Cuba - Lonely Planet [146]
GROCERIES
Mercado agropecuario (cnr Calles 24 & 35) Try this large market for fresh vegetables and meat.
Cubalse supermarket (Calle 35 btwn Calles 30 & 32; 9:30am-6pm Mon-Sat) Sells groceries and sundries.
Drinking
Casa de los Vinos (cnr Calles 20 & 41; 1-10pm Mon-Wed, 1pm-midnight Fri-Sun, closed Thu) A nice local drinking hole with ‘ahoy matey!’ nautical decor. Aside from ham sandwiches, you can get wine made from grapefruit, grapes and melon by the glass.
Entertainment
Evening events are often held at the Casa de la Cultura ( 32-35-91; cnr Calles 37 & 24). Also ask about the famous local sucu-sucu (a variation of son, Cuba’s popular music) group led by Mongo Rives, which sometimes plays at the Casa de la Cultura ( 39-74-68; cnr Calles 7 & 8) in La Fe.
DANCE CLUBS
Disco La Movida (Calle 18; from 11pm) For a little atmospheric booty shaking, join the throngs of locals dancing in an open-air locale hidden among the trees near the river.
Cabaret El Patio ( 32-23-46; Calle 24 btwn Calles 37 & 39; per couple CUC$3; 10pm-2am Thu-Sun) Next door to the Casa de la Cultura, this venue has an entertaining floorshow at 11pm. Show up early to get in; official policy is couples only.
Restaurante El Dragón (cnr Calles 39 & 26; from 10pm Tue & Wed, 8pm Thu-Sun) This restaurant has disco dancing in the rear courtyard.
Super Disco (admission CUC$1; from 10pm Thu-Sun) You’ve got to love a place with a name like this. The locals do: this club next to Villa Isla de la Juventud is always packed.
CINEMAS
Cine Caribe ( 32-24-16; cnr Calles 37 & 28) For a film or video, check out this cinema on Parque Central.
SPORT
Estadio Cristóbal Labra ( 32-10-44; cnr Calles 32 & 53) Nueva Gerona’s baseball stadium, Estadio Cristóbal Labra is six blocks west of the Policlínico Provincial de Emergencia. From October to April, the local team usually plays here daily except Monday and Friday, though not every week. Ask at your local casa particular for details of upcoming games.
Shopping
Calle 39, also known as Calle Martí, is a pleasant pedestrian mall interspersed with small parks.
Centro Experimental de Artes Aplicadas (Calle 40 btwn 39 & 37; 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat) This center, near the planetarium, makes and sells artistic ceramics.
Getting There & Away
AIR
The most hassle-free and (often) the cheapest way to get to La Isla is to fly. Unfortunately, most other people have already cottoned onto this fact, meaning flights are usually booked up at least a week in advance.
Rafael Cabrera Mustelier Airport (airport code GER) is 5km southeast of Nueva Gerona. Cubana ( 32-25-31; Calle 39 No 1415 btwn Calles 16 & 18) flies here from Havana three times a day for CUC$35 one-way. There are no international flights. Aerotaxi offers charter flights (you have to buy all the seats on the plane) and you could arrange passage in Havana if you have about CUC$500 to blow.
There’s no regular air or sea connection from Isla de la Juventud to Cayo Largo del Sur. It may be possible to charter an 11-passenger Aerotaxi biplane for a day trip for around CUC$500, including waiting time. Otherwise, you must return to Havana to go to Cayo Largo del Sur.
BOAT
Getting to La Isla by boat isn’t the piece of cake it ought to be. Tickets for the twice-daily catamaran that plies the route between Surgidero de Batabanó and Nueva Gerona are sold at the NCC kiosk ( 878-1841; 7am-noon) in the main (Astro) bus station in Havana, where you can pay for both your bus transfer and ferry reservation in one shot (CUC$55). Due to limited space and perennial popularity it is wise to make a reservation in person one or two days in advance at the NCC kiosk. Check-in for the daily noon boat departure is at 8am at the Astro bus station. Check-in for the second 3:30pm departure (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday only) is at noon.
It’s advisable not to show up independently in Batabanó with the intention of buying a ferry ticket direct