Life on the Malecon!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Encompass Tours

Life on Havana’s Malecon; Cuba!

The Malecon is undoubtedly the most popular social scene for young and old in Havana! It’s a “must do” outing for any tourist, and one of our favourite haunts!

The wide wall separating the sea from the city is the “Malecon”, a versatile venue for all kinds of meetings and spontaneous rendezvous!

On one side the ever present rhythm of the ocean, on the other a wall of crumbling colonial buildings that are slowly being restored nowadays! Running between these two, the main road is never very busy. Cars are a luxury few can afford, but this road is the main artery joining old and new Havana and a string of taxis trundle along in both directions. The Malecon stretches on beyond sight and the constant breezes from the sea make it a cool and refreshing place to meet. Who could resist it!

Malecon Havana Cuba

Some days the waves are high and the sea surges over in crashing salty cascades flooding the road and the passersby, but those days are few!

All day fishermen come to cast their lines, some with only a coil of nylon fishing line and other with more sophisticated equipment! Any fish caught will supplement the family diet and well worth spending a few hours waiting for!

As the sun reaches its highest point and the temperatures soar, T shirts are pulled off and children and youths leap into the water to cool off and enjoy a refreshing dip!

Mothers arrive with babies and toddlers and look to the horizon in search of the infrequent ships that bring goods from Venezuela and China into the port! Many point across the water in the direction of Miami and recount stories of brothers and sister, uncles and aunts, who left and have never been back!

It’s an ideal spot for young lovers to have not-so-secret rendezvous and sit smooching in the sun and sipping a can of “tu cola” and dreaming or a future together.

As dusk falls and in the early morning joggers come out in the cool of the day and pound up and down, dripping trails of sweat that evaporate as soon as it touches the baking ground.

Finally, as night falls and the stars shimmer invitingly, small groups of hungry musicians search for opportunities to serenade any tourists who might spare a few pesos in exchange for a popular song.

Musicians of all sorts come out to practice and music drifts in the wind!

In the darkness of the night it’s a place to party! A bottle of Havana Club is a cheap fiesta that can be shared among a group of friends who have nowhere else to meet….

The Malecon is a hot spot! By day or by night it’s the most popular venue of the city! It’s the place where ideas can be exchanged and plans made!

Why not come and enjoy it for yourself! We run tours to Cuba throughout the year!

Cuban Snapshot is a 7 day tour

https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

Mi Cubita is a 14 day tour

https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

British Cuba!?

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Encompass Tours

Did you know that Cuba was once British????

Cuba! The very name conjures up a taste of sugar and rum, the smell of fine cigar tobacco and coffee and the sound of music played to the rhythms of the gentle waves lapping on the shores of this coral island paradise! Cuba is the very essence of a Spanish Caribbean Island, or is it???
You might be surprised to hear that “Yes indeed” Cuba was under British rule ….. for a spell!!

Cuba had been jealously claimed and run by the Spanish Conquistadores who divided it up amongst themselves for cultivation and colonization. Its location made it a perfect stop off for treasures plundered from “New Spain” and South America, heading back to be melted down for the Spanish crown. Goods too made this journey back to Europe and a two way trade developed between Europe and the Americas!

Cuba the island was flat and fertile a readymade breadbasket of the Caribbean! ! The “west Indies” as they were called were crucial in the trade routes between the Americas and Europe and whoever gained a foot hold of these islands could easily control trade!
SUGAR had become an addiction in Europe and Cuba was ideal for cultivation of this crop, but the local populations had long since perished from diseases and over work and the island had been repopulated by slaves captured along with the booty from neighbouring lands. A new source of stronger workers were needed and Slaves from West Africa arrived by the boat load!

Greed and the idea that the world was there for the taking, and could be divided up between the crowns of Europe led the British in 1762 to set sail from Portsmouth for Havana, Cuba! This was no tourist trip! Britain had always prided itself on the power of its Navy! An expedition set off with 5 warships and 4,000 troops! They lay siege for two months on Havana bombarding the city walls and blasted their way through the massive fortifications and defeated the Spanish; this battle cost the lives of 560 British soldiers!!
British rule immediately opened up trade after the heavy restrictions Spain had imposed! Trade was mainly with North American and Caribbean colonies and it transformed the Cuban society. Food, horses and other commodities poured onto the island as well as thousand of slaves from West Africa to work the sugar plantations. The British brought machines and greatly improved all aspects of the sugar industry!

The desire to rule Cuba was all about money and British occupation was short lived! London merchant feared a decline in sugar prices and put pressure on the government to negotiate with Spain over colonial territories! Nine months on with the Paris Treaty the Seven Year War was ended and Britain got Florida in exchange for Cuba!!!! Britain felt it was a poor exchange!!
How sad that hundreds of thousands of Cubans have exchanged their own island for Florida in the 20th and 21st Century!

Read more about Cuba in our Archives Cuba News Posts! If you have a sweet tooth try https://encompasstours.com/2012/05/the-sweetest-sugar-in-the-world/

Why not see Cuba for yourself? Join one of our tours this year!

Our favourite is “A Cuban Snapshot” https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

If you have more time we recommend “Mi Cubita” https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Public Art Gift!

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Encompass Tours

La Conversacion! The conversation

A new work of art has proved its own success by exciting much talk among Cubans and tourists alike in Plaza San Francisco de Asisi; one of the most frequently visited plazas in Havana old city.

“The Arts” have always been supported by the Castro regime in Cuba, and many plazas have noteworthy sculptures on display funded or commissioned by the Cuban government!
Plaza San Francisco can boast more than its fair share!
The newest addition to this spacious plaza, was inaugurated on 25th May 2012. It was donated to the city of Havana by one Vittorio Perrota as a gesture of friendship between France and Cuba. The Conversation “La Conversacion” is the work of French sculptor Etienne who was present at the unveiling ceremony along with Vittorio Perrota, the French ambassador and the historiador de la cuidad de la Havana.

The sculpture itself is a beautiful bronze casting of a conversation between two people in an attitude of serious exchange of ideas! It is mounted on a lovely plinth of Cuba’s finest marble and hidden within this plinth is a box containing French and Cuban coins plus a message for future generations!

The importance of verbal, face to face conversation in this age of text messaging and social networking needs to be emphasised. That conversation is an important part of Cuban life can be seen as its a theme that runs through many artworks in Cuba where all have been unable to voice their beliefs and ideas freely since liberation in 1959. The figures have parts missing from their bodies allowing a clear view through to the plaza beyond. The spaces are in many ways the most interesting aspect of this intriguing sculpture, like the things unsaid in a conversation that help us to read between the lines and understand what people really mean to say.

Follow this links to read and see some of the other artefacts adorning the plaza San Francisco in Havana.
https://encompasstours.com/2012/04/legendary-characters-of-old-havana/

And for more conversation themed sculpture in Camaguey
https://encompasstours.com/2012/08/meet-the-artist/

Why not join us and see it all for yourself? If you only have a week then we recommend “A Cuban Snapshot”
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

If you have more time to explore then “Mi Cubita” would be our choice for you!
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Day of the Barber

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Encompass Tours

Dia Del Barbero y Peluquero!

Cubans, like most of us, enjoy making much of celebrations and special days!

Here in Europe we are about to celebrate the biggest festival on our calendars with huge commercial build up over the last three months, over eating and drinking etc. It’s almost impossible to get away from the razzmatazz and present buying frenzy of Christmas! How different is the Cuban experience where religion was banned 53 years ago at the time of the Castro revolution of 1959! The laws have since been relaxed, but religious events are only marked by a very few people and do not hold the huge significance and commercialism that the majority of the Christian world puts upon them.

During December there are some Christmas decorations displayed in some private houses, hotels and other tourist destinations, but for most people it’s just another day. Havana has a wonderful baroque Cathedral in the old city and here you always find an enormous Christmas tree just outside the main doors and a large nativity scene constructed in the Cathedral Plaza. It’s quite an attraction for tourists and locals alike and the midnight service on Christmas Eve sees the Cathedral full to over flowing!

The 27^th of December however is a day marked by all Cubans, as it is the “dia del barbero y peluquero” and will be a day of holidays and fiestas for all the hard working barbers!

The “day of the barber and hairdresser” was created in 1946 in memory of a certain Juan Evangalista Valdez Veitia. Juan Evangalista was born on this day in 1836 in Villa Clara and died in 1918. He worked as barber, journalist, poet, historian and revolutionary, and as you can see from the photograph, he sported a fine moustache! It was in his barbers shop that plans were discussed and strategies put in place during the War of Independence 1895-1898, and for this activity he is revered!

These days barbers and hairdressers are as plentiful in Cuba as ever and as a tourist you can enjoy a somewhat old fashioned style shave or trim with cut throat razors and scissors. The machinery may be low tech, but the high techniques, expertise and dedication by your barber are a match to any swanky London salon! Cubans like to chat and gossip and barbers worldwide are renown for cultivating an ambient conducive to doing exactly that and are always a buzzing local.

If you are visiting Cuba at this time of year remember can be quite cold and breezy at night so make sure you pack a shawl for evening walks and outside dining, especially if you have just had your hair cut or your beard shaved off!!!!

Enjoy a holiday in Cuba with our popular holidays “A Cuban Snapshot” https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

“Mi Cubita” https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Our groups are small and our attention personal!

Matanzas Coffee Break

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Encompass Tours

Coffee in Colonial Style

Coffee is among the most important and valuable commodities traded around the world, and what luck that Cuba has a delicious supply home grown! Lucky too that the US trade embargo makes it difficult to export and it remains on the island to be enjoyed almost exclusively by Cubans and tourists visiting the island!

But finding a great cup of coffee anywhere is never easy even with coffee plantations on the door step.

Should you find yourself in Matanzas during your tour of Cuba, head directly to the historical centre and you will be delighted to find the beautiful colonial Hotel Velasco fronting one side of the plaza. The original grand entrance is framed by huge solid Cuban marble pillars and many features of its historic grandeur remain or have been restored. The effect is delightful! The beautiful wooden bar is light and airy and here alongside the ample cocktail menu, you can enjoy the best coffee in Matanzas from an authentic Italian espresso machine! Their coffee is not home roasted direct from a plantation, but its good quality Cuban coffee from the Sierra Maestra branded “Serrano”. Presentation is all a part of the experience!

While you are sipping at the bar, you might be planning your tour of the city which is well known for its 17 bridges crossing the three rivers Rio Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar. If you are staying in the city for the day there are a number of museums you might like to visit on your walking tour or there are various day trips, including trips to the lovely beaches of Varadero further up the coast.

Matanzas is known as “la Atenas de Cuba” (the Athens of Cuba) due to its fame for poetry and poets! The city was founded in 17^th century by royal decree and settled by 30 families from the Canary Islands. It was an important city in the production and exportation of sugar! This industry was labour intensive and the original indigenous peoples who had been enslaved soon died from disease and poor working and living conditions that were imposed on them by the Spanish. The settlers needed to expand their work force which they did with importation of thousands and thousands of African slaves who eventually dominated the population of this area. African traditions remain predominant in the musical history of this city to this day and a type of Rumba is typical of Matanza!

The name Matanzas means “massacre” and refers to an incident in which Spanish soldiers clad in heavy armour, were mounting an attack on a local community. This required them to cross one of the rivers and they commandeered some local fishermen and their boats! Half way across the river the fishermen retaliated and capsized the boats. The Spanish in their heavy armour had no chance to survive and all drowned.

See Cuba for your self on one of our fabulous tours. Read more by clicking on the links below.