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driveway · 05-11-2009, 07:00 PM

Here are your step-by-step instructions for getting cheap, genuine cigars to smoke while you are in Cuba.

1. Go on a cigar factory tour. Cheap and informative, factory tours are pretty-much a must-do while you're in cuba anyway.

2. Make sure you go on a very full tour at a busy time of day, mid-day on a Saturday will work well. Stay towards the back of the group - the very back.

3. Wait until you get to the room where they roll cigars. This room looks like a large classroom with many workers sitting at desks rolling various sizes of cigars. (point of interest: Cigar rollers are each trained to roll a specific size of cigar. According to the tour, the workers are not informed which brand of cigar they will be rolling on any given day, there is simply a pile of tobacco given to them to roll.)

4. Once the spiel is finished on the factory floor, wait until the tour-leader is out-of-sight and then turn to whichever cigar-roller you are standing next to and offer to buy all the cigars they have rolled that day from them. We each paid $20 US for about a dozen cigars.

5. Conceal your freshly-rolled, unlabeled cigars somewhere on your person and remove them from the factory.

The only drawback to this are that you don't know what kind of cigars you're getting. However, unless you're an afficcionado you probably just want a few to smoke for the fun of it while you're there.

---------------------

Also: You are absolutely going to want to visit Taberna la Muralla - the only Brewpub in Havana. The food there is actually excellent - or at least it was 6 years ago, and this article:

http://davidlansing.com/?p=1013

From this April indicates that the place is still going strong.

The pub is located at the South West corner of a Parque on San Ignacio, between Muralla and Brasil (Tenacio Rey).

Typing in Taberna la Muralla, Havana, Cuba into Google Maps will show you where to go, it's the "B" location, not the "A" location.

Finally, Baseball in Cuba is awesome. I'm not sure when their season runs, but I saw a killer game featuring Industriales, Havana's 'second team'. The stadium must seat 50,000 people and I think there were about 900 there to see the game. We sat three rows up from first base and enjoyed ourselves imensely.

Oh yeah, Varadero has a nice beach, but other than that is nothing but a tourist trap. Spend as little time there as you can. Unless beach and rum is all you want from your vacation.

Have a blast.

05-11-2009, 07:00 PM	#53
driveway A Fiddler Crab Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chicago Exp:	Here are your step-by-step instructions for getting cheap, genuine cigars to smoke while you are in Cuba. 1. Go on a cigar factory tour. Cheap and informative, factory tours are pretty-much a must-do while you're in cuba anyway. 2. Make sure you go on a very full tour at a busy time of day, mid-day on a Saturday will work well. Stay towards the back of the group - the very back. 3. Wait until you get to the room where they roll cigars. This room looks like a large classroom with many workers sitting at desks rolling various sizes of cigars. (point of interest: Cigar rollers are each trained to roll a specific size of cigar. According to the tour, the workers are not informed which brand of cigar they will be rolling on any given day, there is simply a pile of tobacco given to them to roll.) 4. Once the spiel is finished on the factory floor, wait until the tour-leader is out-of-sight and then turn to whichever cigar-roller you are standing next to and offer to buy all the cigars they have rolled that day from them. We each paid $20 US for about a dozen cigars. 5. Conceal your freshly-rolled, unlabeled cigars somewhere on your person and remove them from the factory. The only drawback to this are that you don't know what kind of cigars you're getting. However, unless you're an afficcionado you probably just want a few to smoke for the fun of it while you're there. --------------------- Also: You are absolutely going to want to visit Taberna la Muralla - the only Brewpub in Havana. The food there is actually excellent - or at least it was 6 years ago, and this article: http://davidlansing.com/?p=1013 From this April indicates that the place is still going strong. The pub is located at the South West corner of a Parque on San Ignacio, between Muralla and Brasil (Tenacio Rey). Typing in Taberna la Muralla, Havana, Cuba into Google Maps will show you where to go, it's the "B" location, not the "A" location. Finally, Baseball in Cuba is awesome. I'm not sure when their season runs, but I saw a killer game featuring Industriales, Havana's 'second team'. The stadium must seat 50,000 people and I think there were about 900 there to see the game. We sat three rows up from first base and enjoyed ourselves imensely. Oh yeah, Varadero has a nice beach, but other than that is nothing but a tourist trap. Spend as little time there as you can. Unless beach and rum is all you want from your vacation. Have a blast.