Jardín de Caridad, Viñales, Cuba

Just out of town is the Jardín de Caridad, an eclectic messy garden of exotic flowers and fruit trees oddly interspersed with dolls heads on sticks. It's owned by two elderly sisters and managed by a handful of part time gardeners who provide the guided tours.

On my walk the gardener asks if I have somewhere to eat tonight and recommends the house of one of her friends who is a fisherman. I can't believe I'm being hustled by a gardener on a guided tour.

Mogotes, Viñales, Cuba

The Viñales Valley is famous for its mogotes, limestone karsts covered in thick vegetation. These are the most ancient rocks in Cuba and all that remains of what was once a limestone plateau. Over millions of years underground aquifers eroded the softer limestone forming large caverns whose ceilings later collapsed leaving only the hard limestone.

Viñales Valley, Cuba

Can't face bus-ing it back to Havana so fly back instead and catch a bus to Viñales, a sleepy town in the province of Pinar del Rio in the west.

The Viñales Valley has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since November 1999 to protect the unique karst landscape. As soon as I arrive I begin to relax. Life moves at a slow pace in the Cuban countryside and the locals take advantage by kicking back in their front-porch rocking chairs and watching the world go by.

Orchid, Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago, Cuba

Bamboo orchid, Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago, Cuba

Croton, Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago, Cuba

Heliconia, Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago, Cuba

Orchid, Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago, Cuba

Eager to escape from the city bustle and noise I take a taxi to the Jardín de los Helechos (Garden of Ferns) 2 kilometres outside Santiago.

Immediately I'm entranced. It's a lush wonderland of exotic plants, including 350 types of fern and 90 species of orchid. The Director of the garden is a graphic designer by trade and designed the garden himself. It now has seven full time gardeners to lavish care on it and provide guided tours. I spend a good two hours wandering around and although I try to remember all the names by the time I've left I've forgotten them again. Perhaps my Orchid Flickr friend from San Francisco can come to the rescue again?

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

As the hotel is fairly central, the noise never seems to cease. Live music starts playing as early as 7am right into the night. The novelty of being woken up by maracas and guitars has grown thin after the first night.

Not only that the hotel doesn't seem to have any running water at times.

(Photo - View from my hotel window)

Hiding from Jesus, Santiago de Cuba

I stumble across live music everywhere, not least in a second-hand bookshop.

On the walk around town, a friendly hustler called Jesus attaches himself to Al and I and effectively won't leave until we agree to go to a paladar (state run restaurant) he recommends. He makes me feel particularly guilty as he says he'll receive a bottle of cooking oil if we show up.

Although we arrive late, he's waiting for us on the corner and has been there for the last hour and a half. He comes into the restaurant with us and sits down. Out of politeness I offer him a drink and soon we're buying him dinner. We're suddenly his best friends and he insists we go to his house for dinner tomorrow night to meet his wife and children. Although we say we're not sure what we'll be doing the following day he refuses to listen and says he'll meet us on the corner of the main square.

Despite our best attempts to avoid the square the following evening, he somehow spots us, rushes over shouting 'over here my friends!' and says his wife has prepared dinner for us, although I don't think this is true. I say that we already have plans tonight and walk into a restaurant. He still refuses to listen and says the restaurant is expensive and not that good so he'll be waiting for us downstairs. Luckily he has disappeared when we emerge two hours later.

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

A view of the balcony from the Casa Velázquez where Fidel Castro gave his first speech to the Cuban people in 1959. La Casa de Diego Velázquez, of Mudejar influence, is considered to be the oldest Colonial house in Cuba, and probably in America.

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

It's a long journey from Trinidad to Santiago on the bus, precisely 13 hours. I'm tired of staying in 'casas' so this time opt for a cheap hotel which I grow to regret.

Founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1514 Santiago de Cuba is Cuba's second largest city after Havana and is the origin of traditional Son rhythms.

It's also known as the cradle of the Revolution, as in 1953 the Cuban Revolution began with an failed armed attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago, by small group of rebels led by Fidel Castro.

(Photo - Santiago de Cuba from Balcon Velázquez)

Banana plantations, Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba

Sugar cane plantations, Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba

View from the watchtower

Watchtower, Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba

The watchtower from where the slaves were watched

Train to Valle de los Ingenios, Trinidad, Cuba

The steam train to the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of Sugarmills) is painfully slow. As we pass field after field of sugar cane the soot billows into the first carriage forcing most of the passengers to retreat to the rear carriage.

Our main stop is Manaca Iznaga, an estate purchased in 1795 by the dastardly Pedro Iznaga who became one of the wealthiest men in Cuba by trafficking slaves.

A 44-foot watchtower overlooks the sugar cane fields where the slaves were closely watched.

Graffiti, Trinidad, Cuba

Cuban, Trinidad, Cuba

Cuban on Plaza Mayor

Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad, Cuba

One of the most interesting colonial houses to visit in Trinidad is the neoclassical Casa Cantero or Museo Histórico Municipal where Dr Justo Cantero alledgedly acquired vast sugar estates by poisoning an old slave and marrying his widow, who also suffered an untimely death. From the tower there's a great view of Trinidad.

(Photo - view of Trinidad from Casa Cantero)

Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad is a small city surrounded by green hills in the province of Sancti Spíritus, which like Old Havana, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was founded in 1514 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar under the name Villa De la Santísima Trinidad and is one of the best preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region. In the nearby Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugarmills) vast sugar cane plantations can be visited, which at one time produced one third of the country's sugar.

There is a laid-back feel to Trinidad. The pastel coloured colonial houses, cobbled streets and palm trees lend it a real Caribbean flavour.

Trinidad, Cuba

Although my landlady in Santa Clara offers me a 'casa' with a friend of hers in Trinidad I opt to run the gauntlet of hustlers at the bus terminal and find my own. On consulting my guidebook I discover that Trinidad has over 300 casa particulares so it shouldn't be that difficult to find somewhere to stay.

On arriving at the bus station I'm not quite prepared for the hordes of Cubans waving laminated photographs of their rooms to rent. Weighed down by my backpack it takes me a good ten minutes to shake them off and walk towards the 'casa' I'd like to stay in.

Boy, Santa Clara, Cuba

Santa Clara, Cuba

Main square

Che Guevara memorial, Santa Clara, Cuba

There is really only one reason most people visit Santa Clara and that's to see the Che Guevara memorial. The town itself is pleasant enough, although nothing special.

Catching a bus at the terminal in Havana, the ticket lady asks if I have somewhere to stay in Santa Clara. I have barely said no when she produces an address and tells me that I'll be picked up at the bus station.

Following the three hour journey true to form I can see someone holding a piece of paper with my name scrawled on.

The Che memorial is two kilometres out of the city centre and includes a large bronze statue of Che, a museum about his life and a mausoleum where his remains are buried. Nearby is the eternal flame lit by Castro in 1997 when Che's body was recovered from a secret mass grave in Bolivia and returned to Cuba. The mausoleum is respectfully done. In Cuba Che is the embodiment of third world freedom. Whatever political leanings you may have, it's difficult not to feel affection for such an icon.

Plaza de Armas, Havana, Cuba

People watching

Plaza Vieja, Old Havana, Cuba

Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón, Havana, Cuba

Museo de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba

Havana, Cuba

Being in Cuba is a lttle like being transported back to the 1950s

Malecon and fort, Havana, Cuba

Malecon sea wall, Havana, Cuba

Peña, Havana, Cuba

Tropicana Club, Havana, Cuba

I'm curious about the famous Tropicana club. Since arriving in Havana, many Cubans have said the same thing. Namely that it's expensive, at around USD 70 a ticket, but fantastic. Even though it's a Friday night Al, I and our two new Danish friends are ushered through the doors and to our table. I'm given a red rose while the boys receive cigars. I try to swap my rose for a cigar but am abruptly told 'only men'. Our ticket includes a free glass of bubbly, half a bottle of Havana Club rum and a can of Tropicola.

I have visions of a kitsch cabaret show filled with flashy showgirls wearing large headdresses. I'm not disappointed. Heralded as a 'Paradise under the stars' (it's outdoors), there seems to be thousands of people here, mainly tourists.

I'd been to Le Lido in Paris a few years ago and it's a very similar experience although France does it with much more style and class. Although it's a great night out, I find the choreography a bit too cheesy at times.

Walking back to our 'casa' in Old Havana, we're beckoned off the street into an impromptu jamming session (or Peña), in a small art shop. Guitars, maracas, claves, guiros and drums all blend together harmoniously producing the soulful Son music heard all over Havana. At midnight the musicians take off down the road towards the Malecon, still playing their instruments.

Viva Fidel 80 más

Castro banner hanging outside a school in Havana

Castro mural, Havana, Cuba

All over Cuba there are billboards and road signs with messages from Castro . The one I see most often says 'we're doing well'.

Capitolio, Havana, Cuba

El Capitolio is styled and named after the US Capitol building in Washington DC, and houses the Cuban Academy of Sciences. Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959 it was the seat of government.

It's only my third day in Havana and I'm curious to know what Cubans really think of Fidel Castro. As my Capitolio tour guide is friendly I decide to start with him but make the mistake of telling him I used to work for the BBC. He clams up and tells me he could lose his job if he were to speak out against the government. I also learn quickly that the word 'regime' puzzles Cubans.

Reading up on the subject of press censorship I discover that Cuba has one of the highest number of incarcerated journalists in the world. Speaking out against the government leads to job/home loss and social ostracism at the very least, if it doesn't land you in jail.

The only newspaper available is the thin tabloid, Granma, mostly filled with political propaganda churned out by the ministries of the Cuban Communist party.

There are three national TV channels and a radio network. Internet costs USD six an hour therefore making it too expensive for locals to use, although I later hear that many Cuban professionals have access at home.

Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba

View of Havana from the murky windows of the José Martí monument

Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba

Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square) is one of the world's largest city squares. It's a focus for political rallies and the place where Fidel Castro regularly addresses Cubans. It's a vast empty space, dull and souless. I feel I'm in Russia.

The square is dominated by a huge concrete tower and a statue dedicated to José Martí, a leader of the Cuban independence movement and a national hero in Cuba. Behind the monument are the heavily guarded offices of Fidel Castro.

Opposite the memorial on the far side of the square is the famous Che Guevara image with the slogan 'Hasta la Victoria Siempre' (Forever Onwards Towards Victory), a slogan that permeates Cuban culture and appears everywhere in Cuba.

From the top of the tower through murky windows I can see all of Havana.

Partagas tobacco factory, Havana, Cuba

As cigars are offered on every street corner in Havana I decide to visit a tobacco factory to see what actually goes on. The only way to visit is by a guided tour and I'm not allowed to take photos.

Partagas tobacco factory has 600 workers and takes on 120 apprentice rollers a year for its nine-month training course. If the apprentices pass the exam at the end of nine months, they qualify as professional rollers. Only 35% of apprentices make it.

The 260 rollers are paid around 45 CUCs a month (which effectively equates to USD 45), double the average Cuban wage. Apprentices earn 12 CUCs a month.

The rollers who work Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5pm must roll 110 cigars a day or their wages are docked. On average it takes the two minutes to roll a cigar and four days to produce a cigar from leaf to packaged product.

As we walk up the stairs a worker stealthily slips a handful of cigars into a tourist's hand in exchange for a note. Afterwards I ask how much the tourist paid. It was 5 CUCs.

Plaza de San Francisco, Havana, Cuba

Looking for a cheap place to eat, we venture into Centro Habana, a rougher version of Old Havana.

During my meal I wander off to the ladies and say hello to the Cuban woman outside, who I assume is the toilet attendant. I tip her as is normal but she looks at me quizzically. 'Don't you want it?' I ask thinking that maybe I've offended her. 'Well, ok' she replies taking the money and hugging me. I realise my mistake. She's not the toilet attendant after all and I've given money to a random person.

Mumbling something about a disco down the road, she tries to drag me out of the restaurant. I tell her I'm with my friend and she promptly walks over to the table and sits down. Shortly afterwards her boyfriend joins us and tries to persuade us to go to a club down the road. When we decline, she leans over and asks slightly aggressively if we'll buy them both a drink but not here as the mojitos are apparently bad. Feeling I'm getting in deeper into something I don't feel good about (Al has no clue as to what's going on and is blissfully unaware of my toilet encounter) I agree to buy them a drink at the bar we're in. They insist on going elsewhere but I'm feeling uncomfortable at this stage and refuse. After a few minutes of unpleasant wrangling, they order beers and as soon as they arrive take off into the night.

Later I discover from others that this is not such an unusual situation. Quite often Cubans 'befriend' tourists. It's difficult to know whether they're just being friendly or out for the free drinks.

(Photo - Plaza de San Francisco, Havana)

Plaza de la Catedral, Havana, Cuba

Coppelia is a national institution in Cuba, with ice cream parlours in every town and city. Built in the 1960s, the Havana version is a futuristic but retro structure shaped like a spaceship, within a park. The place is always crowded with locals as a bowl of ice cream costs around 20 pence. Unfortunately there appears to be only one or two flavours on offer at a time. Today it's vanilla or pineapple.

I mistakenly forgot to read my guide book before going and fell for the scam highlighted at the beginning of the section on ice cream. On entering the park, two security guards ask if I'd like ice cream and when I nod, they usher me over to a small ice cream stand where a scoop costs USD 2.75 each. What I should have done, according to my guidebook, is walk past them into the main Coppelia building and sit a table with the locals waiting for the ice cream waitress. You
live and learn.

(Photo - Plaza de la Catedral, Havana)

Plaza de la Catedral, Havana, Cuba

Plaza de la Catedral, Havana, Cuba

Man in Havana

My guidebook states that nine out of ten people that approach you in Cuba are hustlers or 'jineteros/jineteras' (the female equivalent). We're frequently approached asking if we need somewhere to stay or eat, want to exchange some money, buy rum, cigars or old Che Guevara notes. Some are innocuous enough and normally a 'no gracias' is sufficient, but some are more difficult to shake off and follow you down the street asking questions like 'Where you from?'.

Although healthcare and education systems are good here (Cuba sends doctors to Venezuela and in return Chavez provides Cuba with cheap oil) there is a shortage of basic items. Many shops I went into had bare shelves or had run out of certain things.

With Castro's rationing system, little available work and a low minimum wage, there is crushing poverty and many Cubans resort to begging. Walking around we're regularly approached for certain items, usually in the order of money first, then soap, pens and sweets.

Jineteras are in effect prostitutes who approach western men selling their services. I'd read about the flourishing sex trade in my guidebook but never really saw any evidence of it. Several male travellers we met along the way said they'd been constantly plagued by female hustlers.

The art of making Daiquiris... Havana style

This is apparently Floridita's recipe for the delicious Daiquiri frappé.

Ingredients:

2 ounces of Havana Club light rum
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon maraschino
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Crushed ice

Blend in a mixer and serve cold.

Floridita, Havana, Cuba

Havana's other famous resident is Ernest Hemingway and Cuba seems to have exploited everything connected with him for tourist gain, from tours of his rooms at the Hotel Ambos Mundos to his favourite drinking emporia, of which there are several!

On a quest to find the perfect mojito, which is surprisingly difficult in Havana (I like them very minty and not too sweet) I resort to trying Hemingway's preferred mojito spot, La Bodeguita del Medio (http://www.labodeguitadelmedio.com.mx). Mojitos here cost about four US dollars each and are admittedly the best ones I tried in Havana.

But my favourite drinking establishment is the expensive Floridita - the cradle of the Daiquiri (http://www.floridita-cuba.com). Here the drink de rigeur is the delicious Daiquiri frappé, another of Hemingway's favourites. His bronze statue leans against a corner of the bar. The barmen line up the Daiquiri glasses on the bar by the dozen as it's rare that people drink anything else here.

Casa de la Música, Havana, Cuba

Although it's easy to find live Cuban music in almost every bar and restaurant in Havana, the traditional places to hear bands is at the 'Casa de la Música' or 'Casa de la Trova', of which there seems to be one in every town.

The Casa de la Música in Centro Habana is not what I expected; a huge kitsch ballroom painted black with glitter balls and a stage. The band on tonight is a trio of girls belting out energetic salsa tunes, not my cup of tea but still utterly mesmerising.

(Photo - A cafe in Havana)

Son, Havana, Cuba

The immediate thing I notice about Havana is the live music spilling out of every bar or cafe on to the street at all hours of the day.

Someone once told me that there are only two places in the world where 'duende' exists, a word which is difficult to translate but is generally used to convey spirit, passion, zeitgeist etc., especially through music. The two places are Andalusia in Spain and Havana. It's evident the Cubans love their music and the traditional soulful rhythms of Son permeate throughout the old town.

Dancing ability, like in Brazil, is innate.