It started well at the Air NZ lounge in Auckland with chaise lounge like chairs, brandy and a nice lamb tagine. Premium economy on the flight to LA was bearable with an empty seat neat to me so I managed to put my feet up and sleep in 45 minute blocks. It all went horribly wrong at LAX when we did a tour to Terminal 1 and Terminal 6 where we came up empty handed and returned to Tom Bradley where we sat in a cafe for several hours until we were able to check in at Terminal 6 and hang out in the Alaskan airlines lounge. Nice lounge but not worth it for the 1 1/2 hours we had.
Flight to Panama and then Havana was hideous. Airline was fine (but it's no Air NZ), but I was so tired and couldn't sleep. Fortunately Havana airport was a breeze. They all lost interest when they saw our NZ passports. There was a man waiting for us with our names on a sign (I've always wanted to be that person) and we were soon in an air conditioned taxi into the city.
Traffic was a mix of Ladas, small Japanese and European cars, an assortment of bikes and work vehicles, and the ubiquitous classic cars in various states of disrepair. I was quite impressed with the count down timers on the red and green lights. Very sensible. We went past loads of buildings and statues that I'm sure I'll learn more about in the next few weeks.
After a nap, a second nap, and a cold shower, we hit the streets. The covered boulevards led us to Cafe Louvre in the Hotel Inglaterra, the oldest hotel in Cuba according to the guide book. The cafe is on a wide covered terrace, there's a band playing, and the world is going by on the street right next to you (including a guy with a parrot on his shoulder selling pictures - we'd just yesterday read that Havana was an old pirate town back in the day). Toasted ham and cheese sandwich (apparently we're going to eat a lot of these), salad of avocado, cooked carrots and beans, sliced cabbage and cucumber with no dressing, and cafe con leche. I doubt my food posts on this trip are going to make my sister envious like they have on other trips.
Then it was back to wandering the streets into the old town, taking pictures, avoiding "land mines" (dog poo), and saying no thank you to many offers of a taxi.
We had our first scam attempt with a couple asking mum to take their picture with her camera and then email it to them. After a bit of a chat, they asked for soaps and shampoos from the hotel. We politely said no and made our farewells none the worse for wear.
Now we just need to stay awake until a decent hour.
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