so yeah, I can't fall asleep.
playa was awesome. as soon as the cab dropped me off and I threw my bags in my hotel room I set off to find lcdh. it's funny that nobody is town knew where it was, but I had a general idea so off I went.
after walking past it a few times I realized why everyone goes to casa partagas or habana cigar, the lcdh is pretty fuckin' inconspicous from 5 ave (everything is pretty much on this avenida in playa).
walked in and talked to the lady that works there, deborah. place was tiny, empty and she loved having me there. we talked about cigars, of course, cuba (she's from cuba), politics, everyday life in cuba, habanos s.a., robaina, just about anything you could think a cigar guy could ask her. including how they bought their cigars, counterfeits, which local shops they supplied and which sold fakes.
her husband, fran, is the store manager and does everything. he was in cuba for a week to place some orders. he knows a lot about cigars.
I arrived around 4pm and left around 9pm that first day. with an invitation to you know where in tow.
over the course of my stay I checked out some shops that had legit stock: casa partagas (there are two locations on 5 ave.) -- btw, enrique mons does not own it, habana cigar, excellent cigars and lola. I would rank as follows as far as confidence:
1. lcdh
2. casa partagas
5. habana cigar
10. lola
as you get closer to the dock you see a lot of neon signs for habana cigars and vendors offering them. I never took up one of their offers, but some of the shops near where they cruise ships dock had some crazy looking cigars.
oh and there's this upscaleish open air mall that has a la bodeguita del medio, they have a few cubans there and some cool t-shirts. almost bought one, but the backs were stamped with some pretty obnoxious la bodeguita del medio slogans. no, I did not have a daiquiri there. the purist in me wouldn't allow it. it was way too "hollywood", unlike the original.
as an aside the very best mojitos in pdc are made at babe's noodles and bar. at 35 pesos they were a bargain. hotel deseo has some good ones. the rest were decent. the ones at la palapa hemingway were just embarrassing.