Havana
nigHts
Castro’s childhood home
Add a side trip
to Cuba’s colourful
capital
EAT
O
n the road from city to
city, we learn that Cuba
is deceptively large. At
nearly 110,000 square
kilometres, it’s the biggest island in the
Caribbean. While it’s possible to cover
the distances between towns by renting
your own car, the country’s main
roads are cluttered with horse-drawn
carriages, pedestrians, cyclists, farm
animals, heavy trucks and crowded
buses that would confound the average
North American driver.
The easiest—and safest—mode of
transportation is to hire a car and
driver. Internet access is spreading
across Cuba, so make arrangements
online before you leave Canada.
Or, if you really want to travel in
style, look for a driver of one of the
many vintage automobiles found
throughout Cuba. The American trade
embargo, in place since 1959’s revolu-
tion, severely limited imports of foreign
cars, meaning 1950s-era Chevs and
Fords still dot the streets.
In North America, road-trippers are
used to making pit stops at service
50
FALL 2018
CAA MANiTOBA
centres with clean toilets and fast-food
restaurants. Don’t expect the same
here. Instead, families post signs to
welcome travellers into their homes
when they need a bathroom break or a
quick bite to eat.
En route to Holguin, we stop at a
small farm called Finca Framboyanes.
The family matriarch, Elda Leiva,
greets us warmly and offers heaping
plates of guava, coconut, cheese and
cake alongside fresh-brewed Cuban
coffee—in exchange for a nominal tip.
“We enjoy meeting people from
around the world and hearing their
stories,” she explains in Spanish. “I only
wish we could communicate in their
own language. If everyone in the world
spoke one language, it would solve a lot
of problems!”
Before returning to our own homes
in Canada, we can’t resist spending
at least one day on the beach, so we
head north to Playa Pesquero. While
the warm weather is definitely a great
reason to visit Cuba, our road trip
reveals that the true warmth of the
country lies in its people.
DRINK
For a nightcap, head to
Roma, an apartment-
turned-bar in Old
Havana. The loft space
has a house-party vibe
that’s carried through
the lavatory—which
is the bathroom of a
neighbouring apartment.
STAY
For old-school
luxury, check into the
Gran Hotel Manzana
Kempinski. The five-star
hotel boasts a rooftop
pool and spa. Even if
you don’t stay here, grab
a table and sip a café
con leche (coffee with
milk) in the sumptuous
Constante bar with a
view of El Floridita,
Hemingway’s legendary
watering hole.
FOy/ALAMy
Elda Leiva preps coconuts;
American horsepower (left)
El del Frente is a trendy
new paladar and magnet
for local creative types.
Dig into lobster tacos or
risotto. One of Havana’s
top mixologists serves
world-class mojitos and
daiquiris on the rooftop
patio, surrounded by Old
Havana’s magnificent
architecture.