Weekend Adventures

The past couple of weeks and weekends here in Havana have been great. We started and finished our course on Social Development which was very interesting. We learned about women in Cuban society, the structure of family, health and education. The work load has been pretty laid back and easy, we have about a 2-3 paged research paper each week about a topic of our choice within the theme of the week. After, we finished another two week course on Sustainable Development in Cuba. As of today, we're on our week off to travel and after have a month to write our thesis. It’s hard to believe how time is flying by!

Three weekends ago 9 of us went to a town outside the city called Las Terrazas. Las Terrazas is a government made national park that has activities for families and tourists to engage in. We arrived Saturday afternoon and when we got there we decided to spend the day in the next town over called Soroa which has waterfalls and natural springs. A really nice taxi driver offered to take us to Soroa,(where he lives) and help us find a place to stay for the night. When we couldn’t find a house to stay in, he offered us his home. We spent the day at the waterfalls and he came to pick us up at 7 and took us to his house were there was a feast waiting for us. It was unbelievable – chicken, pork, two varieties of rice, salads, fruits, water, juice, dessert – we felt so blessed. In the morning breakfast was beautiful as well – eggs, bread, fruit, coffee and juice. They were so amazing to us, and helped us with transportation, food and stay. After breakfast he took us back to Las Terrazas where we spent the day in the park. In the morning 6 of us rented two boats and had boat races. For lunch we found this amazing eco-restaurant with the most amazing menu I’ve seen. After lunch we walked to the waterfall that we could swim in. We were so happy to have a couple days outside of the city, with fresh air, and warm hearted Cubans.

Two weekends ago we went an hour out of the city in the opposite direction to a beach called Playa Jibacoa. After an adventure that involved cars, ferrys, trains and an 8k walk we finally made it to a camp site called Los Coco which is right on the beach. We spent Saturday on the beach and by the pool, eating, getting spray on tattoos, swimming, riding horses, and then spent the night at the bar/dance floor they have right next to the pool. It was a very fun, relaxed environment which was mostly young Cubans getting out of the city for the weekend – like us!

We’re all adjusting to life here and falling into daily routines. We have our frustrations with communication barriers, food, heat, inaccessibility to connect with family and friends in Canada, but we are all in agreement that we are having a good time while we’re here. Time is flying by and within the next couple weeks most of us have family coming to visit which is often the topic of conversation.

January in Havana

We are just finishing our fourth week here in Havana and so far, it’s been so amazing. We finished our two week Spanish courses and have moved on to our development classes. As of tomorrow we will have finished a two week course titled ‘Political Economy of Cuba’. In the class we studied the colonial, neocolonial, and Revolutionary, the Soviet Union collapse, and present day politics. It’s been hard for me to keep up with everything; our professor speaks very fast and his classes are very fast moving. It’s been great for my Spanish though!

Every week we go on some sort of field trip. Last week we went to the Museum of the Revolution. What I found the most interesting is that the museum is in the old presidential palace so there are still bullet holes in the walls from the fight to take over. Each room had a different theme or different time frame of the Revolution, along with lots of pictures and memorabilia. Outside there was also replicas of the tanks/jeeps/and boats they used. We all had to reflect our thoughts the next day in class and we all agreed that it was very one sided,  but that we had all learned a great deal.

I have had the chance to explore a bit of the most popular religion here called Santeria. When slaves were brought over from Africa during colonial times they wanted to continue worshiping their Gods but were not allowed. In order to make it look like they were worshiping their new Christian Saints – they paired each of their Gods up with one of the Christian Saints. This religion is now called Santeria, which is a mix of Christianity and Afro-religion traditions, practiced by more than 70% of Cubans. During our Spanish classes my class went to the museum in Old Havana that has replicas of each God and our tour guide explained what the significance of each one is. Also, every Sunday there is a dance/ceremony/party close to where we live where musicians perform and people dance these amazing dances that are a form of celebration to each of the Gods.

We’ve been to the beach a couple of times now. It’s about a 30 minute bus ride out of the city – but so worth it. It hasn’t been too touristy yet, but within a month I’m sure it will start to pick up. The water has been amazing, and the general vibe of the beach has been great. Musicians walk up and down the beach and play traditional and popular Cuban songs as well as a lot of Beatles to please the tourists.

We’ve been having a lot of fun going out in Havana. Some of the girls live with other Cubans around out age who have taken us out to the non-touristy places at night which has been fun. So far we’ve been to a big club called La Casa de La Musica (the house of music), which has a live band ever night and a huge dance floor; Turf, a reggae ton bar; and La Cecilia a huge outdoor bar with a big stage with dancers and huge screens projecting music videos. Other nights we have just spent hanging out along the Malecon.

This past Friday was the torch march for Jose Martí. Martí could be called the first revolutionary of Cuba. He was hugely involved in the war of Independence in the early 1900s. It was Martí’s work that Fidel based many of his revolutionary actions on. This night is to honor his work and legacy. Students started gathering at the steps on the University then after a ceremony they walk down San Lazaro, then turn the corner and walk down to the Malecon. We stood on the street and watched as the youth marched yelling ‘viva Fidel, viva Raul, viva Jose!’ with all of their lit torches. There was easily hundreds of youth. After about a quarter of the crowd passed us we ran around the corner to Andrea and Mariah’s house who live at the top of an apartment building – so we ran up to the roof and watched the majority of the rest of the youth come around the corner and continue down the street. Then we decided to join in! We didn’t have torches and most were already out by the time we joined, but it was still so amazing to see. The march ended at the Malecon and then all the youth spread themselves all over the wall and streets leading to the Malecon – I’ve never seen anything like it.

Life in Havana has been great so far. We’re all adjusting and getting into daily routines which make it easier. The lack of internet is hard for all of us since we are so used to being in daily contact with family and friends. Also the phone connection is bad and very expensive. A side from that, the food is amazing, the city life is exciting, and our families are all so welcoming and wonderful. It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month!

La Habana

So now I’m on to my next adventure: Havana for three months. I have been here close to two weeks and so far and I’m loving it! The city is so big – so much different from Halifax and Campeche. We spent our first 5 days here in a hotel until we picked which ‘casa particulares’ we wanted to stay in. Casa particulares are houses owned by families who have extra rooms and want to rent them out to tourists. Dalhousie has used the same houses for years so it was just a matter of going to see our choices and choosing which house/family/roommate we want to live with. Ana Maria, Ben and I chose to live with an amazing family who have an incredible house just two minutes away from the University of Havana. Marcia lives with her son Frank, and his wife Anabel who have a one year old daughter named Ana Paula. Included in our rent we get breakfast and dinner each day. So far the food has been amazing!

Last week and this week we have been in intensive Spanish classes before we start our development courses next week. We’re all in different levels determined by a test we took the first day. Classes are from 9am-12:30pm Monday to Friday, which gives us the rest of the day to explore the city (and siesta, of course!). We live in a great part of the city; there’s a park, movie theatre, supermarket, many restaurants and little shops all within walking distance – not to mention our university is a stone’s throw away. Also about a 10 minute walk away is the Malecon. So far we’ve spent an afternoon there reading and a night there socializing with other Cubans and foreigners our age. It’s a really great hang out spot!

They absolutely love pizza here. A lot of people have turned their homes into fast food restaurants; the majority only having pizza and spaghetti on their menus. The first week we were here we were having a pizza a day because we couldn’t find any other options! There’s actually a pretty good pizza place literally attached to the house we live in – so I’m trying to use all the will power I can to not go there a lot – it’s SO greasy! One time went to this crazy place called Sky Pizza. Most restaurants here are run out of people’s homes, but this family didn’t have a ground floor apartment. Their solution was to put stoves on the top of their roof and sell pizza from the roof while lowering a basket up and down with the pizza and money. It was such a funny experience – a bunch of people would stand on the road a yell their order up, then when it was ready he would lower the basket down and you took your pizza and put the money in the basket which he would then bring back up. The pizza wasn’t amazing, but for less than $.50 and having it come from the sky we will probably become regulars.

The program hires a student who has done this program in the past to spend the first two weeks with us; showing us around the city and the university. For the past three years it’s been Dustin. Dustin has shown us all the good places to eat and meet other students as well as taken care of a lot of the logistical things. It’s been great to have someone around who can show us all those things because it’s such a big city!

We have had the chance to go into Habana Vieja (Old Havana) a couple of times which has been so cool to see. The ‘White House’ called El Capitolio is just at the entrance of this old part of the city – which is a neighbourhood of incredibly old buildings and great little restaurants. Other than that we’ve walked around our part of the city a lot trying to get to know our way around. It’s been really wonderful so far – and we know it will just keep getting better! 

Thoughts about Mexico

After our trip to Oaxaca in Mexico, we spent the rest of our time in Campeche with our families and friends. We all finished and passed our courses with certification, and then took off for a couple more days on the beach in Playa del Carmen and Tulum before heading back home to Canada. I didn’t blog about any of this because once I was home I was so excited to be home, and felt being in the moment of Canada was the best for me at the time. Now that I’m back in that part of the world I can once again reflect on my time spent there.

To sum up a bit of Mexico I’m going to do my favorites…

Favorite trip: Oaxaca/Puerto Escondido. This trip was planned because we couldn’t go to Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Tulum and Isla Mujeres on our week off due to a hurricane. It was during Day of the Dead celebrations and there was so many amazing things going on in the cities and towns we were in. We spent the majority of our time on a beach trying to surf and eating amazing food!  This trip stood out by far.

Favorite adventure: Cenotes in Merida/ horseback riding in Oaxaca. Both these experiences were once in a lifetime, incredible adventures. Swimming in the bright blue water of the water holes was surreal. Horseback riding during sunset in the mountains of Oaxaca was terrifying, but a moment I will never forget.

Favorite food: churros, charritos, and pan de cazon. Churros are long deep fried sticks covered in cinnamon, and you can add vanilla or chocolate to the centre (much like donuts but in the form of a stick). Charritos are chips only made and sold in Campeche. There is no way in describing them, but they are amazing and different from any chip I have ever had – you’ll just have to go to Campeche to try them! And finally, Pan de Cazon is another dish typical to Campeche. You take a tortilla cover it in refried beans, then baby shark, then tomato sauce. You repeat this three or four times until you have a mound of tortilla, beans, baby shark and finally cover it all in more tomato sauce – delicious!

Favorite drink: horchata. This is a sort of rice/coconut milk, milkshake. It took me a while to like it, and it’s very typical in Campeche. But once we found an amazing restaurant called Portales that sold horchata to die for we were drinking it almost every night.

Favorite beach: Puerto Escondido. You just can’t compete with that beach. It’s not too touristy like all the beaches on the east coast (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, etc). It was completely worth the 30+ hour bus ride.

People to remember:

My amazing family. Addy, Enrique, Kike and Gely made me feel a part of the family. I will never forget their hospitality and their kindness. I feel so blessed to have met them and had the pleasure of staying in their beautiful home.

Ave, Kike’s girlfriend, and now my dear, dear friend. Ave took me under her wing and introduced me to all her friends, drove me around Campeche to help me get my bearings, and above all became a truly amazing friend to me. She would help me study Spanish and always had patience with me when I was struggling with communicating. I know our friendship will last a lifetime.

Irving, a friend we met along the way who lives in Campeche. Irving introduced us to all of his friends and took us out with him. It was so nice to have someone our age show us the good places to dance and eat. We had so much fun as a big group – so many memories and laughs. 

This experience was one I will never forget. I was so scared and nervous at the beginning of the trip, but it turned out to the best 3 months of my life. I missed my family and friends so much, but adding together all the experiences and all of the people I met within those three months I cannot think of an experience similar. I took lots of pictures and kept a diary of everything and everywhere we went so one day I can look back at these three months and remember all the small things that made this trip what it was – amazing.