Leg 11 MUHA - Habana (Cuba) to MUCU - Santago de Cuba (Cuba)
MUHA - Airport Info
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ICAO code: MUHA
Airport name: Jose Marti International
Location: Habana, Cuba
Useful information
Airport elevation: 210’
Time zone: ET (GMT -5)
Lighted runways : Yes
Maximum runway length: 13123
Runway surface : Asphalt
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Rwy 06: Glide Slope (3º) Localizer (110.5)
Habana Info
Founded on the western banks of a fabulous natural harbour, what was once the entire city of HAVANA now forms the most captivating part of Habana Vieja, the old city and the capital's tourist centre. This UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site is one of crumbling magnificence and restored beauty. Any sight seeing you do will fan out from here, taking in the fine museums, colonial buildings, elegant plazas, sweeping boulevards and narrow, atmospheric streets bristling with life.
Most visitors restrict themselves to Habana Vieja and Vedado, where many of the post-colonial mansions
have been converted into public works and ministry offices or museums. The best way to appreciate Vedado's
compact, quiet suburban streets is on foot. From here, you could walk the couple of kilometres to the
famous Plaza de la Revolución, where giant monuments to the two most famous icons of the Cuban struggle
for independence, Che Guevara and José Martí, present unmissable photo opportunities. Beyond Vedado to the
west, on the other side of the Río Almendares, Miramar – modelled on mid-twentieth-century Miami – ushers
in yet another change in the urban landscape. A commercial district is emerging on its western fringes,
accompanied by a number of luxury hotels, whilst some of Havana's most sophisticated restaurants are
scattered around Miramar's leafy streets.
MUCU - Airport Info
ICAO code: MUCU
Airport name: Antonio Maceo International
Location: Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Useful information
Airport elevation: 249’
Time zone: ET (GMT -5)
Lighted runways : Yes
Maximum runway length: 13180
Runway surface : Asphalt
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Rwy 09: Glide Slope (3º) Localizer (110.7)
Santiago de Cuba Info
Nowhere outside Havana is there a Cuban city with such definite character or such determination to have a good time as SANTIAGO DE CUBA. Set on a deep-water bay and cradled by mountains, the city is credited with being the most Caribbean part of Cuba, a claim borne out by the laid-back lifestyle and rich mix of inhabitants. It was here that the first slaves arrived from West Africa, and today Santiago boasts a larger percentage of black people than anywhere else in Cuba. Afro-Cuban culture, with its music, myths and rituals, formed its roots here, with later layers added by French coffee-planters fleeing revolution in Haiti in the eighteenth century. Santiago's proximity to Jamaica has encouraged a natural crossover of ideas and it is one of the few places in Cuba to have a strong Rastafari following, albeit a hybrid one – devout Jamaican Rastas are teetotal vegetarians who don't wolf down huge plates of fried pork with lashings of beer.
The leisurely pace of life doesn't make for a quiet city, however, and the higgledy-piggledy arrangement of narrow streets around the colonial quarter rings night and day with the beat of drums and the toot of horns. Music is a vital element of Santiaguero life, oozing from the most famous Casa de la Trova in the country, not to mention numerous impromptu gatherings. Although music and the July carnival are good enough reasons to visit, the city offers a host of other attractions too. Diego Velázquez's sixteenth-century merchant house and the elegant governor's residence, both around Parque Céspedes, and the commanding El Morro castle at the entrance to the bay, reflect the city's prominent role in Cuban history. Added to this, the part played by townspeople in the revolutionary struggle, detailed in several fascinating museums, makes Santiago an important stop-off on the revolution trail.
Downloads
MUHA airport scenery - cuba2004.zip ( on www.flightsim.com )
MUHA airport scenery - muha_v2.0.zip ( on www.avsim.com )
MUCU airport scenery - cuba2004.zip ( on www.flightsim.com )