Last month I was back in Suriname, to attend the wedding of my cousin. Like a typical Indian wedding it dragged on and on for days. End of the events, when distant relations from Holland & Trinidad had left, I could feel a vacuum and sense of
Emptiness, as there were still 2 weeks left for me to fly back to Den Haag.
One of my cousins suggested a holiday to Havana( In Spanish La Habana) and it immediately conjured up images of bearded revolutionaries clad in green fatigues, political intrigue and exotic nightclubs where dancers gyrate all night long. What Cuba does best is live music, Rock, salsa, son, jazz, house, disco, afro-Cuban, classical -- it’s all available to be seen and heard when night falls on Havana.
Arriving in Havana we got a cab to our Hotel the 4-star Chateau Miramar, which is central, comfortable, distinguished and private. Situated in the most posh area called Miramar, it faces the warm Caribbean Sea.
Cuba is an island bubbling in the history of Spanish colonialism and post-war revolution. It has the combination of some of the best beaches in the Caribbean, the enduring pulse of Salsa and, of course, the most sought after cigars in the world,
The fascinating city of Havana, one of the oldest in the Americas -- dates back to 1500 when it was a staging area for Spanish exploration of the Americas and assembly point for treasure fleets returning to Spain. Havana is the largest city in the Caribbean and the centre of all things Cuban. Despite its turbulent history, Havana suffered little damage in the country’s wars and revolutions, and stands today much as it was built 100 years ago or more. There’s an air of faded glory about the city, as big ’50s and ’60s American automobiles still dominate the streets and paint and plaster peel off everywhere.
Like in Prague, the buildings in Old Havana speak of a rich and proud past. In recent years, painstaking preservation has sparked a certain civic pride, and reminded Cubans, and visitors alike, just how beautiful a city Havana really is. The cultural sites in Havana are endless, like the Plaza de Armas, the imposing Castillo de la Fuerza Real and the Palacio de los Capitanes. Museums and galleries are plentiful, documenting everything.
Havana sizzles by night. and pulsates with music. Street minstrels are everywhere during the day. After dark, the city sizzles to the Latino-African rhythms that pulsate through Cuban music. Cuba is a symphony of sounds, rhythms, colours and dances. African beats merge with Spanish rhythms. Old Havana and Vedado are full of bars and nightclubs. There are atmospheric hideaways and plush cabarets on almost every street. La Bodeguita del Medio is Havana’s most celebrated bar. Where you can see the autographs of Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole on the wall.
Central Havana -- once the city’s red-light district -- is home to the beautiful capitolio, modelled after the U.S. capitol in Washington.
Vedado, once the haunt of American gangsters, is the site of the Plaza de la Revolucion and home to Coppelio, perhaps the best ice cream parlour in the world. Cubans are justly proud of their ice cream
It was a wonderful experience visiting Havana, at least the wariness and fatigue of the
Wedding and the Suriname weather were washed away at the wonderful beach at Verdado; hardly two hours drive away from Havana. The white sands and the glittering warm sea water has renewed my faculties, both physical and mental to go on for few months till I venture out on another long haul holiday.