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
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