection. You truly have the opportunity to disconnect, which is a blessing in itself. It was the first time traveling since I got TMobile where my phone didn’t work with the internet, and it was a thrill. No translation apps, no quick google searches, and NO SOCIAL MEDIA. It did mean that we had to be more cautious not to split of as a group, but all in it turned out to be a very good thing. You can see the effect on the youth and young adults in the country. Simply put, they are more present and more conversational. Life seemed more relaxed.

Our activities were really fun as well! We did a great free walking tour (highlights below), followed Ernest Hemingway’s ghost on a self-guided mojito tour, went to a gorgeous beach (where I had a $5 massage and we met the producer of Game of Thrones and his family!!!), checked out an incredible art warehouse (highlights below), went to a jazz club, and walked through old town and “el centro” and conversed with some locals in the park.

The walking tour was really well done. We met in the Plaza de Angels at 10:15 a.m. (I think) and were divided into groups based on language. Our group ended up being the 5 of us, our hostel mate, another couple from NYC and an Italian traveler, all close in age. Our guide was phenomenal – he told us about the local economy, the difference between private and public institutions, the minimum wage and median wage (minimum wage is around $20 per month!!!), home ownership, diets, history, and more. I have a whole notebook full of fun facts! On the walking tour we also saw all the major museums, ports, forts, and public squares. It lasted a full 3 hours, so we all decided to give a tip at the end for his time before heading off to snag a mojito at the bars he pointed out.

The other phenomenal activity was visiting the FAC, which stands for Fabrica de Arte Cubano. FAC is a warehouse that houses 5 sections of art (and 5 corresponding bars!) They have paintings, sculptures, photography, theater, film, dance and music, along with restaurants and casual spaces to enjoy a drink and interact with friends. They are only open Thursday – Sunday, but each night attracts hundreds (if not thousands) of locals and tourists. I went on a Sunday night and thought it was a perfect atmosphere – lots of people, but not too crowded. We started off by grabbing a drink at the entry bar, walked through 3 floors of exhibits (painting, sculpture and photography), visited the artist shop, sat and watched some film, went to the fast casual restaurant for some food, then danced the night away in the dance hall where 3 DJs played sets. The second DJ was SO GOOD. She had the entire dance hall jumping up and down and dancing like lunatics – which truly is the most joyous way to dance. By the 3^rd DJ the club was in full swing, and I got to witness some epic dance battles between different troops. One group was straight 90s hip hop – red track suits, highlighted dreads and golden teeth. They moved like liquid, and one of the members was even double jointed. I’ve seen some great dancers before, but the energy of this group puts them at the top! If anyone is traveling to Havana I HIGHLY recommend that you go to FAC – it’s not to be missed.