The stunning street in front of El Capitolio
I've been really lax about the blog, as some people may or may not have noticed. Between the various other projects at home and work that won out, this blog just fell to the side. But today is a mellow day, we have a strong windstorm going on outside, I have a cat curled up in a ball on my lap, and I have a cup of my favorite smokey black tea in hand. Seems like a perfect time to tell you a bit about our time in Havana.
We loved it! Our original plans were to spend all of our time in Havana when we arrived....but we ended up arriving during the mourning period for Fidel Castro - no booze, no music, no nightlife (although we are old farts and don't usually stay out late). Because of this we decided to cut our time in Havana short at the beginning and add more time on at the end when there might be music in the streets again. I'm glad we were there to see pre and post-mourning period because Havana was like a different city when we came back.
We couldn't help but get suckered into the touristy-tour in an old car in Havana. Don't worry - I wasn't actually driving this beauty...the driver was cracking himself up when he decided to put me there for a photo, so I went along with it. The tour was great though because it gave us the lay of the land in about an hour and after that we wandered Havana mostly all on foot with an occasional cab (also usually old cars like this without the shine). This photo was taken in Revolution Square. Yes, the Revolution Square.
Water trucks distributing water to Cubans in the street. I never really figured out if this means that many Cubans in Havana don't have access to running water? I'm guessing it might? I'm not sure I have the time to go into everything we learned about Cuba and communism. It sure was a different communism than the communism in Vietnam (which really is more capitalistic). Both countries were similar in that they still seemed to love displaying lots of propaganda!
We arrived shortly after Cubans were given the ability to purchase property again. And open private restaurants. And so, to us, it became obvious that there are "haves" and "have nots" in this society..... something Castro didn't want (if I understand him with my relatively average knowledge of his history). Anyway, email me if you want more information on this and our impressions of Cuban politics - it was fascinating seeing and learning about this country.
Remember Obama? Oh man, this makes me want to cry. I wish I had bought that poster so I could stare at it and dream. But I also loved the one of the Statue of Liberty in an old car above Obama.
Don't judge me, but I'm not usually the kind of person who travels for architecture. Jay isn't really either. We travel for wild places, to see things that might go extinct in our lifetime, to hike in forests, and dive on threatened reefs. To put our money into sustainable tourism. But in Havana, the architecture was amazing and we were quickly sucked into the gorgeous squares, crumbling or restored buildings, and wonderful people. We actually spent days just walking around staring at buildings and reading about their history in our guidebook. This is Cathedral de San Cristobal de la Habana - finished in 1748 and known for its asymmetrical towers.
| Gran Teatro de La Habana from Parque Central |
The wonderful view from our bedroom in our casa. Casa particulars are homestays and they are a wonderful way to get to know a Cuban family and see their way of life. We loved every casa we stayed at.....this one in Centro Habana was run by a funny man named Rossell - he didn't speak a lick of English and our Spanish was rough (Jay is infinitely better than me). But Rossell had perfected hand gestures and loud/funny expressions in order to get the point across to his quarry. I loved him!
I so, so, so wanted to see a performance at Gran Teatro de La Habana (Grand Theatre in Havana). But all performances were cancelled due to Castro's death and performances were up and running when we were back in Havana about 10 days later, but nothing fell on the nights we were there. =( Sad. But a great excuse to go back...I would do anything to see a ballet or an opera in this stunning building.
We spent an entire day walking and wandering around Centro and Old Havana....including hanging with all the Cubans along the Malecón....who were doing nothing but staring at the view along with us. Well, some folks were fishing or smooching partners but most just stared....taking in the view. Jay was ready to jump in and snorkel when he saw this water. Not knowing a damn thing about the sewage treatment in the area, I told him he was insane and we stayed dry. Thankfully.
Wonderful modern sculpture in Plaza de San Francisco de Asis
Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro at dusk
The Granma - the yacht that took Fidel and other revolutionaries from Mexico to Cuba in 1956.
Cars on the street from our balcony
Our shared taxi to Trinidad....the blog I will write in a few months the way things are going right now. =)














