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.

Some Cuban Realities

Today we spent walking the city again, touring spots we hadn’t run across yet.  Instead of boring you with the details, I thought I’d explain some of the things we’ve learned in our last two weeks on the island.

Dogs: The streets are filled with dogs, most of them mixed breed.  They don’t really appear to belong to anyone and roam the streets looking for scraps.  Some look healthier than others.  Occasionally you’ll see a full bred dog on a leash.  There are a lot of dachshunds, with other various breeds mixed in.  We even saw someone selling puppies in a park.  There are cats but they seem to be a little rarer, perhaps hiding out of main view. 

Housing: As you walk down the streets, you can peer into the open doors of people’s houses.  They all appear to have a small living room, kitchen and probably a bedroom or two.  I assume they mostly don’t have air conditioning since their doors are wide open.  The government provides the housing for the people and the utilities are nominal.  A lottery is held after the construction of a new apartment building where one lucky construction worker will get a new apartment.  They consider it an incentive to build quality housing.

Food: The Cuban food is pretty simple.  We found out in the countryside the restaurants would often have just one menu.  It quickly became apparent that the same menu items are available everywhere: rice, beans, ropa vieja, roast chicken, shrimp and lobster in a tomato sauce and maybe some pork.  The other thing you find almost everywhere is some kind of pasta with marinara or pesto sauce.  Drink choices are bottled water and beer, Cristal being the national brand.  In Havana, you find a wider variety of food although it is still pretty basic.  We ate at one restaurant, 361 Lamperella which appears to be new and catering to tourist.  The menu had a lot more variety and the presentation was very upscale.  I expect to see more of these kinds of places with the loosening of tourist restrictions in the US.

Grocery Stores: I use this term loosely.  There are stores that have some food items but they are very basic.  You have the standard variety of the local soda, occasionally finding the diet version, rum, maybe some sweets, rice and beans.  There’s only one brand available.  There are bakeries with bread on street corners around the city.  There are usually lines at them.

Food Safety:  We had been warned to not trust the water.  That usually means not to eat anything fresh like a salad too.  We quickly gave in to having drinks with ice which didn’t seem to cause any problems.  I also ate tomatoes and cucumbers without difficulty.  We did use bottled water to brush our teeth, but in general we found everything to ok on our American stomachs.

Bathrooms: Well, you see everything here.  Toilet seats are definitely optional with some of our group not having one in their hotel room even.  Toilet paper was also sometimes there, sometimes not.  A lot of places had a bathroom attendant that provided paper for 10 cents (or whatever change you have) and those bathrooms were the cleanest.  Showers usually lacked either hot water or water pressure.  That’s probably the thing I will enjoy the most when returning home – a hot shower with plenty of water.

Religion: Communism and religion usually don’t mix so a lot of the old churches were converted for other uses after 1-1-59.  However, there is still Catholicism.  We have also walked by a Baptist church and a Methodist church (with a very lively congregation on Sunday morning).  Santarien (an African based religion) dressed in all white from head to toe can be seen on the streets.  They have different gods they worship which also involves sacrificing chickens, which accounts for the headless chickens you might find on the streets or in the cemetery.

Wages: We had been told the average Cuban makes an average of $12/month.  Our bartender friend said he makes about $90/month and our writer friend with the National newspaper makes $30/month.  He told us there are some professions that earn good wages such and doctors and nurses.  In general though, the wages here are far below those in America.

Economic Reforms: When Raul Castro took over as President, he ushered in sweeping economic reforms.  It’s now possible for the people to own property and businesses.  Cubans are now free to travel if they have the funds (or jobs) that allow them to do so.  There also appears to be a healthy black-market economy.  We were told there’s marijuana and cocaine here but no synthetic drugs like meth.  The people here desperately want to reestablish relationships with the US because they need the influx of capital.  I hope they don’t regret the change in lifestyle once this happens.

Urban Renewal:  In Havana, there appears to be a lot of renovation work going on.  The city Historian has found a way through tourist dollars to start making real progress on restoring historic parts of the city while also provided social services for the citizens such as schools and retirement homes.  However, it would take years to return this city to its former glory.

Scams: Whenever tourists come to a city scams start turning up.  You should always ask how much a taxi costs before getting in.  Pregnant women roam the square asking you for money to buy milk for their children, or they will take you to a store where you can buy milk and give it to them (probably only to find its way back to the shelves to be sold again).  Men hawk cigars on street corners or offer to take you to a friend’s house to sell you cigars at factory direct prices. 

Money: the tourist dollars are called cuc’s.  You can convert money at banks or exchange locations.  There’s a 13% surcharge on exchanges US dollars, so it may make sense to convert your money to Eurus before arriving.  There’s not a lot to buy here other than cigars and rum, so you can judge how much you need to bring with you.  At present time, American issued credit cards do not work here and most places don’t take credit cards anyway.  Cash is king!  The service people work for tips, so 10% of your bill is a good starting point.

Cars:  Cuba is frozen at 1959.  Vintage American cars are everywhere (60,000) although few have their original motors (or anything else for that matter).  If you want a ride in a classic convertible like you see in photos, head down to the Capital where they line up hustling rides.  They also have more modern cars that have been imported from places other than the US.  Russian Latas are plentiful here.  You also see the random Mercedes, etc. that are probably foreign diplomats’ cars.  Yellow cabs are owned by the government.

That’s enough for random information for now. 

Tomorrow: Lunch with a Legend

Two Sides of Havana

After another incredible breakfast, we headed out on our own to explore parts of Havana we had missed so far.  Our destination was several of the famous squares in the city, but we had many distractions along the way.

One of the best stops we made the entire trip was inside (I use the term loosely) an abandoned, gutted building.  We were invited inside by a man who apparently makes his home there along with his dog.  The decay was incredible.  All the floors were gone, opening up to the sky the several story building.  The arches were mostly intact with vines and other vegetation growing where there were once stairways and rooms.  This is Havana today.  Once a glorious city, most of its buildings are now in some stage of crumbling.  It reminds you of pictures you see of areas devastated by a natural disaster but this disaster is the result of a government shunned by a large part of the world and lacking funds to keep it restored.

We finally arrive at Habana Vieja square.  If this was the only thing you saw of Havana you might think everything was going great here.  A group of school children were first exercising then sitting to watch a Punch and Judy puppet show.  Tourist wondered around the square taking pictures of the modern art while others took a coffee break in one of the many restaurants lining the square.  We adjourned for a drink and bite to eat at one of the second floor establishments with a balcony overlooking the action. 

A miracle occurred while we were there.  This establishment actually served Diet Coke!  For those who don’t know my husband, he’s the posterchild for a Diet Coke addict.  Since arriving in Cuba he’s had to live off water, cerveza and the occasional local diet drink (which are few and far between).  He’d even found his beloved gin (Hendrick’s at most bars) and tonic but no Diet Coke.  You can be sure he marked this spot on our map for a return visit.

We returned to the Cathedral of San Cristobel by way of shopped lined tourist streets.  I would guess a lot of tourist making a stop for the day from a cruise ship only see this side of the city.  We opted to go into the church and to climb the bell tower for a view of the city.  You really get a sense for the size of Havana and also the vast amount of disrepair.  Storm clouds dropped rain for a brief period but we managed to stay dry.  It was a beautiful church and well worth the visit.

Returning to our apartment for an afternoon break seemed like a good idea.  We strolled the streets, stopping for a churro along the way, and finally took a bicitaxi since the clouds looked like we were in store for more rain.  Our taxi was stopped by an official and fined because his taxi sign was missing.  His response, “Welcome to Cuba”.

Our rooftop was alive with the singing of our bird ‘Fidel’ preaching to his parishioners of sparrows that lighted on the plants surrounding the deck, listening to his beautiful and varied chirps.  It really has a way of making the city noises disappear.

Tonight we met up with Nestor again to go to dinner and maybe listen to music.  He took us a block or two away to a little Cuban restaurant.  We discussed our lack of internet, so he told us to follow him to his secret ‘free’ spot.  After walking several blocks we came upon a group sitting around on door steps staring into the glowing screens of their phones.  While we couldn’t see the network, Nestor knew the steps to get us connected.  We were glued to our phones for the next thirty minutes or so catching up with emails and even posting a couple of pictures.  I felt like a real Cuban, sitting among the people soaking up black-market WiFi. 

 We were tired from our long day of touring, so we bid Nestor farewell and walked back to our place.

Tomorrow: More roaming around the city

Welcome to the Real Havana

We took our time getting up and around this morning since we had been going nonstop with the group for the past week.  We had a wonderful breakfast of fried eggs, fruit cocktail, a papaya smoothie, toast and flan.  I liked the idea of dessert at breakfast.

After organizing our things, we set off back to the bar to meet Nestor for our tour.  Nestor headed off towards the western side of Havana.  This was not going to be your typical sightseeing tour of government buildings, churches and museums.  We were going to wonder the streets to see how the people lived.

One of our first stops was a bicitaxi (bicycle taxi) garage.  They were lined up inside with more coming and going as we took our photos.  The streets are lined with them, so we now know where they come from.  Next, Nestor took us to the restaurant visited by the Obamas on their historic visit here, St. Cristobel.  Nestor knew one of the waiters that let us in to take photos.  This was to be repeated throughout the day.  It seemed Nestor knew everyone.

Next we stopped at one of the original recording studios and jazz halls in Havana.  Many famous Cubans have performed and recorded here.  The venue is still in use today with acts performing nightly.  It was easy to imagine a Cuban music legend giving a lively performance to a standing room crowd.  We might find our way back here during our stay.

David had shown me a photo he had saved from researching the trip of a headless statute with Fidel written on the wall just this morning.  Low and behold, Nestor took us to the exact spot where this was made.  It’s also known as one of the locations used in a well-known Cuban movie, Fresa y Chocolate, two flavors of ice cream available at one of the main locations in the movie.  We took lots of shots here one of which I’m sure will be printed for our walls back home. Upstairs is a well-known restaurant we will return to once the kids arrive.

In preparation for this trip, I  had read a book about a journalist that spent several months in Cuba in the early nineties doing research for a book he would write about his experiences(Trading With the Enemy by Tom Miller).  One of the Cubans he spoke of is an artist named Salvador.  Salvador wanted to do street art depicting African culture in Cuba.  He spent a great deal of time on these murals that we saw on Calle Jon de Hamel.  Now he sells his paintings in a shop on the street and we had to buy one to take home.

Apparently this area comes alive on Sundays when there’s a street festival with music, dancing and food.  Nestor promised to bring us back so we could see it ourselves.  There’s a little parador (local owned restaurant) that is famous for a rum drink made with lime, rum and sparkling water.  We had to stop for one and also to grab a little lunch.  Pictures of famous people lined the walls, but the one receiving the most attention was of Mick Jagger.  After their concert over the summer, the Rolling Stones are now royalty in Havana.

We started our trek back home after lunch.  On the streets we saw many daily activities such as welding, knife sharpening and furniture refinishing.  All of these activities were modified for the tools they have available to them.  The knife sharpener used a bicycle to power the sharpening tool.  Chairs were repainted out in the open air as well has repairs made to cars and bikes.  Lack of supplies may have slowed the Cubans down but necessity is the mother of invention.

Still full from our late lunch and

tired from our walk, we retired to our rooftop deck having a dinner of nuts and breakfast bars.  It had been an incredible day of shooting and making new friends.

Tomorrow: The Tourist Area 

We’re On Our Own

There appeared to be another possibility of meeting Che Guavera’s son at his bar again this morning.  After breakfast we hopped back into cabs to Old Havana.  Some of us explored the streets around the bar while others of us enjoyed an adult beverage.  After Che’s son stood us up, we headed back to our Casa Particulars to pack up and continue on to the next part of our journey. 

Our group met back up with our guide, Tony, from earlier in the trip to return to Santa Clara for their flight home tomorrow morning.  David and I still have another 10 days to explore the city of Havana.  We bid our farewells to Marie who had been a wonderful hostess and caught a cab to our home for the next week.

Our three bedroom apartment was located near the Capital towards the main train station.  Luis, the caretaker, met us at the door and helped us into the apartment.  The three bedrooms were in a row on the way to the bathroom although all the rooms have access to an outdoor walkway with bathroom access.  There’s a living room and also an upstairs.  This is where the apartment really shines with a nice bright kitchen and a large outdoor rooftop deck surrounded by lush plants.  The deck is shared with the one bedroom apartment off the deck but everything else is ours.  The refrigerator was stocked with beer and water and we also had wine and rum if we wanted it.  Another full bathroom upstairs rounds out our quarters.  This was definitely the nicest place we had stayed during the trip.

The owner, Catherine, is French but lives fulltime in Costa Rica.  She travels here every three weeks or so to check on her house, the apartments and several other projects she has going here.  She’s an interior designer by trade which is quite apparent looking at the appointments in our apartment.  I had been communicating with her son who lives in Paris and works for Christian Dior.  Catherine happened to be on one of her visits here so it was nice to meet her.  Three women take care of cleaning the apartments and cooking breakfast each morning.  They also did a load of laundry for us for 1 CUC ($1)!  I could get used to this!

After relaxing a bit on the deck, we decided to wonder back towards the Capital to find dinner.  The bar that we were heading for was completely packed, so we headed towards a neon sign down the street.  This little diversion would change the rest of our trip.  El Dandy’s is a bar that serves tapas and very good drinks.  With all the tables being filled, we took seats at the bar.  We ordered several tapas and a couple of drinks. 

The bartender asked us a few questions about where we were from, if this was our first trip and how we liked his country.  He also asked us about the Presidential election since they were a little concerned that Trump would roll back the changes made by the Obama administration.  After a little chat, he asked what we had planned for the next day.  Having nothing set in stone, he offered to take us on a walking tour of what he called the ‘real’ Cuba.  We agreed to a noon meeting and headed back to our place.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed a queen size bed with real pillows and nice linens.  It felt like we were staying at a five star hotel.  We quickly drifted off to sleep to prepare for a big adventure tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Nestor’s world

Back to the Cemetery

A gentleman with the key to an underground crypt was available for us this morning.  We were allowed to roam around the high stacked boxes of remains, some with long dead flowers attached to them, others with lids ajar which allowed us a look in.  Bones and skulls were visible inside.  It was fascinating if a little creepy.

After we left the cemetery we went to the capital where we were free to roam the streets looking for shots.  The capital is under restoration so it is covered in scaffolding.  This building is modeled after the US capital, although it is slightly larger, and was built post WWI by the US backed Dictator Gerardo Machado.  It was built during the sugar boom of the 1920’s.  It now houses the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science and Technology.  The buildings opposite it are in total disrepair with many empty facades with trees growing in them.  It is really one of the biggest examples of rich and poor I’ve seen. 

Small streets radiated out from the square and we broke into small groups to explore.  We ended up at the famous Sloppy Joes Bar for a bite of lunch.  This bar reopened in 2013 after being closed for 40 years.  It served as the haunts for such famous people as Hemingway and Frank Sinatra.  We tried the sloppy joes and beer.  After lunch, we hired a convertible to take four of us back to our lodging.

Our group split up this evening to take shots of the sunset and the rise of the Super Moon.  Four of us took our gear down to the Malecon to take pictures of the moon rising over Fort Moro.  Clouds started moving in which obstructed part of the moon but we still got some good shots.  Doug and Barbara had been invited to a photography school to speak to their students so they missed out. 

After a pleasant dinner at Waoo (Wow!) on the corner, we went back to our rooms to pack up for our departure tomorrow.

Tomorrow:  We say goodbye to the group

Off to Habana

Because we had a long drive to our destination, we got a little earlier start to our day.  We had breakfast again in the large communal dining hall, the typical omelet with cheese and ham (jamon), rotating fruit (depending on when you arrived) and little pancakes with honey.  Some of the other items available were not all that appetizing like the hotdogs cut into small pieces or the vegetables.  There was plenty to eat even if plates were not always available.

To get more of a feel for the Cuban countryside we took a northern route that avoided the major highway to Havana.  Our bus driver said in all his years of driving he had never been on this route.  Leave it to Doug to get off the beaten path.  The countryside was littered with small, square, brightly painted houses with laundry hanging on lines somewhere in the yard.  Chickens and dogs roamed the yards. 

The road was rough in areas and none of it as nicely paved as well as the major highway.  Our bus developed creaks and rattles as the trip progressed.  About midafternoon our guides started looking for a lunch stop since we would not arrive into Havana until dinnertime.  We drove through the largest town we had been in which looked like our best opportunity.  Most of the eating establishments were small, bar like affairs which could not accommodate our size group.  One restaurant towards the outskirts of town seemed to be our best option. 

Since this town was located right on the Caribbean, seafood was the specialty of the house.  I think the majority of our group ordered lobster for $12.  They were split and grilled and were huge!  This was perhaps the best lobster of the trip.  Paper products are in short supply many places, so this restaurant used several squares of toilet paper for our napkins.  This was definitely a first and hopefully last experience for me.

Another feature of the restaurant was the attractive waitress.  Unlike most of her fellow countrymen she was blond and said she enjoyed having her picture taken.  At the end of the meal she agreed to a little photo shoot with a Cuban flag Doug had brought along.

We had to stop at a hotel on the edge of Havana to get vouchers for our accommodations.  This place was beautiful with a lazy river pool and views over the ocean.  It also goes for $400-$500 a night.  We convinced ourselves that we wanted to experience the ‘real’ Cuba and continued on down the road.

We were staying in casa particulars (rooms rented in residences) in the Vedado section of Havana.  This is not the typical tourist section of the city.  We were all within a couple of block area of each other (at the intersection of K and 25, not very creative on street names).  Our casa was on the busier L Street with large windows overlooking the street activity.  We had a private bathroom, a refrigerator and a bed.  Adjoining our room was a small living room and a separate dining area where we would have breakfast.  An Australian also shared the common space with us although we did not see him during our stay.  Marie was our hostess and her 90 something year old mother also lived there.

On the corner was a nice little Italian restaurant willing to rearrange tables for our group.  Cibo had a good variety of dishes and was some of the better food we had eaten on the trip.  After our long journey we were all ready to turn in for the evening.

Tomorrow: The Sites of the City

Exploring the City, Cuba Style

Doug and Jonathon had arranged ‘50s era taxis to take our group exploring today.  Our first stop was for a group picture in front of the newly opened American Embassy. The building dates back to President Carter who wanted to have a presence in Cuba even if it wasn’t a full blown embassy.  Guards were posted at the entrance of the fenced in building but we were able to stand in front of the gate for our photo.  Across the street is the famous Malecon, the street that runs adjacent to the ocean wall where Havanans stroll day and night.  Across to the other side is a large outcropping of flagless flag poles erected in a less friendly time to block the pro-American message board at the consulate.

Back in our cars we made a brief stop at Cathedral de San Cristo but the lines we too long to take a look inside.  A tunnel under the bay led us to the fortress of El Morro.  The Havana harbor is one of the best harbors in the world, being both deep and narrow which opens into a large bay.  This could be easily defended by placing a fort at the entrance of the harbor.  We had time to explore the inside of the fort with its cobblestone paths and brick lined rooms.  A lighthouse stands on the point. 

After a lovely rooftop lunch near the fort, we headed to the Necropolis Cristobel Colon.  This large cemetery houses large marble crypts where families have buried their dead (1.5 million) for centuries.  Strolling through the streets is a lesson in Cuban history.  There is a section for famous baseball umpires, and a memorial to firefighters that died battling a fire in the ‘50’s. Politicians, authors and regular citizens share space here.  A map can be purchased to help you navigate the acreage. 

We met Dale, a Harley enthusiast that Doug met online, who is also a diplomat at the Canadian embassy, and his wife.  After our cemetery tour, he took us to meet a guy who specializes in Harley-Davidson motorcycles.  His repair shop sits below street level and is filled with parts and equipment that he uses in restoring bikes to a rideable condition.  He has an impressive assortment of historic bikes on display.  He explained some of the challenges he has faced over the years.  One of the biggest challenges is finding tires since this is not something you can make in a shop.  Makeshift automobile tires are converted for motorcycle use although they make steering quite difficult since they are not rounded like a motorcycle tire is to assist in turning. 

We also got to see the restoration project of his family home.  He hopes to have it completed before tourist season is in full swing since he will have 9 rooms to rent out.  He said there are many challenges trying to restore the house since many common hardware items can be in short supply.  Even though it was Sunday, there was a full crew working on the project.

The wife of the embassy diplomat spent quite a bit of time describing some of the challenges of living in Cuba.  You really have to be relaxed and go with the flow since there are no certainties here.  For instance, if she wants beef (it is illegal kill a cow in Cuba so all meat must be imported) for the weekend she orders it on Monday and still has no guarantee she’ll receive any by the end of the week.  The people are very poor but they do not have mortgages and the government provides their utilities and coupon books for food.  Her security guard moved to Florida and has had a rough time making it there.

Our next stop was for a drink at a bar owned by Che Guevara’s son.  There was a chance he was going to stop by and meet with us but that never materialized.  The bar was a pleasant stop however and the drinks were good.  We left to go to a restaurant/bar where the views were purported to be good for the sunset.  However, after arriving it became apparent we would be disturbing too many patrons during our shoot and left.  We returned to hotel and had a pleasant dinner before retiring.

Tomorrow: Underground Crypts