...........FALCON VII........... Horizon Fever - working on a cure: CUBA - Casa Particulars

In January 2017 Jim and I took a 10 day trip to Cuba via Cancun, Mexico. We decided to avoid the expensive hotels in Cuba in favour of homestays, where we would have a chance to get to know many Cubans and understand more about them, their culture and their socialist society.

The houses which rent out rooms are called casa particulars and they give tourists an alternative to hotel accommodation at a fraction of the cost. We stayed in casa particulars in Havana when we arrived, Pinar del Rio for five nights then Havana before we flew home.

The rooms, which ranged from $30 - $50 CDN a night, all had air conditioning and fans; all offered a huge breakfast of fresh cut up fruit, eggs, bread and smoothies for 5 CUCS or about $6.50 CDN.

These homestays are a super way to meet the people and can be booked through Airnb and other web sites such as Cuba Junkie. Each is as unique as the family you stay with.

Havana
We booked our stay with Amelia and her family at one of the only casa particulars on the malecon. There are hundreds in nearby Old Town, along with an a few majestic century old hotels.

Our room was behind the top right arched window.

The architecture is amazing!!! Jim is doing a separate blog on Havana’s architecture so you’ll see it through his eye for design and love of sculpture and structure.

At Amelia’s there was no elevator so we hauled our pack up 56 narrow tile steps to reach their top floor landing. Amelia was there to greet us and welcome us to their home. Everything was shiny clean, neat and organized. She had a spacious dining room and hidden kitchen at the back of the apartment. The majority of buildings, like Amelia’s, were designed with very high ceilings, which meant the heat could rise, creating a more comfortable living space for the occupants. Our room was just off the living room where we had our own view overlooking the waterfront.

Rather than keep the extremely high ceilings, the top floor apartment was renovated half a century ago. The height was split into two, creating a much needed mezzanine level. Our clean accommodation came with a private bathroom, which happened to be on the mezzanine level, accessable via the wobbly metal spiral staircase in the corner.

Our room was clean with a small bathroom up the spiral staircase.

The view from our room was possibly the best in all of Havana!

Sunset over Havana.

Pinar del Rio

La Nonna's was very centrally located just off the main street of town.

We were warmly welcomed by Nonna with open arms when we found our way from the bus terminal to Casa Nonna in Pinar del Rio, our home for the next five nights. Alia, or Nonna as she was fondly called, had five casa particular rooms in her home, all with private bathrooms. Three were occupied by Chinese engineers who were staying for an entire year, sent to Cuba to build a solar farm in Pinar del Rio.

We stayed in one of two exterior rooms, masterfully built on the roof two years ago.

This was our room, complete with outdoor table and chairs.

Each room had excellent foam mattresses, a big screen tv (with Spanish speaking socialist tv and the occasional 1990's crime drama in English), fridge stocked with pop, beer and water and a beautifully tiled bathroom.

Roof top deck with table and bbq in the corner, not shown.

Tile floors are common in warm countries,
along with big open windows and courtyards.

Nonna ran her homestay with the help of daughter Maria, son-in-law Moro and their daughter Karla-Maria. Maria and Moro also ran their own casa particular just around the corner. Since Nonna spoke limited English, Moro made a point of connecting with us each morning while Jim and I enjoyed our hot breakfast in the tiled dining area full of family photos and mementos. Moro wanted to be of service, to see how he could make our stay more comfortable. We talked about options for the day, which sometimes involved organizing a taxi driver to be our guide for anywhere from a half day to full day excursion. This proved to be a very smart way to see the sights of Vinales, which is very spread out over a lush tropical landscaped valley.

Please see our separate blog postings on Pinar del Rio and Havana.

Not only was our taxi excursion a wonderful way to tour the area, but we know our Spanish was far better at the end of our time together, since the drivers don’t speak very much English.

Jim with Nonna and Isabel, Nonna's hard working helper.

Nonna also offered us homemade dinners for $10 CUC or $13 CDN. She always gave us choices of meat or fish and was masterful in using savory sauces and the freshest ingredients to make her meals. We ate ‘in’ most nights, knowing that Nonna prepared it for us as if we were her loving family. We spent time with Alia, Moro and Maria after dinner, sharing stories about our life in Canada, and photos of our cruising in Mexico and our three trips to Southeast Alaska.

Moro, Maria, Nonna, Jim, and Tricia

All of them were incredibly gracious, welcoming and friendly. Staying at Casa Nonna's really was one of the highlights of our trip.

Havana

A covered entry for horse and carriage
stood between the road and front door.

Our last two nights in Havana were spent at a purpose-built century old guest house in Vedado, a short taxi ride away from Old Town Havana. The enormous front doors lead to an cozy entry, open courtyard and kitchen.

The owner, Marguerite, had a number of staff working to meet the needs of many guests. They were very friendly and helpful with anything and everything.

The five large rooms on the main level all opened to a tropical plant filled courtyard. Antique furniture adorned the large dining room, where we met other guests over hot, huge breakfasts. The whole building was colourful and inviting.

We found casa particulars a great way to experience Cuba.