In January 2015 I spent two weeks travelling around beautiful Cuba, just as talks were beginning with the United States which – many hoped – would eventually normalise relations between the two countries. There has been a US trade embargo in place since 1962 which, by some accounts has crippled the Caribbean island.
Things have clearly moved on in Cuba in the two decades since the end of Cold War – and given the talks between the two countries things now are by no means settled. During my travels, I wanted to see how the country had change following its decision to embrace international tourism, rather than shying away from it.
For the buildings that do still stand, the long process of restoring Habana Vieja has begun. City Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler – who has been working in the city since 1982 when the district gained World Heritage status from Unesco – set up a holding company called Habaguanex […]
Rather than the cobbled streets, lively squares and colourfully painted colonial era homes and public buildings from tourist brochures, my first experience of Habana Vieja (old Havana) was that of dilapidation. I walked through narrow, sewage-laden alleys with crumbling buildings that looked like they could topple at any […]
Towering 25-storeys high, the Habana Libre hotel is a distinctive landmark on the Cuban capital’s skyline. Although a short taxi ride from the cobbled old town – a Unesco World Heritage site – it is still a popular place to stay for tourists visiting this beautiful Caribbean island. […]
Past In The Present 