S/V Midnight Sun II and III: Touring Havana, Cuba

Our Tour Driver Alex and his 1958 Chevy Bel Air

What's the best way to tour Havana - in Alex's 1958 Chevy Bel Air of course! So why not give our driver/tour guide and entrepreneur a plug. He's one of Cuba's new generation of private business owners. Alex is a former English teacher who decided to start his own business using the Chevy that has been in his family for three generations now. He told us that under Raul's new regime, he is now allowed to open his own business as a taxi/tour operator but is subject to very high taxes - but still, this beats his incredibly low salary as an English teacher in the Cuban school system.

Here's a shameless plug - if you visit Havana or Veradero and want a great tour, contact our new friend!
Sr. Alex Rodriguez. Cell +53 5281-3523 email: alexcubandriver@gmail.com

Alex took us on a great tour of old Havana, leaving the marina at Veradero at 8:30am, it was about a 2-hour drive to Havana in his 1957 Chevy. Alex told us he was very fortunate as the car has been in his family for 3 generations. There is no open market for cars in Cuba - no car dealerships. The only way new cars get in to Cuba is if the government buys them (for government use or for rental cars), or if foreign diplomat bring them. Private sales of cars is allowed (or if not, happens under the table). This explains why there are so many old cars in Cuba. "So is the car original Alex?".....well not exactly, yes - the body is original, its powered by a 4 cyl. toyota diesel engine, has Toyota brakes and even an aftermarket air conditioner (that works except when the car is climbing a steep hill). The inside was immaculate, but clearly has been re-upholstered. Alex told us that he can pretty much buy anything for the car with sufficient cash. He could sell the car in Cuba for $45-50k - so when Cuba opens up more, don't think there's a market for going over and buying a cheap old Chevy, as the Cubans will probably be in the USA buying ours!

Our first stop was to a roadside restaurant overlooking a river. I don't remember the name of this other than it is locally knows as "mother-in-law bridge". The bridge was apparently American and UK designed.

Here we had the best Pina Colada, while enjoying the view of the river gorge - then onward to Havana.

In Havana, we had the opportunity to visit old Havana, Revolutionary Square, and of course the Floridita - one of Hemingway's favorite bars. Here we enjoyed a daiquari, while listening to the local band, Los Hermanos. I bought a CD, with permission to use it on my video of the trip. Maybe I will be able to upload this to YouTube....usually they kick me out because of my use of copyrighted music.....Ok, that's just a pet peeve of mine.

We ate at a very good restaurant - food better than my definition of "Cuban-good!". The name was La Guarida. Located upstairs in an old ornate building, and they had definately adopted the Hooter's hiring policy! I have photos somewhere.....but not immediately at hand! Maybe I will come back and add them at a later date.

Daiquari at Floridita

Below are a few photos of our tour. During the day, we had plenty of time to chat to our driver/tour guide Alex. This gave us a great insight into Cuban life, tradition, politics etc. Alex seemed to have had a pretty unique life experience. He had spent some time living and working in Finland doing construction work. During this time he had saved his money, then returned to Cuba, using his savings to buy land, build a nice home, and start his taxi/tour business. He seems to represent the "new Cuba", but hopes that change will be slow. He still values some of the Cuban benefits, including free healthcare, very low crime rate, no guns, near zero drugs.