If you would like to read my full Cuba travel blog click on this link and start at "Revolutionary Cuba, laid-back Havana (1)"

Within Havana Vieja, much of the 17th to 19th century architecture is crumbling, but a significant amount has been, and is being, renovated – very attractively done, too. Its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation has certainly helped the funding of much of this restoration.

The evening atmosphere is fantastic, and there are ready smiles wherever you look. Latino music drifts out of doorways and windows, relaxed locals sit on their doorsteps, talk to their neighbours, wander the streets, hang out on street corners. The guys are good looking, the girls are gorgeous, and everyone seems dressed fairly scantily: not much obesity here. The people appear inherently incapable of standing still whenever they hear music (and I suspect they are rarely out of listening range). Even the policeman on Plaza de la Catedral sways to the music of the El Patio band, beating time with his nightstick.