We might barely consist of our enjoyment as we waited on the pier for the next lancha (boat) to take us from our Santa Cruz house to Panajachel. This was the begin our journey to Havana, Cuba. A part of us was unfortunate to state goodbye to Guatemala as well as we had truly liked our two month’s stay on the charming Lake Atitlan…but, we’re travellers as well as were prepared for a modification of scenery!

This trip was going to be a holiday for us. With the hassles of discovering Web in Cuba, as well as with the costs of connection per hour being so high, we made a decision to take a long time off. We worked difficult to prepare all of our freelance articles as well as articles for our site prior to departure, arranged some social network articles as well as sent out the needed emails.

We were going offline!

Waiting for the lancha boat to take us to Panajachel
It was a long journey from Santa Cruz to Panajachel to Guatemala City to Panama City to Havana, however as our airplane touched down at the airport, we were officially on vacation. This trip was all about being travellers – not blog writers as well as travellers, just routine travellers. We still organized to take pictures as well as make videos, however without any deadlines for articles, no distraction from social network or needing (wanting) to inspect emails, we would be able to kick back as well as completely take pleasure in the sights, seems as well as smells around us.

The arrival hall at the Havana flight terminal was a total mess. people were anywhere appearing like they were lost as well as there were significant line-ups for immigration as well as security. Luggage was stacked randomly around the flight terminal as well as the baggage conveyor belt was moving at a snail’s pace. There was no air conditioning in the building as well as the late afternoon humidity was so thick that we had difficulty breathing. Our skin was sticky as well as damp as well as we had no water to drink. We had been in transit considering that 5:00 am that day as well as were in determined requirement of a shower…

But all of that didn’t matter, we were in Cuba! No amount of warm or baggage annoyances might get to us, our spirits were high as well as we were so ecstatic to be in the Caribbean.

The flight terminal is found about an hour outside of Havana as well as lucky for us, our taxi motorist was able to speak some English as well as might tell us a bit about different buildings as well as areas as we drove into the city. Old cars and trucks from the 1950’s passed by, horse-drawn carts shared the road, as well as as we pulled into town, we were in awe of the crumbling, colourful buildings all around us.

This was the Havana we had pictured.

Our motorist understood precisely exactly how to get to our casa specific (homestay) as well as we were greeted by a smiling Fina as well as her husband, Daniel. We had organized to stay at casa particulars all around the country. For a fraction of the cost of a hotel, travellers can stay with households as well as have your own personal space as well as shower room in Cuba. They have breakfast as well as dinner offered (if you want), however the very best part is that you’re treated like household as well as are able to stay with regional people as well as speak to them about your country, while discovering about theirs. This is likewise a excellent method to assist put some money into the Cuban’s pockets, rather than the Government’s.

The charming Casa we would be costs 5 days in
We hauled our bags up the steps to the second level home, as well as when the door opened, our jaws actually dropped. The casa was beautiful! The walls were painted a pastel peach as well as yellow, while the ceilings were 5 meters high as well as rimmed with a extremely elaborate crown moulding. There was a significant living as well as dining room, a kitchen area offered for our utilize as well as a little outside seating area. Our bedroom was big with two beds, a dresser, air conditioning as well as a personal bathroom.

We believed that the household shared the home, however then we discovered out that they own the whole floor as well as their personal house was directly across the hall. The four spaces in our side of the casa were for tourists as well as we were in great business with some Canadians, Spanish as well as Swiss travellers.

We took pleasure in lobster, snapper as well as pork meals at the casa! Daniel is an exceptional cook
Fina spoke English as well as we were able to get some concepts from her about where to eat as well as what to see near the casa. We likewise had many concerns for her relating to our personal safety, aswell as the security of our personal belongings while in the city. In Guatemala, even though the villages on Lake Atitlan are rather safe, walking in-between a lot of villages is quite much a no-no as the possibility of being robbed is relatively high. When we were in Guatemala City (where crime, robbery as well as murder are shockingly frequent) we had to stay in a gated neighborhood for the night, as well as even though the flight terminal was only 1 km from our hostel, it was still needed to take a taxi there to prevent being mugged!

We felt absolutely risk-free as well as safe while living in Santa Cruz/Paxanax, as well as while travelling in Antigua. however still, Latin America is understood for its dreadful criminal offense as well as high homicide rates.

Travelling to Cuba was a breath of fresh air. No longer did we have to concern about our personal belongings as well as our personal safety. This Caribbean country prides itself on being a risk-free location for travellers, which is amazing thinking about it is surrounded by a few of the most hazardous countries on Earth..

Carrying around our cam was no issue (even at night), as well as walking house at midnight down dark alleyways was fine, as everybody was out as well as about up until 11:00 pm or midnight each night… even families. Fina told us not to concern about anything – at most, just keep our cam in our bag, rather than on our carry late at night.

The Grand movie theater lit up at night

We soon discovered out that part of the reason that Cuba has such a low criminal offense rate is the CDF (Committees for the defense of the Revolution), which is like a neighborhood enjoy that exists in every town as well as village. 95% of all eligible Cubans are members of this group as well as while it may go against some fundamental privacy rights that we take for approved in the west, it does keep the criminal offense rate down to a minimum.

Our new hold Fina didn’t go into this much detail about security in Cuba, however she didn’t have to. We already felt risk-free just by gauging the energy outside. After gulping down a welcome drink of bright pink, fresh guava juice, we were prepared to hit the town. It didn’t matter that we had been travelling for a long time as well as were hot as well as sticky, we opted out of having a shower. Instead, we just dumped our bags on the floor as well as generally ran out of the casa to check out the lively city of Havana.

Stay tuned to hear about our week spent in Havana – total with pictures as well as an interesting video!

Quick Travellers’ Notes:

Flight from Guatemala (GUA) to Havana (HAV) to San Jose (SJO)= $710 USD / Person

Taxi from Havana flight terminal to central Havana = 20 – 25 CUC ($20 – $25) 

Private space at Casa Daniel & Fina = $7.50 / person

Tourist Card (Obligatory to go into Cuba) = $20 / Person

A special thank-you to Casa Daniel y Fina, aka, Casa Habana Blues 1940 and Hostels Club for holding us during our stay in Havana. As always, all thoughts, opinions as well as evaluations stay our own, in spite of any type of free services received.

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