Hasta la victoria siempre

27 December 2007: The flight from Milan to Havana is with Iberia via Madrid; we arrive in Havana around 20:30. The formalities at the airport are particularly quick and efficient. There are no fewer than 23 police officers at passport control and the whole thing is really done in just a few minutes. The second nice surprise is on leaving the airport: an imposing lady assigns us our taxi, tells us the price we have to pay and off we go. The lights on the roads are scarce and dim, a big contrast to the waste we are used to on European roads. We begin our first encounters with the legendary Cuban cars. It feels like being in a prehistoric park of motor vehicles; these are American cars that date back 60 and more years now. Some are incredibly well preserved. On our way towards the centre of Havana, a first glimpse of the Plaza de la Revolución with the statue of Martí and the image of Che.

The first two nights we will be at the Hotel Nacional, a historic monument of Havana where all the famous people passing through Havana have stayed, including the American mafia gangsters. On the ground floor a couple of rooms are dedicated to all the famous people who have stayed at the hotel. We leave our bags in the room and immediately have a first Mojito in the garden of the Nacional, with a spectacular view over the Malecón and just in time to greet a first crescent moon setting behind El Castillo de la Real Fuerza.

28 December 2007: Havana

Breakfast at the Nacional is truly a spectacle, a huge buffet with a bit of everything. We are really ready for the assault on Habana Vieja. First, though, we pass by to confirm the car we have booked for the next day; the garage is strangely empty and the person in charge says in advance, "we have big problems with the cars, come anyway tomorrow". This cryptic sentence leaves us a bit on edge, but for the moment we set off in a "Coco Taxi" towards the old city. We begin the visit at Plaza de la Catedral; this part of the city is a real delight, the old restored colonial houses retain an indescribable charm. Passing through Plaza de Armas, Plaza S. Francisco, we arrive at Plaza Vieja, in time for a prawn skewer and a metre of beer at the taverna de la Muralla. Here beer is sold by the metre; these are glass cylinders with ice in an inner chamber and the beer on the outside.

A metre of beer corresponds to about seven mugs. Just outside the restored streets of Habana Vieja, you enter the real Havana: run-down, crumbling houses, men in the street playing dominoes, mechanics who almost disappear into the bonnets of old Buicks. After the Capitolio we arrive at the Museo de la Revolución, in whose garden you can admire the Granma, the boat with which in 1956 Fidel, together with 81 other comrades, left Mexico to reach Cuba.

29 December: Havana - Vinales

The car booked and paid for from Italy isn't there! It seems there are no more cars available until mid-February. We lay siege to the car-rental agency and hound all the staff; after a couple of hours an Atos appears. It isn't what we expected, but better not to miss the chance. We set off, or rather in the square of the Nacional we do a load test. Getting 5 people into an Atos might be easy for a group of slim people, but we have 2 heavyweights, not to mention the luggage. Incredibly we manage to pack everything in and fit the 5 of us inside. Off to Vinales. The motorway leading to Pinar del Río, with three to four lanes each way, looks like an unfinished pharaonic work. Begun towards the end of the 1980s with Soviet support, it was never completed; most of the overpasses have remained suspended in mid-air and carts, bicycles and pedestrians cross the motorway freely at any point.

In some stretches, however, we manage to push the Atos to the crazy speed of 120 km/h. At the edges, sellers of garlic, grilled chicken and, for the hungrier, there is even the chance to buy a quarter of roasted pig. "Naturaleza e Revolución" is the welcome phrase in the Vinales valley. Before entering Vinales you can enjoy an excellent view of the valley from the terrace of the Hotel Los Jazmines. We have the address of a casa particular, "Casa de Lucy", on a side street off the main road; it is an excellent place to stay. Unfortunately for us the two rooms are already taken, but Bartolo takes us to a house belonging to friends. The casas particulares are an excellent accommodation solution in Cuba, cheaper and more welcoming than hotels; they let you come into direct contact with Cuban families and, in most cases, enjoy a formidable welcome.

Cuban families can have a maximum of two rooms and host 2 adults per room. A supplementary bed for minors is allowed.

30 December: Vinales – Cayo Jutias - S. Diego los Baños Following the Vinales valley dotted with "Mogotes" (basaltic formations), we reach Cayo Jutias and our first contact with the Caribbean beaches of the whitest sand. Cayo Jutias is little known and there are practically no tourist facilities. It is dozens of kilometres of white beaches with dense vegetation that makes them almost unreachable. We spend the night at the Hotel Mirador, of the Isla Azul chain, in San Diego de Los Baños, an old spa resort, now little frequented (the spa is closed).

31 December: S. Diego los Baños – Cienfuegos - Trinidad We leave S. Diego Los Baños early in the morning, so to speak since it is already 9:30, but the pace is a holiday one! Our goal today is to reach Trinidad. We therefore have to return to Havana and continue east. A stop in Cienfuegos, a visit to the Parque José Martí with the Tomás Terry theatre, the cathedral and the Palacio del Gobierno. A quick trip to Punta Gorda and then off towards Trinidad. On the advice of Bartolo from Vinales we install ourselves in the house of Juan Carlos Orbea y la China, Calle Francisco Pettersen #183, Trinidad, an old colonial house with a truly very welcoming inner courtyard. At 18:00 we celebrate the Italian New Year's Eve (a 6-hour difference) with the inevitable mojito. The dinner on the 31st is at the Plaza Mayor restaurant, with live music.

After dinner everyone in the square, waiting for Cuban midnight. Beside the cathedral a series of bands perform live; not far away, in the "Casa de la Música", other bands and dancers.

1 January 2008: Trinidad

The city of Trinidad, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, greatly deserves its fame, thanks to the splendid colonial houses with their large inner courtyards. A visit to the Museo Romántico, to the Museo Municipal, but above all it is lovely to wander among the cobbled streets. In the afternoon, relaxation on Playa Ancon, sunset and a fantastic mojito at the Grill Caribe that almost knocks us out. For now this mojito is well ahead in the ranking!!

2 January: Trinidad –Sancti Spíritus – Santa Clara - Remedios We leave Trinidad and the weather starts to change; a strong north wind brings the temperature down several degrees. We go through the Valle de los Ingenios, which does not seem to us to be all that interesting. A short stop in Sancti Spíritus, a visit to the Museo de Arte Colonial; it is raining and decidedly cold. In Santa Clara we have lunch at the restaurant La Concha, cheap and with a pretty good pizza. We end the stage in Remedios, where we stay at Las Chinitas, Calle Independencia nº 21-A, Remedios (tel 53-42)395784 – 395846. Without a doubt the house where we received the warmest welcome. The owner, Gregorio Fong, is the son of a Chinese mother and father, who arrived in Cuba at the