Color me CUBA: Hola Havana!

St. Francis of Assisi square in Havana

First Day in Havana

Another advantage of this cruise is that we had two full days in Havana. On our first day in Havana, we had a guide named Vivian who was very sweet and helpful. We started the day with a walking tour in the Old City Center.

Colorful restorations in Havana

Havana is absolutely stunning, filled with old buildings, some crumbling, others meticulously restored. The restoration process is intended to create usable spaces for everyone, not just the tourists. For example, the lovely Plaza Vieja includes an elementary school, and kids have recess right in the square.

Streets of Havana

We stopped by Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway stayed when he first arrived in Cuba. He lived in Cuba for over thirty years, writing seven books here. He was known for drinking 12 – 17 cocktails every afternoon!

Stogie-chomping Cuban woman

Cuban cigars are a big part of the economy here in Cuba, and many people who come to Cuba spend lots of money on this product. Any knowledgeable Cuban will be glad to expound on why their cigars are so wonderful – growing climate, soil, terroir, unique fashion in which they are rolled, their handling, low nicotine level, strong flavor, etc. We also saw our first lady cigar smoker – a real stogie!

Vibrant streets of havana

The streets of Havana are filled with activity: women in colorful dresses (you pay to take their pictures), musicians, beggars, and vendors of everything from coins to Che Guevara berets! BTW the worst beggar we saw was a man with his cute little girl. We smiled and said hola to her. Her father put out his hand and said, “One dollar.” We laughed and kept moving.

Frank and his new guitar-playing friend

We don’t mean to sound unsympathetic to the plight of these people, but begging has always been difficult to deal with. Many countries ask you not to give beggars anything. Here, we felt as if the people really are suffering, and we did give to some. Like an old man who latched on to Frank talking and talking in Spanish. Frank couldn’t understand much of what was said but when the man mentioned moneda (money) and gestured a circular rub to his stomach, the message was clear.

Eating in the paladar

We had a break before our afternoon tour, so we decided to have lunch in Havana. (We were really anxious to do some exploring on our own!) Vivian directed us to a paladar, a private, family-run restaurant. Private enterprises of any kind are a very recent development in Cuba. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, all the Soviet monetary support and special trade deals for Cuba dried up. This led to a time of true deprivation, Castro called “The Special Period in Peace Time.” (Only Castro could come up with a name like that!) Since then, a process called normalization is gradually leading to more of an open society with opportunities to start private businesses.

Our restaurant was located in a beautiful old home, and the food was excellent. One odd thing: we were served something that we thought was creamy butter. Frank ask for more butter, and the waiter explained that is was actually mayonnaise because “we have no butter.”

1956 Olds?
(Note sticker of hero Che Guevara on front of the hood.)

When we walked back for our afternoon bus tour, we got to the large street in front of the cruise terminal and stopped in our tracks. It was like watching a parade. One old American car after another: 1940’s and 50’s Chevys, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Dodges, and more.

'57 Dodge? (just look at the length of this car!)

They have kept these vehicle engines running in any way they could, and they are used as taxis and fun rides for the tourists – what a hoot to see this assortment of nostalgia. Frank was particularly impressed because he owned some of these models in his early years of driving!

Old building in need of restoration

Our afternoon bus tour took us around Modern Havana, although we saw lots of gorgeous old homes that are reduced to rotting shells. We did pass the impressive Hotel Nacional known for its famous visitors. In 1946 at the height of the mob’s casino and gambling operations in Havana, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky held a big conference at this hotel. Hundreds of Mafioso dudes attended the one-week event.

Colors of Havana

We drove through the University of Havana where beautiful mansions have been converted to college facilities. This might not seem like such a bad idea except that the homes were pretty much appropriated when the wealthy fled the island after the Revolution.

'57 Cadillac?

We stopped at Revolution Square with a memorial to Jose Marti and a government building with a multi-story image of Che Guevara. All of us tourists pretty much ignored the revolutionary stuff and spent our time admiring the old cars parked there. These cars have been remarkably well-restored – real eye candy for Frank! There were so many of them, it was like walking through a 1950’s used car lot!

Pencil with "Yo Soy Fidel!"

The heroes of the Revolution will not be forgotten any time soon. Images of Che and Fidel are everywhere in Cuba on billboards and posters. “Yo soy Fidel” (I am Fidel) is a common statement often painted on buildings. It was a popular chant during Fidel’s funeral back in November of 2016, and now it’s even on some souvenirs! We bought our granddaughter a cute pencil with a doll’s head on the top, and sure enough, painted on the side of the pencil is “Yo soy Fidel!” (I am Fidel)

Rockin' in our 1949 Chevy Special Deluxe

Second Day in Havana

We decide to bag the guided tour today and go it alone. The thought of another day on and off the bus like herded cattle was too much. We are so used to exploring on our own, and this was our one chance to enjoy Havana by ourselves. It turned out to be our best day in Cuba.

On the streets of Havana

We started our day with a taxi ride in a ’49 Chevy Special Deluxe convertible. The interior had definitely seen better days, but it ran like a champ. We asked how many miles it had on it, and the driver said, “I don’t know, billions!” We took off down the famous Malecon Highway, a drive that runs along the sea. For some reason, we not only had a driver but a young man who spoke beautiful English. Of course, they wanted to know where we were from, and when we said America, they went nuts! “I don’t believe it,” the English-speaking guy said. “We LOVE Americans!”

License plates are a big seller here

He certainly knew a lot about America. He talked about how much he admires America, and how remarkable it is that such a young country is the best in the world. He also told us that because he works for a private taxi company, he can make more in one day than a Cuban doctor or a teacher (both on the government payroll) make in a month! How can that be and how can it continue?

New friends in Plaza de Armas

The taxi guys dropped us off at Plaza de Armas, a lively square with a sedate, relaxing park in the middle of it. We sat on a park bench and soaked in the ambience of palm trees, green grass, and fountains. We bought a few souvenirs from a guy and chatted for a while. He even brought his mother over to meet us. Such nice people!

Another woman played the guitar and sang for us. She was incredibly good; what a voice! We hoped to buy a CD of her music, but she said they were too expensive for her to make. So, we enjoyed her music, and of course, gave her some money. She sang such a heart-wrenching song, a Cuban style called danzon. We never knew Cuban music included ballads like those. Reminded us of the “fado” music we had heard years ago in Portugal.

Scrumptious country pork

We wandered the streets taking in the local color. The streets here feel so alive. We ate lunch at another paladar, this one even better than the last. The restaurant was in another lovely old house up a steep and narrow stairway on a second floor with windows flung open and ceiling fans providing the cooling while a group of musicians entertained us. We could have stayed there all day. The owner explained to us that everything in his restaurant is organic and fresh coming straight from his suppliers in the countryside. Frank said his risotto was the best he has ever eaten, and Anne’s country pork dish with carrots and onions in a slightly fruity gravy was so good she was ready to move to Cuba!

El Commandante Frank!

By the way, everywhere we went, people would call out to Frank, “Hey Hemingway” or “Hola Che.” We think it was the beard, or maybe the hat. Or both. One guy called him Commandante, and Frank really liked the sound of that! A street artist, who called himself the Cuban Picasso, drew a fast caricature of Frank, calling him “El Commandante.”

Plaza Vieja

We returned to Plaza Vieja where we sat on some steps eating coconut ice cream, listening to music, and watching the school kids doing calisthenics on the square. Today we got to experience the real “Kooba!”

Cuban art

Lecture with Jorge

Jorge’s topic was Cuban art, and Anne was quite taken with it. It seems amazing that these people create art that is so lively and colorful when their lives are so dreary.

Tonight was Latin Night, and the entertainment was vibrant and energetic. All the performers were from Cuba and those kids sang and danced their hearts out. Such diverse music. The love songs break your heart, and the dance music makes it impossible not to move. We even did a little dancing like a Cuban ourselves!

More pics: