Havana Cuba

As we drove towards Havana I was amused to see that buses driving away from the city had destination boards saying 'Havana Cuba'. Presumably the people catching them know where they are going.

I fell in love with Cuba's capital from the Old Town to the more modern sector. The Old Town is a mix of cleaned up buildings and some that look as if a gust of wind will blow them down. (What a good job hurricanes usually arrive from the east and south and lose power once they make landfall - Havana is on the Northwest coast). The atmosphere is great probably for the history that has permeated those buildings and the happy and friendly Cubans who people it.



Cigar Sellers in national costume



As the Old Town is now a World Heritage Site monies have become available to help restore some of the lovely old buildings. One of those buildings having work done to it while we were there was the imposing Capitol which is neo-classical and has a flight of steps up to the front door. I wandered around the area to get a feel for the City and in a nearby square found men debating - not sure whether it was football, baseball but I doubt it was politics. There were plenty of people about - tourists and friendly Cubans - but it is a bit of a gamble crossing the roads!

We were then driven to Revolution Square with its 109m. high obelisk. This is where Fidel Castro made his speeches to thousands. We were told that people filled the huge square and surrounding streets just to listen to their leader giving speeches that ranged from two to nine hours. Two of the buildings in the square have 'sculptures' by Enrique Avila of Che Guevara and Commander Camilo - the other two of the triumvirate (Fidel being the third). There isn't one of Fidel as the policy is no statues or images until after the Leader has died.

Something which catches the eye traffic-wise are the old cars. Colourful vintage American cars such as Chevrolets (Chevies) and Packards. Mostly they are now taxis and the drivers expect you to pay them if you want to take a photograph. The reason they are still around is that when the USSR broke up Cuba lost its 'mother-lode' and they could no longer get Russian cars. Many people had either put their old American cars into garages or sheds (or even just left them to rot) and found that in order to have a working car they would have to renovate the old ones. Now some of them are, on the outside, American cars but under the bonnets/hoods they have Russian engines.

Following a super lunch at the Pina de Plata (Silver Pineapple) restaurant we strolled through the old town before having some free time. Me? I chose to sit in Cathedral Square sipping a Cuba Libre, listening to Cuban music and thinking about some of the famous people who have either lived or visited Havana.

Graham Greene stayed there and got his idea for 'Our Man in Havana', Alec Guinness and Noel Coward were there for the making of the film, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald had a short holiday there and, of course, Ernest Hemingway lived there at the Hotel Ambos Mundo. (I have written about his stay which is on my other blog: www.barbarabothwell.blogspot.com).