Our host, Pepe, is a fantastic gent that helped us immensely. He recommended plenty of great places to eat and drink and also recommended that we visited Trinidad, which was incredible. With Pepe’s contacts and knowledge, we were able to visit some amazing places and we felt totally at home with Pepe and he made us feel so welcome that we now consider him a friend.
The apartment was in a very good location with the capital building being visible at the end of the street. There were also the beautiful sounds of a distant saxophone from the bar on the corner lulling us to sleep. Sadly, my partner wanted to Salsa dance and Pepe was only too happy to help and we have lessons on the roof and on the covered balcony/ patio area outside our room, and my legs ached for days!!! The covered balcony/ patio was a special place to relax at the end of the day to unwind and cool down, but it was also a great place to seek shelter from the midday sun.
At first I dreaded walking up all those stairs but then found it a relief to be well above the heat and noise of Havana, although the street itself is very quiet. In fact, it’s about a 10 to 15-minute walk from the Capital building, the port and the north of old Havana (where there are so many great restaurants).
We will always have the fondest of memories of Pepe, Havana and Cuba, and hope to visit again one day in the future. Thank you Pepe for making our time in Cuba so memorable, unforgettable and truly inspiring- we loved it all