Cuban chaos....

It all started at Nassau airport. Boarding the plane to Havana was bedlam. People had been assigned the same seats, everyone seemed to have copious amounts of hand luggage that they were trying to stuff everywhere, there was a laid back approach from the cabin crew, and I tried not to notice that part of the inside window frame next to me was missing. It was also slightly disconcerting when everyone applauded upon landing. Was there that much of a doubt that we would make it?!

The international airport is smaller than Guernsey's airport, which took me somewhat by surprise. It didn't take long to pass through immigration and customs, find the currency exchange (you are automatically deducted 10% if you exchange USD), and then jump in a taxi. The thing that hits you most are the fumes. Eugh. It's worse than Bangkok! But then you notice the cars. All brightly coloured and vintage, in various stages of repair. Apparently until 2011 only cars from before 1959 were allowed to be sold, so families pass them down as heirlooms, and the cars are constantly being fixed. How amazing and so much more joyful to look at than the usual boring and monotonous cars that we have.

Old Havana is definitely a faded colonial town, with buildings painted in Iced Jems colours! Very similar to Cartegna, just less vibrant and in worse condition, but then they both had the same colonial power. They are all in various states of disrepair and obviously squeeze in numerous families. For some of them only the facade exists, and there is emptiness behind. 

I checked in to Hotel Plaza, a good 15 steps below the hotel I left this morning, but again all faded glory. The windows don't open, the walls are disintegrating, and you can see daylight through the a/c unit. But at least I have a/c! And a tv, which interestingly shows US channels (although I understand that you can only get the US channels in the hotels, locals can't get them). I went for a bit of a wander along the promenade towards the sea but the sun was going down, and I also received a lot of comments from the local guys, which apparently is normal (!) so I didn't hang around too long. There will be safety in numbers tomorrow. 

The nightlife is currently in full swing, I feel that my room is above a nightclub, but I can hear another 3 all vying to be heard the most. Thank goodness for ear plugs! (It turned out that there was a national celebration going on).