Tag Archives: Havana

British Cuba!?

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

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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!!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!CamagueyEmilio2012126

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/

Day of the Barber

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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 27th 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!

Ferry to Casa Blanca

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If you are walking down the “malecon” (coastal road fronting the sea wall)  in Havana toward the harbour and Bahia of La Habana, your eyes will be drawn to the lighthouse (faro) standing proud on the cliff edge protecting one of Cuba’s spectacular natural harbours, the bay of Havana!  The lighthouse stands on the end of a promontory strongly fortified with huge walls and battlements, built by the Spanish Conquistadors to defend the city against pirates and other bounty seeking invaders. Opposite stands the old city of Havana, once a jewel of the Caribbean!

A road tunnel now links Havana to the other side of the bay, but locals who live in Casa Blanca (a community on the other side) make the crossing to and fro on the ferry to get to work and school. If you like boat trips then the ferry to Casa Blanca will be one you’ll enjoy, and once there you can walk up the hill to the statue of Blanco Cristo (White Christ) and enjoy the view.

The ferry has a vauge time table…. It starts running around 6.30 to 7am and stops around 9.30 to 10pm and the crossing takes about 5 minutes.

Once you have located the pier, which is opposite the new Russian Orthodox Church you will need to go through the police check point and join the queue which is undercover on the pier. The police will want to look inside your bags and require men to empty their pockets and maybe even do a body search!!!  All a bit strict for a short ferry crossing you might think??

Well NO! In fact two or three ferries have been hijacked and sailed with all their passengers to foreign shores, namely the USA, where all Cubans are welcomed with open arms and helped to settle in! Another victory for the capitalists!!

The story of one famous hijack is worth repeating!

One day as the ferry left Casa Blanca to cross the bay a whole bunch of people boarded in party spirit.  Through the police check with their crates of beer, bottles of rum, pots of food and snacks, tambores, maracas, guitaras, singing,  dancing, laughing & joking. Men, women, children, adolescents, babies etc a big family outing!  You get the picture!! An outing with a surprise! Half way across the bay the ferry turned left and headed out to sea, party still in full swing!! This change of route was noticed by the security police on the pier who notified the coast guard. The coast guard was not quick off the mark as they thought something on the lines of..“well the ferry has hardly any fuel they won’t get far!” How wrong they were! This had been well planned. The crates of beer were full but the bottles were full of fuel not beer and so the ferry partied on to Miami!!!

So if you still want to chance the crossing, join the queue in the line marked Casa Blanca and when the ferry appears pay your peso to the official and jump on board!

The price you pay for the ferry is one peso moneda nacional MN (not tourist money CUC) and before you start thinking this is very cheap, please remember that an average Cuban monthly salary is $20 to $40 US so that is only 500 to 1,000 pesos MN.

Once on the ferry find a safe place to stand and hang on! Bicycles and other small cargo are allowed at no extra cost provided there is space. The journey is pretty smooth and eventless normally but you might want to take note of where they keep the life jackets!

Exit the ferry and the ferry terminal at Casa Blanca and ahead of you a road leads up through a small park onto a road that leads to the statue of Jesus Blanco. For the last few months he has been encased in scaffolding but there is a view point worth reaching and the walk up takes about 10 to 15 minutes from the pier.

Proceedure for the return ferry is exactly the same but if you don’t fancy it or are in a hurry you can always catch a taxi and return by the tunnel. If you have lots of time to spare then why not head up to the lighthouse or visit the old fort which is open to visitors for aprox. 10CUC

It’s a lovely view over the old city and the bay is cleaner now than it used to be before the iron curtain fell and cut of the plentifull trade from this once thriving port!

If you fancy a trip to Cuba and want some company why not join one of our small group tours. No more than 8 in a group with a dedicated tour leader throughout. Read more on our tours pages.

For a short tour try “Cuban Snapshot”
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

If you have more time then “Mi Cubita” covers two weeks
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Read more about Cuba in our news posts.

San Lazaro

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Cuba’s Favourite Saint

Catholicism came to Cuba with the original Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century and despite efforts to ban religions of all kinds following the revolution of 1959, it remains outwardly the dominant religion of the day. The churches have all reopened and been repaired, the pope has visited twice giving Cubans his blessing, and people are able to freely practice their chosen religion without fear of persecution.

“Santaria” is the name given to the Cuban form of the African religions brought over with the slaves from West Africa. Cuban life is steeped in the beliefs of Santaria which has always managed to survive underground practiced by people in the worst conditions imaginable who gained from it their strength to survive. Although it is now recognised as a religion in its own right and openly practised it is so ingrained into the beliefs and culture of the island that it adopts and transforms the Catholic saints and embodies them with its own deities, and vice versa in a sort of symbiotic relationship!!

The saint most celebrated in Cuba is San Lazaro! He was the poorest of the poor. He ate the scraps from under the tables and even the dogs licked his sores, so the stories tell us. He was famously raised from the dead by Jesus and himself became a saint.

Who can not feel sorry for San Lazaro? He is the saint for whom so many Cubans feel a great sense of empathy.

San Lazaro has a dedicated following in Cuba his Sanatrian self is “Babalu Aye” (ref Rough Guide to Cuba)

December 17th is his saint day and the preceding day, December 16th, is the day of peregrination. The devotees begin their dedications and demonstrations of self sacrifice in Santiago de las Vegas and culminate their 5 to 6 kilometre journey at the Sanctuary of his name adjacent to and in the grounds of the old Hospital on the out skirts of El Rincon, a suburb of Havana.

They are a conspicuous procession, dressed in dirty old clothes or tunics made from old sacks for the occasion. Barefoot or with special rope shoes if not on their knees, some even spread-eagle themselves on the ground face down on the earth. They might carry wooden crosses or other burdens and slowly painfully make their procession to the feet of their saint. On reaching the Sanctuary they make their pledges and promises in return for cures received or hoped for, for themselves, for relatives or friends. Many also renew their promises to fulfil pre existing devotional pacts with San Lazaro for favours done and cures received.

On the streets of Havana there are many devotees who walk the streets carrying small statues of San Lazaro and collecting money for Cuba’s favourite saint!

Join us on one of our tours!

If you have only one week try “A Cuban Snapshot”
https://encompasstours.com/tours/a-cuban-snapshot-7-days/

For those with more time to spare try “Mi Cubita”
https://encompasstours.com/tours/mi-cubita-cuba14-days/

Coffee Break Havana!!

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Coffee  Break al la Francia!

Its not VERY French but “Café Francesa” is the closest most Cubans have ever been to Paris! It’s a popular spot in a busy area and attracts an interesting mixture of clients!! Photos of the Eiffel Tower and other famous views of Paris in black and white are on display inside which is decorated in delicate shades of pink! !

On the covered terrace facing onto Parque Central, there are about ten tables and chairs and inside another five. The menu is not extensive, but you can buy basic sandwiches, and a good range of cakes, pastries, and bread to eat in or take away The coffee is normally good and the usual soft drinks, beers and spirits are available too.

Francia is located between Hotel Telegrafo and Hotel Inglaterra on Parque Central and is a very popular spot day and night where you can while away some time watching the world go by. The opening hours are 8am till midnight and due to its central location in the Hotel zone of old Havana where all tourist pass through, the colourful ladies and independent businessmen it attracts for commercial opportunities and meetings is apparent!

You won’t hear any French music, but the outdoor group playing daily at Hotel Iglaterra  always  provides a nice background of Cuban popular tunes.

 

Want to see for your self?

Join us on tour in October!

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