On Arrival

When our plane landed in Cuba, the passengers clapped their hands. I guess most people were going to Cuba the first time like us. It's been a long route, though, because we had to transit through Toronto. Most Canadian tourists prefer resorts such as Varadero, so there are charter flights direct from Vancouver. But to go to Havana, a much lesser choice, Toronto has to be a stop in between. But it turned out that our decision to stay in Havana was a correct one. It was simply not possible to see Havana in a day or two.

The first thing that struck me at the airport was that national flags of many countries were hung from the ceiling. This was the first time I have seen such a decoration in an airport. A very nice gesture indeed. Try and see if you can find the Canadian flag :)



















Cuban Immigration and Customs were surprisingly efficient. To begin with, there were not too many arriving passengers, and it's probably because post-revolution Cuba has opened its doors to foreign tourists since the 90s. So in less than half an hour, we found ourselves sitting in a taxi heading towards the city. The Jose Marti International Airport was about 10 km from the city, so the trip to our hotel was quite short.

We stayed in the Melia Habana, in a district in Havana called Miramar. This area was developed mostly after the revolution of 1959, and currently was considered one of the better-off districts
in the city. The hotel belongs to an international hotel chain called Sol Melia, which operates a variety of standalone and resort hotels in Cuba in partnership with the Cuban government. Since the 90s, tourism has been a major source of income for Cuba after they lost their aid from the Soviet Union.

These hotels are different from the ones, mostly located in Havana (especially Old Havana), which were developed by converting old mansion-like buildings. For those who want to have a taste of how the colonists lived, these "classical hotels" are the better choice than the newly developed hotels such as Melia Habana and similar ones. Of course, there is often an even higher price tag.