Cuba on a Shoestring

Havana (La Habana) is the largest city in the Caribbean and the center of all things Cuban. Despite its turbulent history, Havana suffered little damage in the wars and revolutions, and stands today much as it was built. There’s an air of faded glory about the city as big 50s and 60s American automobiles still dominate the streets and paint and plaster peel off everywhere. The city is peppered with glorious Spanish colonial architecture, much of which is under restoration. Havana has a swinging nightlife, with cinemas, historic theatres, cabarets, nightclubs and music venues that will exhaust even the most hardened campaigner.

Havana sizzles by night. The weekly Cartelera entertainment newspaper is stuffed with cinema and theatre programs, and listings of galleries, bars, nightclubs and cultural events. Much of the cinema is in English and foreign theatre groups often appear at the Teatro Nacional de Cuba. The Teatro Nacional is also a regular venue of the National Symphony Orchestra and there’s a good cafe here which is open all night for disco dancing and live salsa music. If you’d rather do the crawl, Old Havana and Vedado are a wash of bars and nightclubs. There are atmospheric hideaways and plush cabarets on almost every street, but there are a few joints to keep your eye out for. La Bodeguita del Medio off the Plaza de la Catedral is Havana’s most celebrated bar. Since Hemingway bent his elbow here, La Bodeguita has become de rigeur, and Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole have all left their
autographs on the wall. El Floridita, another Hemingway hangout, is on the tour-bus circuit but this is where frozen daiquiris were invented in the 1920s so you might like to pay your respects. The best and biggest nightclub in Havana is the Tropicana. Each night, more than 200 stillettoed and scantily-clad beauties put on enormous headdresses and
take to the stage. The showstopper is the preposterous Dance of the Chandeliers, where a train of dancers, sporting illuminated lamps on their heads, appears on stage linked together by electrical cords.

Dressing up in Havana isn’t only about getting into the spirit of things, it’s often about getting in the front door. At all the cabarets and many of the nightclubs minimum dress requirements are strictly enforced. This means definitely no shorts or t-shirts, and preferably pants other than jeans.

Trinidad, Colorado, in the southern part of the state, is on the Santa Fe Trail, and is the smallest of the four cities which separate the Colorado Rockies and Great Plains. Trinidad is situated onthe front wall of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 6,025 above sea level. Its location near the southern border of Colorado results in a semi-arid climate with approximately 14 inches of rainfall per year. The elevation, southern location, and low humidity combine to provide a moderate, verycomfortable dry climate.