Today we arrived at Havana airport at lunch time. The 2hr flight from Mexico City went quickly.
As we approached Havana there was not much to see from the sky and it was an overcast day.
After we cleared customs we were greeted by our ‘Geckos’ tour guide named Leoel who was holding a sign with our names on it. Leoel’s english was fluent as he seemed very excited to be guiding us through Cuba.
On the taxi ride on the way to our hotel there was so much to take in. The first thing I noticed was how prominent the African influence was in the Cuban people’s appearance. I mentioned this to Leoel and he told me that during the Atlantic Slave trade the majority of the Africans that were brought to Cuba were from the Congo. I had a smile on my face because I too have a Congolese heritage.
The ethnic majority of the Cuban people is ‘Mestizo’ meaning ‘Mixed’ which makes them easy on the eye. Although I am a taken man it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge how beautiful the Cuban women are!
As we entered the city centre of Havana I noticed the unique architecture. The ‘Capitolio’ building immediately caught our eyes. Our guide Leoel told us not to worry about asking all the questions now for he would be explaining everything about the city centre tomorrow, “For now just enjoy and take it all in,” he said.
As we were checking into our hotel, Leoel our guide, took it upon himself to order us our 1st ever ‘Cuba Libre’. A famous Cuban cocktail containing Bacardi Rum and Coca Cola. Cuba Libre means ‘Free Cuba’ as the drink was invented during the Spanish-American war when American Soldiers were drinking at a bar in Havana and decided they did not like Rum on its own and mixed it with Coca-Cola. The Cuban’s decided to name it the ‘Cuba Libre’.
We put our bags in our hotel room then Leoel took us for our first Cuban meal. We were told of the food being an issue for tourists in Cuba, however I can confidently say that this was certainly not an issue for us. Our first Cuban meal was called ‘Ropa Veija’ and was absolutely delicious.
Click here to read the rest of Harry's blog published on his website, 'Harry's World'.
