Havana Cuba 6th January 2020

I booked the casa on Airbnb in Florida, Pedro and Marilys the managers offered to send a taxi to pick us up and show us where to get a sim card (we needed this for school) and CUC money.
The taxi driver was waiting for us with our name on a card. We were a bit late because of Lucys vet check and the unicycle check. Some delay with the electric unicycles to get another import declaration form as they only had one and it took a while to complete with lots of hand writing by the official with well used carbon paper. The ATM is easy to find, it is right at the exit. We were told our hosts had the phone sim card for us so we didn't need to try and get one at the airport.

Our first home in Cuba, we did not stay in Hotels because they are expensive for five and of course Lucy would not be allowed in.
This Casa was three flights up, we were met by P and M. Derek asked about the phone sim and Pedro took it out of his phone and gave his sim to him. When Derek said that we were actually going to be in Cuba for about two months and stay at other places, Pedro was a little surprised but said "No problem, just get it back to me when you leave."

Most Casas provide meals and so I asked if we could have dinner and breakfast the next day so meals were sorted until we could get a feel for the area.
There was a lovely coffee shop around the corner and a great local restaurant with traditional Cuban food nearby, so very easy.
The night before we were about to catch the bus to Trinidad Laura got sick, food poisoning or bug I am not sure, anyway there was no way she was getting on a 6 hour long bus ride so Derek asked Pedro if he would come to the bus station with him and try and get a refund. An hour before the bus left he got a refund less a fee – pretty sure that would not happen in Australia. Back at the Casa Derek offered Pedro a tip for his help, (we had already settled the bill with tip) but he said no, this is Casa S - S is for Solidarity, mi casa es tu casa. Cubans – I love these people. Marilys changed our next casa booking and ordered us a taxis to Trinidad, because we are five and a dog, the taxi worked out a little bit more expensive but a lot easier.

The National Hotel
A very interesting part of the Cuban history.
I am not going to write about Cubas history because there are plenty of good blogs on line, so if you are interested here is one
From this website
http://somethinginherramblings.com/history-hotel-nacional-de-cuba/
Prior to the Cuban Revolution, Havana was a hotspot for gambling, prostitution and other illicit activities. In the 1940’s, members of the corrupt Batista regime would meet with American business men here.
The Mafia also had a huge presence in Cuba, and the casino here served as the setting for the Havana Conference, a meeting between the American and Sicilian Mafia in 1946. This meeting is mentioned in the film The Godfather Part II, however the actual scenes were filmed in the Dominican Republic.
After the Cuban Revolution gambling was made illegal and all casinos were shut down. The hotel’s name was also converted from English to Spanish.

Fidel Castro nationalized the hotel on March 20, 1960

In 1962, during the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union placed 36 nuclear missiles in Cuba pointing at the United States in response to US missiles in Turkey pointing at the Soviet Union. After a tense, 13-day standoff that nearly led to a nuclear war.
http://somethinginherramblings.com/history-hotel-nacional-de-cuba/

In the end the US and USSR agreed to move their missiles.