Havana

When I arrived at the José Martí International Airport in Havana on December 3, 2025, I was expecting to see someone holding a sign with my name on it.  There was no one.  I started to worry because I had not written down the name, address and phone number of the hotel that I would be staying.  I walked along the outside of the airport hoping to spot someone with my name on it.  Again, no one.  Luckily, an airport official approached me asking where I was going.  I told him my predicament.  

He asked me the name of the hotel where I was going.  I had to look through my documentation to find it was Casa Azul (Blue House).  He googled the name on his phone and found the phone number.  He called the hotel and the hotel called the taxi driver.  After waiting about 30 minutes the driver came.  In the taxi he told me that he thought my arrival time was 7pm.  The hotel manager later told me he was somewhere else near the airport.  I think he simply forgot.

A Welcome Sign

Inside the airport

The exterior of the airport

It was about a 30-minute ride from the airport to the hotel.  The scenery was unimpressive.  Typical poor country with low buildings and no signs of businesses.  As we approach the city I started to see more traffic and people.  Then we turned into narrow streets and finally arrived at Casa Azul.

Casa Azul is a privately-owned AirBnB or small hotel or whatever you want to call it.  The important thing is it is not owned by the government.  The hotels in Cuba are all owned by the Cuban government. Our reason for coming to Cuba, as submitted to the US Government, is we are here to help the Cuban people.  All the money we spend go towards helping the people.  We cannot engage in any commercial activity with the government.

Casa Azul

Bedroom

Bathroom

When I arrived at the hotel I was told there was a blackout.  No electricity means no WiFi.  There is minimal light from a generator but almost everything else is shutdown.  This is a common occurrence over our entire stay.  Welcome to Cuba!

The hotel is located in the Old Havana neighborhood.  The streets are narrow, dirty and poorly maintained.  Many people live in the area and there are many private hotels and restaurants.  There are small mom-and-pop stores but no commercial businesses.  There are ration stores owned by the government but their shelves are mostly empty.

Neighborhood Street

Vendor selling fruits and vegetables 

All the buildings are old

A shop selling art

The hotel is within walking distance of many historic sites.  The next morning I set out to explore Havana.  As an old Spanish city the major landmarks are squares or Plazas.  Each plaza has an open area, whether it is just a plain concrete square or a park.  I started with Plaza de Catedral, a concrete open space with a church on one side.

Plaza de Catedral

Next I walked a few blocks to Plaza de Armas.  On the way I saw a woman sitting on the side smoking a cigarette.  I thought she looked charming.  She was very happy with my $1 tip.

A Cuban woman

Plaza de Armas

Next to Plaza de Armas is a fort.  Perhaps that's how the plaza was named.

A fort next to Plaza de Armas

I continued to stroll down the streets.  Just before I came to Plaza de San Francisco I came across a saxophone player.  I stopped to listen to him.  He was very entertaining and played some of the popular Spanish song, like Guantanamera.  This is a Cuban patriotic song with lyrics by the poet Jose Marti.  It is an expression of love and solidarity with poor people around the world.  We'd hear this song played many times as we traveled around Cuba.  I first heard this beautiful song sung by the Sandpipers in the 1960s'.

Saxophone player

Plaza de San Francisco de Asis

The church at this square is named after St. Francis of Assisi.

My last square is the Plaza de Vieja, a big square with cafes and restaurants on the sides of the square.

Plaza de Vieja

My planned destination was Chinatown, or Barrio Chino, as the locals called it.  I met a couple of Cubans, who grew up in Cuba but left after the revolution in 1959, during my Galapagos cruise in 2022.  I asked them if there are Chinese in Cuba.  They said there was a Chinatown there.  I was curious as to why would Chinese come to Cuba.  The basic answer is the same everywhere.  People leave their country of birth or origin because of poverty or war or both.  People have to eat and feed their family.  Wikipedia has a more detailed article about the History of Chinese in Cuba.  

Barrio Chino is somewhere east of the Capitol Building or the National Capitol of Cuba.  This is a gleaming white building in the middle of a very poor neighborhood.  Broken buildings, dirty streets, homeless people, are everywhere.  

National Capitol of Cuba

I finally came to an alley where there are signs with Chinese characters.  It's an alley with Chinese restaurants.  I talked to a couple of hosts.  They looked part Chinese.  They said their grandparents were Chinese.  They showed me menus with Chinese food.  Later I stopped at one of them to have lunch.  I ordered fried rice.  To me, fried rice is the most basic of Chinese food.  You can't screw it up.  But what I ate tasted nothing like fried rice.

Chinatown Arch

Alley in Chinatown

Chinese Pharmacy

Fried Rice that does not taste like Chinese food

One thing you can't miss in Havana are the old classic American cars from the 1950s'.  Because of the relations between the US and Cuba, there are no American cars imported since the 50s'.  But there are many cars from the era.  They are just the bodies.  The inside have all been replaced.  Many are used for tourist purposes but there are also many used for everyday use by the Cuban people.

Classic Cars to take tourists around

Our small group of seven makes a nice group to get around.  Four in the group are related and from Louisiana.  A couple is from Hawaii, and then myself.

Our group of 7 plus Yasiel, our guide on the left in front

On our second evening we attended a show called the Buena Vista Social Club.  It's a nightclub show that tries to relieve the glory days before the revolution, when Havana was a bustling place.  The nightclub is located near the Capitol.  The building has seen better days but the show was lively.  It costs $35, which includes 3 drinks.

Buena Vista Social Club Sign

After the show we rode in a classic car back to the hotel.  Although it'd have been a 15-minute walk our guide told us it's not very safe to walk at night.  It sure was a fun evening.