Havana, Cuba {2023 Travelogue} - Part I with Film School Road Trip

I have always been fascinated by Cuba. As the largest island in the Caribbean, known primarily for rum, cigars, and classic cars, I have always wanted to visit but didn’t know where to start. I had been following Film School Road Trip for a few years, but the Cuba workshop seemed seemed so unattainable. I reached out before to ask for more details and of course it wasn’t cheap. It's an investment, but as someone who has retired from photography, was it really worth it for me to go? I had talked to The Boyfriend about it before, and after meeting Jon IRL, he told Jon that I was definitely interested in going. Next thing I know, Jon reached out to me with more details, and I take the plunge and pay that deposit to save my spot in the workshop. The group sizes are very reasonable, and the expectation is that we all will have one on one time with Jon with any questions we have as well. Travel to Cuba as an American citizen is intimidating and going with a group like this makes it that much easier! Plus, it is legal to do so under any of these categories (Link to the US Embassy in Cuba).

(Quick update note - Jon had a session set for January of 2025 and it was booked up in three days. He has since added a second session in February for those who wanted to go next year.)

Jon created a Facebook group for us to all meet and discuss all things Cuba, and was happy to answer all of the questions that popped up, gave us detailed itineraries (planned everything – where to stay, where to eat – during the workshop it’s all inclusive with some restrictions like if you wanted to buy omiyage or extra drinks on top of the ones that came with dinner), and told us all we needed to think about what we wanted to get out of the workshop/trip. He also wanted us to consider how to be deliberate with what we photograph “What do you want to say with your images? Look, it is really easy to come away with beautiful photos of Cuba. The cars, the people, the touristy things. But let’s dig deeper…. It’s easy pickins for pretty photos. I get it. I fall into its allure as well. But all I’m asking is for us to dig deeper. What do you want to say? What do you want to portray? Come in with an idea and be open enough to have said idea be absolutely trashed and replaced with whatever presents itself to you.”  

I was the only one heading out from Sacramento, and I am always reminded of how much of a pain it is to fly to anywhere on the East Coast. When I looked at flights, they all had layovers with two or more stops which made me question just how much I wanted to go. Jon had us wait a bit more before buying tickets and by then - he was absolutely correct to wait - because there were more flight options and I just had the one layover instead of two.  

Bay Bridge at dusk

The drive from Sacramento to SFO took about two hours. I stressed on and off during the drive because JetBlue kept sending update emails telling me to get to the airport early (three hours for Cuba). I was three hours early, and it was more than enough time. Checking in, you can't use the kiosks (although again, it's a crapshoot. Others in the group were able to check in using a kiosk). A message pops up to say that you are trying to travel to a restricted region, as if you are doing something illegal (again, it's not). I went over to the agent who was very nice and told me about how her parents want to go to Cuba as well someday. She told me that she heard it's like traveling back in time, and asked if I was going to try and smoke a cigar. I said that it's definitely on the list! She then gave me a little JetBlue wing sticker and told me to have fun. 

My rolls of film I brought for the workshop, of which the TSA agent swabbed individually.

Figured I wouldn't have any Vietnamese food for a while so gave this place a try

This chicken pho was surprisingly good for overpriced airport food!

My flight from SFO departed Thursday night and landed at Ft. Lauderdale Friday morning at 6:33am, which still felt like 3:33am to me, even with the sun shining brightly. The guy next to me on the flight kept bumping into me, which was, needless to say, annoying. I slept maybe three hours on a flight that was almost five hours long. 

Ft. Lauderdale's airport is tiny. It's so small that I was able to check out all of the terminals and have extra time to spare. They have Harvest Ground for coffee, and charge a premium $7 for a latte, $5.45 for a cold brew. I ended up buying a cold brew and a banana because it still felt like 3am, and I'm food that early made me feel queasy.

Wearing a mask this entire time felt super gross. Walking around with all of my carry on luggage made it extra hot (I did not have a rolly bag - I ended up checking it because of the bottle of bug spray I packed). Even with a t shirt, I regretted wearing pants (it was cold in Sacramento and San Francisco when I left). The forecast for Havana is 90 degrees with a lot of humidity. If you look at the map, Havana is well below the Tropic of Cancer.

I had six hours to burn before my flight. There was a flight to Havana that departed at 7:30am, but I guess they want you to have more time to get to the gate and buy a visa. It was very quiet and I had plenty of time to wander. I found the gate and tried to buy my visa, but there was no one there. I wandered around a few of the shops and picked up some Dramamine for the car ride to Vinales, because knowing me, I'll get car sick.

Really wished I had brought my skates. I wanted to, but space ran out real quick after loading up more than half of my bag with basic necessities for the people. I lug everything around and sit in a rocking chair for a while, reading a book. What I should have done was bring a bigger bag instead of thinking about how easy it would be to just roll a bad and have another carry on with it.

About two hours before my flight, I find an agent at the gate and tell him I need to get a visa for Cuba. He tells me that I don't need to get one so early and that I can come back later and get one if I want, but I'm already there, so tell him I might as well get it now. I handed him my passport and "informacion Adelantada Delivajero" and paid the $50 using card (credit or debit only), and he handed me a pink slip (a blank visa form - the pink is for Americans entering Cuba - green is for other nationalities entering Cuba) and stamped my ticket to show that my documents have been checked. He told me I didn't need to print the Viajeros card and that just the QR code on my phone would have been good enough. You live and you learn.

From Ft. Lauderdale, the flight to Havana is less than an hour. I watch as we fly by Miami, and at no point do we stop seeing land (it's about 90 miles away). As we fly over Cuba, I can see that they are having controlled burns. 

After deplaning, I made sure to have my passport, visa, and Viajeros paper ready for the customs agents. Before you can get to the customs officers though, there are a row of tables with people in lab coats. They just want to see the QR code so they can scan it, and wave you forward. I read online that sometimes they will check you for a cold (this worried me as I was concerned about being singled out as the only Asian on the flight), but they didn't seem to do that to anyone that I could see. There were only two customs agents working when I got up to the front of the line, and she kept saying something to me in Spanish. So much regret for not learning Spanish in high school, or even after moving to California. She repeated the same thing over and over and finally grabbed the pink visa and pointed at it. I had left it completely blank, thinking that they would fill it out since it's an official form. She hands me a pen and I fill it out quickly. You'll need to fill out both sides and hand it to the agent with your passport. They will stamp it, and if you ask for them to stamp your passport, they will do that as well. They didn't ask if I wanted my passport stamped, and I wasn't sure if I should do it anyway, because I didn't want to be harassed more than normal at customs (the ones at SFO are super rude to me every time I pass through and don't seem to believe it when they dig through all of my belongings and don't find what they are looking for). After stamping my documents, they wave me forward and I have to send everything through an X-ray machine. It's then that I realize that lack of sleep really messed me up and I let my film go through without asking for a hand check, including my 3200 ISO film. I'm just ready to not be in transit.

So of course, I walk briskly towards the exit door that beckons me. I am almost out when a lady stops me. She looks sternly at me, trying to find something. She eventually says, "passport" and I hand it over to her. She takes a look and waves me on.

The first thing I see outside is a tan dog lying down on the sidewalk. The hot humid air blasts me so hard I do not even pull out my cellphone to take a picture of the dog. I want to walk towards the dog to pet him, but I remember where I am and that I am looking for a driver to take me to the casa. There are people waiting, but not an overwhelming amount. I spot him pretty quickly, and am thankful he has a sign with my name on it. I have no idea what to say, so I ask, "Eddy's friend?" He smiles and pulls out his phone. I see him pull up Google Translate to try and tell me his name, which I saw was Jorge. I didn't get a good look at the translation, but it said something about "the revenge of". He takes my luggage and I feel weird because I am used to carrying my own. We walk maybe 200 feet to a small parking lot where other cars are filled with waiting drivers napping. I feel an excited chill pass over me as I see all of the Bel Airs lined up. He opens the trunk of a beautiful purple and silver Bel Air, and I want to cry. I get in the car as he closes the trunk and I snap a quick picture of the gorgeous dash. The big bagless steering wheel is white, there is an aftermarket CD player, and a Cuban flag in the middle, waving, telling me that yes, this is real. I am here. I kept telling myself I didn't want this bad enough because if I never made it to Cuba, I would just be sad. But, here I am. Sitting in this beautiful car, and life is good.

I take it all in, as the drive lasts about 30 minutes. I feel awkward not conversing with Jorge, but he seems ok with it. I want to record videos and pictures right away. Of everything. I want to memorize the look so I can think about it and remember it for years to come. Instead, I hold back. I don't want to be an annoying tourist. So, I just continue to take it all in, staring at everything, ecstatic that my view included the pretty purple dash. I breathe in the diesel fumes and think of the Philippines. I admire the cars from the 50s, not just the Bel Airs, but the the Peugeots, motorcycles with side cars, crammed buses full of people (where the doors don't close and I think again of the Philippines). It's not until we pass Revolution Square that I feel ok whipping out my phone to photograph a red Willy. A real Willy, not the new remade ones with all of the tech inside. It is next to a banyan tree. 

Awesome red Willy in front of a banyan tree, with a blue Bel Air peeking out

At the casa, I head upstairs and find everyone already there, and it's a bit overwhelming because I am bad with names and remembering faces, and they all seem comfortable with each other. Thankfully, Jon shows me to my room "The Allegra" - and tells me to get ready for the beach. I'm overstimulated. I take a few pictures of the room, the itinerary, and jump into a swim suit. Grab the GRIII and GA645, and bounce. 

The bar in the "lobby." Casa Hablis also has wifi. Wifi is hard to come by in Cuba so I had planned on just being completely disconnected from everyone. The wifi is a bit slow and drops occasionally, but was great for messaging, or looking up a location before heading out. That said, be sure to download Maps.me for offline map usage. I was the only one who had it and as someone who likes knowing all the details (like where I am), I found it comforting.

Every time I saw a Bel Air or the Cuban flag, I was filled with excitement. It was hard to find a cab, but I was enjoying watching all the people and cars go by. Half of the group found a cab while the second half of us kept on looking for one. We eventually found one at the El Presidente Hotel. The cab was a yellow Emgrand. 

The view while looking for a cab. The clouds in Cuba were amazing the entire visit

The Emgrand - my first time seeing one

As we drove down the Malecon, I couldn't help but continue to feel super excited. Knowing that this was the road everyone drives on in the movies (I am a big movie nerd who has the IMDB app). It was also exciting because the view is absolutely gorgeous. About thirty minutes later, we pass a checkpoint, round a few tight corners, and we're there. 

We passed by the famous Cuba sign on the way to the beach. Again, look at those clouds!

We arrive soon at Santa Maria La Playa. The sun is setting and it's beautiful. It's still warm, even the though the sun is going down. I wasn't sure about jumping into the water, but I do. I am very self conscious, especially with all of the cameras around. But no one else seemed to care, so I dove in and it feels refreshing after all of those hours in the airport and on airplanes.

After the sun goes down, we pack up our stuff and head back to the taxis. Back at the casa, we all change and get ready for dinner. Jon has talked about the bar at the top of the tallest building in Havana for a while, so we are all excited about it and walk over, all ready to eat. It takes about 30 minutes to walk to La Torre. We tried to get in, but we had the wrong elevator at first. When we got to the correct elevator, the doorman took one look at us and said NO. There was 10 minutes of them not allowing us to go up, until they asked about our seating. Jon tells us he’s always gone up to the bar, and not the restaurant, which was the secret. We pull a few tables together and everyone orders mixed drinks. I ordered a beer. Cristal Extra – the local beer, listed in the menu as Cervesas Nacional. I end up having a few and it was so good after the day that seemed never ending (for reference, it tasted very similar to Sapporo).

 Cristal Extra

My seatmade and I order ceviche (delicious), camarones (very creamy and delicious), lobster carpaccio (delicious), and my main was lobster and grilled fish. It was a bit overcooked but very good. Out of all of the items, the lobster carpaccio was hands down my favorite. Slightly cool, very sweet like a Hokkaido scallop, but with that savory lobster flavor. I appreciated that no one made fun of me for eating any of this. 

Spiny lobster carpaccio

Creamy ceviche

Lobster and grilled fish - the lobster here was slightly overcooked and really felt it after having that lovely lobster carpaccio. We were unable to say with confidence what the pierogi looking things are, but it was very much like a pierogi.

The view from La Torre

I hope you enjoyed day one as much as I did! This wasn't even a full day, and the idea of blogging it all, sitting down and really organizing my thoughts took a lot of effort, but I do want to get it out there for others to see, and for me to remember. In case you are curious, we stayed at Calis Habana which was a great place. Very quiet, just a few blocks from the Malecon, has a restaurant (with home cooking), bar, comfortable beds, and a bathroom in each room. Breakfast was also available and included fresh fruit and coffee. I will be trying to share locations of places, but what I have read is that locals know things by their original street names, and at some point the government changed the names, so there are two names for each street. 

Stay tuned for part II!