We flew from Tampa direct to Havana on Friday morning on Southwest.  SWA's website says to arrive 4 hours before departure.  Well, our departure time was 6:15 a.m., so we really didn't like that idea.  We arrived at 4:00 a.m.  They had a counter next to the normal SWA baggage check to pick up visas.  We had purchased the visas ahead of time online, so that went very quickly.  They then had a designated baggage check line just for the Havana flight.  Again, that went very quickly.  by 4:15 a.m., we were checked in.  Our friends arrived at 4:30 a.m. and they were through the same process in about 15 minutes as well.

The return flight checkin was not quite as well organized, but arriving 2 1/2 hours before the scheduled departure resulted in no lines.  All of the personnel in Havana are locals, NOT SWA employees.  The normal SWA boarding procedure was not well executed, but it worked out.  PLEASE NOTE: you must check your bag containing your rum, else security will take it (or in the case of our friends, 1/2 of it).  We joked that the 1/2 that they took went directly to the duty free shop in the airport where he probably bought it back....that might not be too far from the truth.  We checked ours with each bottle wrapped in a t-shirt and then surrounded by bags of coffee, but carried on the cigars.  Both the rum and coffee made it to Tampa safely.

Thankfully, my father-in-law had been 7 times prior (shhh) and my wife had been 1 time prior (shhh).  They had come to know a local family and the  husband/patriarch "Eddie" (an engineer by education) now does tours.  We never discussed money with him, but rather just kept giving him money, so I can't say how much he would normally charge if Bill & Debbie were not friends.  All told, I think between the 5 of us, he received at least $800 for his 3 days of work/hospitality, not to mention we bought his drinks and meals when with us.

Any way, Eddie picked us up at the airport and took us to his home in Havana, where we celebrated our arrival and new & renewed friendships with, what else, Cuban rum!  Then it was off to see the sights of Havana.  Eddie stayed with us each day from morning until after dinner and on Sunday, after lunch at his home, he took us to the airport.  

Eddie drives a classic Chevrolet.  The classic cars were everywhere.  It was interesting to see the classics sharing the road with brand new Hyundais, Toyotas, etc.  Most of the classic cars are "restored" as in they look fairly new.  However, Eddie's for example, was running off a diesel Hyundai engine.  I'm not a classic car guy, but I'm pretty sure they didn't put diesel Hyundai engines in American cars in the 1950s!

Friday, Eddie drove us around Old Havana and New Havana and gave us a walking tour of Old Havana.  Lunch as Dos Hermanos (ehhh on the food, but when Will challenged the musicians in the restaurant to play Hotel California, after about 20 seconds of discussion, they offered a killer rendition of it with the flute player handling the melody.  Then it was off to Hemingway's estate where his home and boat Pilar have been well-maintained.  Then we stopped at a nearby restaurant for drinks and learned that this was Hemingway's place for drinking near his estate.

We found our accomodations on AirBNB and at about $100/night for a 2 bedroom apartment, just across from the water, I have to say we scored.  Nothing fancy, but it had everythign we needed, including air-conditioning.  The apartment manager gave us his card and let us know that he is happy to book directly so that he can avoid the 3% third-party exchange company's fee, and we can avoid the fees on our end to AirBNB.  The fees would be collected in US dollars upon arrival.

Saturday included a trip to the rum factory and Cuban rum sampling.  Then over to Eddie's parents' home where we had a great time chatting with them.  We popped into several of the landmark hotels including the Nationale where we had lunch in the courtyard and saw several man in their late 50s to 60 with what we assume were Cuban chicas in their early 20s.  Then off to downtown again to walk around a bit and hit Sloppy Joe's (the original, original, even before Key West),  the Museo del la Revolucion, Plaza Hotel, La Floridita (another Hemmingway haunt).  Near our apartment, we disccovered a very cute little alleyway with about 5-6 restaurants with outdoor seating.  Dinner was very good.  

Sunday included a trip to Miramar.  Beautiful, beautiful area.  It reminded me very much of the Garden District in New Orleans.  Wide boulevards with medians, lots of shaded trees, parks, and just one beautiful house after the next.  Eddie, his wife, and her mother treated us to lunch at Eddie's & Angela's house on Sunday before we set off for the airport.

Eddie arranged for Cohibas for our friend and Montecristos for us complete with the requisite seals, and hologram authentication at $140 US/box of 25 for Montecristo #2s.

Upon arriving in Tampa, Wife and I declared all of our 3 bottles of rum and five boxes (25 each) of cigars to Customs & Border Patrol (CBP).  He said we were limited to 1 bottle of rum each and 25 cigars each.  My father-in-law's CBP dude said 2 boxes or 100 cigars each.  CBP website is not completely updated, so I honestly don't know the answer.  But in any event, when I said I was happy to pay the duty on the excess of the cigars and rum, he thought about it for a minute, and said, "well, just remember that for next time" and sent us on our way without any fees.  I think we got points for honesty.

You can stay in the Plaza or Nacional for around $300+ per night and from the lobbies, they appear as nice as any 4-5 star US hotel.  Our apartment was spartan, but at $50/room/night, we didn't expect luxury.  Food is very reasonably priced.  Most entrees under $10.  Nothing that you will write home about (well, if you could write home) but you won't starve.  Of course, lots of places to drink.  We never exchanged US dollars for CUC and never had a problem.  Everyone was happy to take US dollars, except at Hemingway's estate, where Eddie paid the nominal entrance fee for us.

The Cuban people we met and spoke with, without exception, were gracious and kind.  They want normalized relations with the US.  They want better salaries, but also recognize that they receive free education (including college) and free health care.  They are wondering what will happen politically, whether Raoul Castrol will indeed step down after his term, what will happen with a Trump presidency, etc.  

I would definitely recommend hiring a guide.  We saw places that we would never have discovered on our own and of course, the cultural exchange that goes with truly spending time with the locals and learning about their history and views.

I have business cards for both Eddie and the apartment we stayed in, if anyone ends up going and wants some contacts.  A great weekend trip and seeing it before the huge influx of tourism was definitely worthwhile.