Adios Cuba

After nearly three weeks in Cuba, we were on our way home today but not without a little hiccup to cap off the trip.

Our cab arrived as expected predawn to take us to the airport. Siamara was there to wish us goodbye and good luck.  She was such a great representative of her country and I'm glad we got to spend time with her.  After finding a way to squeeze our luggage in the van we were off.

The Hava airport is not all that big and definitely not as automated as we were used to.  Passengers are held outside until their flight is posted as ready to check-in.  However, whoever updates the board must have gone on break.  We took a chance that our flight was available and pushed our luggage through the doors.

I was a little worried we might have a problem during check-in since I had failed to print David's voucher prior to departure.  I didn't know the half of it!  The kids checked in before us with no problems.  We were up next and I explained my problem of our unprinted ticket.  Indeed, in this wasteland of internet connectivity, printed tickets are king.  We would need to pay $10 and see someone in a backroom in the airport before being allowed to leave.

But wait, this more! David and I were somehow missing from the flight manifest, neither one of us would be leaving Cuba unless we could get this straightened out.  We left our luggage with our kids at the check-in counter and were marched to the before mentioned backroom.  Nope, not on this flight.  How exactly did you get here without having your ticket stamped?  We explained we had flown an American flight into the country and therefore no stamped ticket.  After 30 minutes of a very slow email exchange, we were finally hand entered on the flight.

Fidel Castro died the day we left Cuba.  I'm glad we got to see the country before they entered a 9 day period of mourning.  I'm not sure any of the younger people would be too distraught over his death.  Their main concern is opening relations with the US and bringing in tourist dollars.  I think there's mixed feelings about Fidel the revolutionary among the older Cubans.  Some see him as a great man who delivered them from western tyranny.  Many others see him as a brutal dictator that jailed and tortured dissidents, openly hated gays and let his country decay to a point that it will take years to rebuild.  I direct you to an excellent book, "Waiting for Snow in Havana" by Carlos Eires  if you would like a perspective from a man that was airlifted out when he was a boy after Castro became leader.

What am I looking forward to most upon our return home?  First and foremost, a hot, strong shower.  Nineteen days of sub-par water pressure and heat has left me with a slightly off feeling.  Second is access to the internet.  While I'm extremely grateful to have missed all of the post election rantings on Facebook, I do miss the news and can't wait to be back fully connected.

What will I miss? The simpler life of Cuba.  Not being connected meant we had to go out into the streets to have contact with people.  Our newfound friends, Nestor, Siggy, Yaniel and Saul, are genuinely nice people.  We'll become Facebook friends no doubt, but it's not the same as sharing a beer and a country sing-along in person.  The rawness of the city is captivating and such a great subject for photography.  I'm sure if able, we'll return to Cuba soon.

Fusterlandia

For our final full day in the city, we decided to do something totally different.  Jose Fuster is a Cuban artist that has created an almost amusement park like world full of brightly colored mosaics and  sculptures.  It was quite a ride to get to the outskirts of the city but it was well worth it.

Fustlandia was mentioned in several guidebooks, but because of its location probably does not draw many American tourists.  However, our cab driver knew exactly where we were going and offered to wait an hour for us to tour the grounds.

Jose Fuster takes his inspiration from many sources including Gaudi in Barcelona and Brancusi in Romania.  After visiting Europe he decided to make his house an artistic playground and continues with the project even today.

You really have to visit it to get the full effect of what Fuster has created.  My pictures really don't give it justice since it is a small space with artwork exploding everywhere.  It makes you fell happy seeing all of his whimsical creations.  I can't imagine where his mind must live most of the time.  I'm really glad we had a free day to go explore this fun corner of the world.

We decided to try the Italian restaurant above Los Nardos for a late lunch.  This was a perfect farewell meal.  The lobster pasta could have easily fed a family of three and cost just $4.95.  The pizzas looked delicious and they also had some more typical Cuban specialties.  You must visit this place if you find yourself in Havana.

Having a good idea of the money we would need to get us home, we bought the rum and cigars we needed to take back with us for gifts and for our own consumption.  David had planned to leave some of his clothing behind which turned out to be a good idea.  Packing early, we enjoyed our final evening under the stars on our rooftop.  Wow, what a trip!

Next: Getting home and final thoughts

Back to the Country

Wanting the kids to see some of the Cuban countryside, we had booked an all day Vinales tour with Havana Tour Company.  Our tour guide today was Saul a 25 year old who has a degree in IT but has found being a guide more lucrative.

We took a van out into the countryside.  While the roads are better on the main highway, the going is still slower than in the US where we can easily go 80 without worrying about road hazards.  We made one stop at a roadside, Cuban run, roadside stop.  This turned out to be a WiFi hotspot so we were able to catch-up on our emails.  I have to say it has been nice being unplugged, but I do miss the news.

Our first stop was the cave tour we had taken the week before with our photography group.  What made this stop special was having a couple of beers afterwards.  It turns out Saul is a very connected guy - Facebook, iTunes, even Tender.  He also loves country music.  He played some of his favorites and we had a little country music sing-along Cuban style right there in the bar.  This is a true 'people to people' exchange.

Our lunch stop was nearby at an Eco restaurant that grows much of their own food.  The food was really yummy and had a few more vegetables than most of our other Cuban meals.  I would highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Our next stop was at a tobacco farm.  The one we had visited the week before seemed almost Disney like compare to this one.  We drove down a dirt road, the only visitors at the time.  After touring a drying barn, we stopped at their little bar to watch a rolling demonstration.  This was the first time I had seen someone dip the tip of the cigar in honey before smoking it.  I have to say it tasted much better!

Next we stopped at the murial that is painted on the side of a mogote.  We had stopped here last week but this time we actually drove up to it.  I have to say it was more impressive when you could actually see all the work that had gone into the painting of it.

We commenced our 2 plus our drive back into Havana late afternoon.  The road is definitely well traveled by all sorts of transportation.  Old cars, buses, vans etc. were making their way across the countryside.  We also saw lots of hitchhikers hoping to catch a ride with someone.  This is a way of life in Cuba.  Cars are just too expensive for the average Cuban to own so they rely on catching a ride with someone heading the direction of their destination.

Tonight, we had dinner at a neat little restaurant that is owned by two chefs that had studied in Europe before returning to Cuban to open their own place.  Antique furniture was used in unique ways to seat the guests.  We dined 'in bed' with the headboard and foot-board serving as the bench backs of our table.  The food was very good although on the expensive side.

Tomorrow: Our final day

Museums and Dining

Since we had a full day yesterday, we took our time getting around this morning.  It was hard leaving the rooftop of our hacienda and the lovely ladies taking care of us.  Late morning, we decided it was time to head back out to the streets.

We decided to split up today, with David and Brandon heading out to shop for rum and cigars (or at least check the prices) and Jason, Alexa and I heading to the Cuban art museum.  Along the way we meandered through the streets taking in all the daily activities of the Havananites.  Convertibles lined the main thoroughfares with their drivers hawking tours of the city in their '50s beauties.  We popped into Sloppy Joes Bar so they could see what the interior looked like.  It was a pleasant way to spend the morning.

The Museum of Cuban art is housed in a beautiful building not too far from the Capital.  They had worked hard to make a space equal to the Cuban art displayed here.  Several floors broke up the collection into time periods represented in the collection.  While not a Cuban art expert (or even a novice) I appreciated the art displayed here from the colonial era portraits to the more modern art that was much more abstract in nature.  It was well worth a visit.

This evening we had reservations at La Guarida, purported to be one of the top restaurants in the city.  They have a lovely outside eating space, but we were relegated to an indoor room that did have doors opened out onto the street below.  Unfortunately, this room also hosted a tour group on their final night in Cuba.  While not overly loud, they were a large group and it lessened our dining experience.  The food was good but we ultimately felt we had dined at equally nice locations in the city.  I would recommend anyone going to La Guarida to make sure and ask to eat outside (and don't forget to make a reservation in advance).

Tomorrow: Out to the Countryside

A Walking Tour of Havana

Before we left on the trip, we had researched tour companies for a few day tours in Cuba once our family arrived.  We ended up using Havana Tours and we were not disappointed.  Their tour leaders were very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English.  We could also pay for them ahead of time which meant less cash we had to take with us.

Our guide for today was Yaniel (their form of Daniel).  A graduate in languages(English) from a university in Havana, he and his wife are tour guides and parents of twin girls.  The tour business had been good to them, allowing them to buy an apartment and perhaps a new car in the next year or two.

Today's tour took us past many of the historic sites in Havana Vieja that we'd walked past several times but did not totally understand what we were seeing.  We started near the capital, which had been built in the 1920's in a little over 4 years.  The current renovations will end up taking over 10.  After completed, the capital will once again serve as the seat of their congress.

Walking through Central Park, Yanial explained who used the different areas of the park.  Of course, there's the benches in the middle that the old men sit and argue about baseball all day.  One section is for the city's transvestite population, one for the gays to gather and one for people sleeping off too much drink from the night before.  Not nearly as large as the Central Park in NYC, it still serves it's population well.

We visited the four major squares in old town (Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral and Plaza de San Francisco), passing various historic buildings along the way.  The Barcardi building belonged to the rum distiller until they fled the country after the revolution in 1959.  It now serves as an office building, although Yaniel said the upper floors like many office buildings in the city were probably in need of renovation.  There are several hotels in the area, some co-owned by foreign companies and the Cuban government, usually a 49/51 split.

He also pointed out several bars that are famous due to Hemingway's infamous drinking habits.  There's Florida where he enjoyed daiquiris and La Bodeguita where he enjoyed mojitos.  Sitting outside of La Bodeguita is a gentleman with a typewriter that claims to have been friends with the famous author.  For a few CUC, he'll type a poem for you on the spot.  Entrepreneurship is everywhere in Cuba.

There's an unusual statute in Plaza Vieja that we had noticed several days earlier but were unable to find an explanation.  A naked women in high heels sits on top of a roster holding a large fork.  This is a memorial to the young Cuban women that have married older, wealthier men (probably some foreign) to help feed themselves.  What a different image of Cuba than the hundreds of Jose Marti sculptures encountered throughout the city.

After our walking tour, we took small taxi to our lunch destination, Cafe Laurent.  This privately owned restaurant in the Penthouse of an office building affords lovely views of the city from its glass walls. One of the nicer restaurants we visited, Cafe Laurent is must visit if you have time and find yourself Vedado section of the city.

After lunch, 50's convertibles awaited us for the driving portion of our tour.  Our fist stop was the Plaza de la Revolution where Castro has given many of his important (and not so important) speeches.    A tall tour and a Jose Marti statute are the distinguishing features of the square.  There are also large images of revolutionary leaders (Che is one) on the surrounding buildings.

We drove along the large boulevard that houses the majority of the Embassies in the city.  We also drove through a large park that serves as the city's botanical gardens.  We ended our tour at the Hotel Nacional De Cuba.  What a spot!  The bar features pictures of many of the Hollywood stars that have graced the hotel both from the 40's and 50's all the way up to modern times.  After ordering our mojitos, we found a sunny spot on the manicured lawns behind the hotel overlooking the Malecon.  It was a perfect way to end our tour of Havana.

Tomorrow: Museums and Dinner

The Family is Here

We arranged to have two of the classic cars we had taken earlier in the week to take us to the airport and pick our kids up.  We got to see a little different side of Havana on our trip, more where people live and work.  We saw a few large businesses, either warehouses or offices.  They still deal with the same decay we've witnessed in Havana Vieja.

The flight was delayed out of Miami, so we had quite a bit of time to sit around the airport waiting for them.  Even though our drivers didn't speak much English and we spoke no Spanish, David found a way to talk the universal language of cars.  IPhone pictures filled in where words couldn't.  After an hour plus delay, we gathered our crew and headed back to our place.  They had had a long travel day, so everyone went to bed as soon as they were settled.

The next morning (a Sunday) we introduced them to the two ladies that have been taking such good care of us.  Alexa was able to use her Spanish skills to make the introductions a little easier.  After breakfast, we got ready to show them a little of the city.

The Havana marathon was just concluding as we headed out.  We haven't noticed a lot of runners during our visit, but they did have a decent number of participants in the race.  I also assume there were some people that had flown in for the race.

We hadn't really planned our introduction route which ended up making our morning seem a little random.  We ended up in the renovated areas because the decay was a little too much for one of our sons.  We stopped at one of the few microbreweries in Havana.  The beer was okay, but the lack of competition probably did not help them.  It still was fun to try something a little different.

We walked further, visiting the church we had gone into several days earlier.  However, we couldn't take them into the tower today to give them an elevated view of the city.  Today was turning into a little of a disappointment.  We walked around a little more, but it was obvious they needed to rest up from their journey and we needed to regroup.

Tomorrow: A Walking Tour of the City

A Cuban Legend

We had been going nonstop since arriving in Cuba, so this morning we decided to take it easy.  We slept a little late, ate breakfast and enjoyed our beautiful rooftop. The weather had been very nice during our stay, so spending a little time relaxing outside was just what the doctor ordered.

If you have followed any of my other blogs you probably know about our friend Ira, a wonderful photographer out of NYC that contributes to National Geographic and also leads tours around the world for budding photographers.  He's spent a great deal of time in Cuba researching a back he hopes will be published in 2017 on Cuban baseball.  He connected us with one of his Havana friends that is a sportswriter for Granma, the state run newspaper.  We had made arrangements to meet him for lunch today.

Siegfredo Barros, or Siggy for short, has been a sports writer for 45 years and is a devoted fan of baseball.  I asked him during lunch if he's well known around the country and he responded with an eye roll.  "I get stopped all the time asking my opinion of a play or a team.  I have to stay neutral because I write for the paper."  The waiters at Los Nardos, our restaurant for today's meeting, obviously knew who he was because several stopped by our table to pay their respects.  This 70 year old is still in his writing prime it appears.

But like most of us, he's most proud of his two children, a grown boy and girl.  She's an attorney and he works as a translator.  Siggy's been married twice and is currently single.  "In this line of work, I am gone from home a lot of the time.  Women don't always like being alone."  He seems happy though that his work has been his life.  It has allowed him to travel all over the world for work.  He loves Italy, the people and the food.  He's visited several cities in the US and is a closeted Yankee's fan.

We spent some time discussing Cuba and how it has changed.  "The young people don't know how to communicate.  They spend all their time on their phones and don't even know how to answer it properly."  Sounds like the complaints I hear at home.  The youth in Cuba also seems much more comfortable with having babies out of wedlock and living together before marriage.  Like many 70 year olds, he's not entirely comfortable with it.

We asked about his life.  He shared that he makes $30/month but the state provides his housing and a coupon book for basic food.  When we offered for him to take our leftovers home, he was thrilled.  "I eat beans and rice every meal."  Having something different was a welcomed change.  He walks to work even though he has bad knees.  Ira had asked us to take him some pain reliever, so we fixed him up with two large bottles of ibuprofen.

We also discussed the Cubs win in the World Series.  "The curse of the goat is finally over!"  He has access to a sports channel through his work that allowed to watch the games live.  He questioned some of the pitcher choices just like we did during the series.  He also talked about all the famous Cubans that had played Major League Baseball.  He obviously has a lot of pride in Cuban players and Cuban baseball.  "It's a religion.  We talk about it all year long."

Politics came up in the conversation like other conversations we'd had since arriving.  He, too, was concerned about our new President rolling back US - Cuban relations to pre-Obama restrictions.  He reiterated the need for American business in Cuba.  I guess time will tell.

Saying our goodbyes in front of the restaurant, we gave him a few more souvenirs we'd brought with us in anticipation of meeting up with him.  He now has two Cubs hats and a World Series championship t-shirt.  He seemed truly touched.  We watched him head off with his bag of leftovers and baseball gear.  What a special opportunity we had to meet Siggy and hear a little about his life in Cuba.

Next: Our family arrives.