Havana for The Thrill Seekers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Climb the 1845 lighthouse inside the fortress for the whole seawall at once, then the ramparts where the waves hit the rock below the walls.

An hour in a 1950s Chevrolet with the roof down, bargained for at the Parque Central rank; ask for the Malecón at speed and the tunnel to the Morro.

A loud two-room place with the fish of the day on a chalkboard, cold beer when the city has it, and tables that turn until late.

The locals' swimming spot: a ladder down the ironshore into deep clear water before the sun gets high. Wear shoes on the rock and watch the swell.

A boat out to the wall a mile offshore, coral heads and barracuda at twenty metres; one dive with gear, certified divers only, booked the day before.

Up the spiral stair inside the brick chimney of the old oil factory to a rooftop grill of octopus and pork, with the Fábrica de Arte next door for after.

An hour west by taxi to the eco-village in the Sierra del Rosario, where the zipline runs eight hundred metres over the lake and the forest canopy.

A vegetarian restaurant on a terrace over the village, grown in its own garden; the pumpkin soup and the fried malanga are the recovery meal.

Natural pools in the river below the village, deep enough to jump into from the rocks and cold enough to want to; back in Havana by dark.

The river park's loop under banyan roots and the iron bridge, five kilometres with the only shade in the city, before the fishermen set up.

The 1930 hotel sells a day pass to its pool and lawns; lengths, then a lounger with the sea in front and the airport two hours off.

A penthouse paladar in a 1950s block with a terrace over the FOCSA tower, fish in coconut and a last proper coffee before the taxi.