Cuba, Day 1: Hello Cuba!

Carol | May 21, 2016 | Cuba, Featured, Florida | No Comments

Cuba: Day 1

Checked out of The Fountains and drove to Miami
Lunch at La Carreta, Miami
Flying from Miami International Airport to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba
Welcomed by our Authentic Cuba Travel tour guide and bus driver.
Private transfer and check-in to Hotel Presidente
My first meal in cuba: mojito + Cuban sandwich
Walking the Malecon with tour mates

I don’t remember anything other than having breakfast from when we checked out of The Fountains. I imagine I probably slept in the back of the van again while everyone else chatted away.

Lunch at La Carreta

We arrived in Miami a little after noon and Mario took us to his favorite Cuban restaurant, La Carreta. From the outside it appeared to be a sort of hole in the wall kind of place but it was actually really cool. It has both a dine in restaurant and a walk-up counter which is located outside on the back corner. It was a neat experience to see people ordering at the counter and hanging around chatting. Mario said that’s a big part of the experience and culture. I like.

I had no idea what to order so I ordered the same thing Mario did: Breaded Chicken Breast ‘Milanese,’ an incredibly yummy and heavy breaded chicken breast topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese au gratin. I had the yellow rice subbed out for the same purplish beans and rice Mario ordered. It also came with sweet plantains. So yummy!

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Mario ordered a “La Carreta” aka Cuban Espresso that came in a little cup with tiny plastic shot glasses. He shared it with all of us and it was really good. If I knew how to make it or could get it around here it would probably become my default coffee beverage. Why waste a ton of time drinking so much watered down espresso when you can drink it condensed and feel it right away. He also ordered some Croquettes that he shared that were super good. Very heavy, but super tasty. They look like mozzarella sticks but you eat them on a cracker. They’re filled with ground meat and other things.

Miami International Airport

Mario dropped Betty, Sharon, and I off at the airport and left to drop the van off at his aunts and hitch a ride back. We were all more than a bit confused about where to check in for our trip since we didn’t actually have our tickets. We were to meet a representative from our tour company who would have them and show us the way. We ended up asking for directions and walking up and down the airport 3-4 times before I finally made up my mind about where I thought we should be. I got in line and shortly after getting in line our representative showed up and helped us get our bags checked and gave us our tickets and other documentation. We met a guy named Mike who was also going to be part of our same tour group so the four of us made our way to the skytrain together and onwards to the terminal.

I enjoyed riding the skytrain. We were actually a bit confused about where to get off so we rode it back and forth a couple of times. I wasn’t complaining. The tracks and sites from the train reminded me a lot of all the infrastructure you see all over Japan, at least in the cities. I miss Japan so much.

This view makes my heart ache for Japan.

Betty & Sharon. I imagine they’re learning quickly that I’m a photo freak.

Miami International Airport, view from Skytrain

Mario showed up with snacks from this place so I had to go try something. I got a super tasty guava and cheese pastry and a coffee. Very nice.

Betty was just a few rows behind me. I scored a window seat. Yay!

Once we got to our terminal I walked around trying to find some interesting stores but didn’t have much luck, at least not in the span in which I was willing to walk. I did stock up on a few giant bottles of water and some candy.

Flying to Cuba

The flight to Cuba was beautiful. I lucked out and had a window seat so I was able to look outside the entire time. There were so many clouds and cloud forms in the sky it was crazy. I’ve only flown a hand full of times so I am still always so amazed at how gorgeous and different the landscape of the world is from up above, especially the clouds. Watching them always feels bit surreal and magical.

Jose Marti International Airport

The countryside flying in over Cuba looked lovely and mostly untouched. I didn’t know what to expect at the airport but I guess I did sort of expect a gate. I was surprised when we exited the plane on the tarmac via this stair tunnel thing. The airport was very basic. I had to visit the ladies room and there was only one working stall. No toilet seat. A lot of toilets don’t have seats, and there was no toilet paper. Good thing I brought my own.

We waited forever for our luggage to arrive before going through Cuban customs where we simply presented our passport and were given a visa. I requested my passport be stamped. Afterwards I visited the currency exchange counter. I had exchanged over half of my money for EUROs in Miami to avoid the U.S. exchange fee but it was actually better to exchange USD for the Cuban Convertible Pesos. **Remember this for next time.

I was surprised but kind of delighted to exit the plane via this airstair.

I sort of had mixed feelings about taking my picture with the Cuban flag but I didn’t want to start my trip out with negativity.

Our tour mates. There were 15 of us total plus our driver and guide for a grand total of 17.

Mario, our mini groups leader. The four of us from Alabama were the only premade group. Everyone else were either traveling solo or as a couple.

Hotel el Presidente

It’s obvious that el Presidente was once a really wonderful and fancy hotel. It’s still very nice detail wise but it’s weathered and has definitely seen better days. However it’s age and condition gave it a very cool feel. I definitely felt like I’d stepped back through time a bit.