#but there could be tasty intersections here to explore!!! whole meals!!!!

[yj-98]

i think that if anyone was gonna write "angst" abt tim and being bi/coming out it should be about how jack drake died before tim could tell him. that despite the complicated relationship he had with a parent who wouldve, couldve, been horrible about it, tim never got the choice to tell him (or janet. i love you janet i know you wouldve supported your little guy)

like. the evidence that your parent would react horribly but the need for them to accept you and jack drake who's primary way of bonding with his kid was trying to make him a mans man (but not That kind. yk.) and clearly expected tim to be cisheterosexual vs the reality of a bisexual kid who has a lot of stake in identities and disguises. and like. jack had to grapple with the fact that tim was robin (famously.) but like

idk sorry i just think it would eat at tim. like. part of the guilt of losing the parent you have this complicated relationship with would also be tied to the "they never really knew me, they didnt get the chance or give me the space to tell them" and feeling guilty and sad that you Couldnt come out. and Not Knowing howd they wouldve reacted. and how that could tie to real internalized bullshit! because that is also an lgbt experience! especially with parent death!

#forgive me if i am. incorrect btw but from what i have seen of tims stuff in recent years #there is a focus on like...... feeling guilty over jacks murder! bc tim felt powerless to stop it! #and hes a little control freak <- mostly a joke i do love him #so its especially poignant #and theres focus on his bisexuality and exploring what He Wants #but there could be tasty intersections here to explore!!! whole meals!!!! #rook.log

[cosmicsonglines]

Pssst, Taxi? … Boyfriend? …Wifi?

My Cuban Chronicles

It’s been 56 years since the Cuban Revolution, and the spray-painted signs all over crumbling, yet vibrant Havana won’t let you forget. Yes, stepping out of the airport and into Havana is like entering a time capsule, but there’s something more complex going on. My friends & I immediately sensed that Havana housed parallel worlds. There’s the world of the ordinary Cubans struggling daily, and that of the yuma, or foreigner, in town on a vacation. They exist simultaneously, yet rarely collide.

Cubans don’t even use the same currency as tourists, they use moneda nacional (MN). It’s worth about 24 cents to 1 CUC. MN isn’t even accepted at any of the places tourists go. All Cubans who are not in tourism have a side hustle because even doctors and engineers make 25 CUC a month (what it costs to get from the airport to the city). Taxi drivers make more than professionals. As such, you’ll find a lot of ex-engineer cabbies. Almost everyone uses the black market to get by, to get things that Americans would consider basic necessities. Many Cubans receive weekly (illegal) USB “packets” with all the new movies and more, to compensate for the lack of internet access.

As part of the emerging private sector (20% of the economy), I found that airbnb hosts were at this odd intersection, straddling the parallel worlds described above. I recommend staying with an airbnb Superhost — they can help arrange taxis for you, get you additional services like a cook, bartender, or masseuse (often the same person), and they can also call in reservations for you, which brings me to a few tips I wish I’d known beforehand.

Top Tips: 

Make reservations in advance if there’s somewhere special you want to eat, especially at the following restaurants:

El Cocinero

Los Naranjos

Doña Euitmia

San Cristobal (where Jay-Z & Beyonce & Obama went)

La Guarida

I found this a bit shocking but you really do need reservations even on weeknights. Old Havana is small and there are only a handful of raved about dinner spots - this makes sense considering that regular Cubans cannot afford to go to any of these tourist spots.

Exchange your USD to EUR at the airport in the states and then exchange EUR for CUC (1 EUR = 1 CUC) at the airport in Havana - once you leave the airport, there are very few places to exchange in the city (maybe 2) and they are very slow.

Bring more than enough cash. American money is ok, but you can’t exchange USD there without a 10% fee. You won’t be able to use your credit card or withdraw money from the ATM. Budget about $100 USD a day and that should be more than enough, not including accommodation. Most meals cost about $10 and cocktails cost $3-4, and beer $2.

Off the beaten path are really cheap local bakeries selling bread to locals for $.04 a loaf and street vendors hawking fresh fruit for $.50. Street food consists of sandwiches.

As always, confirm the amount with your taxi river before getting in. There are no metered taxis. A cab from the airport to Old Havana should be about $25. It cost us $25 to get to Santa Fe from the airport as well. Both trips take about 30 min.

Before you leave, download the Cuba App from iTunes - it will work offline & the map will combine clutch. The GPS will work while your phone is on airplane mode.

Be prepared to have absolutely no wifi. There is wifi in select spots but it's usually a pain to connect.

Take the time to learn a few key Spanish phrases like:

“Necesito ir a…” means “I need to go to…”

“¿Dónde está…” when you’re asking about where something is.

“¿Cuánto cuesta?” = “How much does it cost?”

“¿Puedo ver un menú, por favor? ” which means “Can I see a menu please?” You could also say “Necesito una mesa para dos, por favor” which means “I need a table for two, please.”

To order a drink at the bar, say “Me gustaria un/a … por favor.” So if you want a beer, it would be “Me gustaria una cerveza por favor.”

My shitty Spanish was enough to get us by, but it wasn't enough to ensure things didn't go wrong when trying to iron out the details. This trip solidified my resolve to become fluent in Spanish.

The Trip

Day 1: We arrived in Havana and had dinner at the house in Santa Fe, which is a suburb (consejo popular) about 15 min. west of Havana. I was there for one of my best friend’s bachelorette party & we wanted an escape from the city and not to have to split up the group. So our house was perfect for those purposes. It was right on the water and had a small pool. They are installing an infinity pool soon, which will be amazing.

After dinner at the house, we took a taxi into Old Havana and wandered by one of many bars that was playing music, dancers spilling outside onto the cobblestone street. That was the spot where we got inadvertently hustled by a guy named Lando who told us that, “today is the salsa festival” nah, dude…everyday is a salsa festival here.

He then took us to get the “best mojitos” at an Irish pub. We took one sip and it was apparent that we were being hustled. Soon his friend joined us and we noticed them getting some kind of commission for bringing us to this bar. Then there was the whole Buena Vista Social Club fiasco - we told them we were planning to see the band and they told us they knew where we could get tickets.

They took us to Legendarios del Guajirito. It was some bogus place, overpriced and full of older, cruise ship type folk. AVOID at all costs.

Lando was charming & polite, but definitely a hustler.

Day 2: The one good thing Lando told us about was Santa Maria, a local beach about 20 min. by taxi - free chairs and umbrellas. 2 CUC for a chaise lounge.

We drank plenty of coco locos (coconuts filled with rum, $4) and jammed out with our floatable speaker. Our driver Luis chilled with us the entire day and watched our stuff in exchange for a beer or two (but I think he would've done it anyway).

That night we showed up at El Cocinero for dinner, without a reservation, and it was impossible to get a table. So, we walked to the closest restaurant, which was 1830. That place had terrible “second wedding vibes” as my friend aptly put it. The interior had a retro colonial look. The service was poor and the food was lacking, especially considering the price. I hear 1830 is known for good outdoor salsa after 10pm, however.

Afterwards, we headed to the outdoor club Don Cangrejo, on the water. The band went on at midnight. The singer was so suave and grinded his way into my heart. Regrettably, I can’t remember his name but his selfies (flashing on screen behind him) are etched into my memory.

It was weird that there were all these tables instead of a clear dance floor- people just stood up and danced at their table, or right below the stage.

They say NYC is the city that never sleeps, but I don’t think the originator of that saying has visited Havana. In Havana, the party doesn’t get started until after midnight. The clubs are dead before then so plan accordingly.

Day 3: We explored Old Havana, had drinks and a tasty bite at 304. Then toured the city in an old hot pink convertible, wandered round markets, and stumbled upon a free art gallery with some interesting pieces composed of repurposed trash and used objects.

La Bodeguita Del Medio: where the Mojito was invented and a Hemingway hangout. They play good live music (so do most places) and the Mojitos are the best. People gather outside on the street.

La Floridita: Another Hemingway hangout, equipped with Hemmingway statue at the bar. This is the home of the Daiquiri. A lot of older people, but the tasty drink was worth it.

That night, we had an amazing dinner at Doña Eutimia,a traditional restaurant in Old Havana. It’s at the end of Callejón Del Chorro, an alley full of restaurants, to the right. The food is amazing and cheap and the frozen mojito is the specialty of the house.

We had all heard about Fabrica de Arte (FAC) which is a relatively new art space right next to El Cocinero. It’s a gallery plus music venue/experiential art space. Some dudes said it was 10 CUC to cut the line - I was with 5 girls & couldn’t cut the line without paying, which we opted not to do.

We consoled ourselves by agreeing it was pretty much like a Bushwick warehouse party.

Instead, we had drinks at El Cocinero’s rooftop - so many people from Brooklyn!!

El Cocinero is an old cooking oil factory in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana.

Day 4: Viñales day trip - countryside about 2 1/2 hours away.

Taxi there and back: 100 CUC

We went horseback riding through limestone hills and tobacco fields. Our tour included tasting honey made by bees underground, rum with a special type of guava only found in that region of Cuba, a coffee farm, a lake, and a cave.

(A 4-hour tour for 20 CUC per person; cave entry 2 CUC.) 

We had a true farm-to-table lunch & the best piña colada i have ever had in my life.

When we got back, we had dinner across from 304, at FRENTE. Unfortunately, they had rude service. The food was good, but they’d run out of all the seafood on the menu (we got there around 10pm).

Although I wasn’t able to perforate the tourist parallel world and experience life like a local and I came away with more questions than answers, I still have a fondness for the self-reliance I saw and tremendous kindness I experienced.

#havana #cuba #guide #vinales #travel #cubans #bachelorette party #americans in cuba #habana #old havana #habana vieja