Havana Looking Good From This Distance 

CUBA LIBRE REDUX  -  Priorities

Every traveler has a special singular expectation of his or her destination.  The British Museum in London, the Eifel Tower in Paris, the funicular in Hong Kong or the Ramblas in Barcelona were just a few of mine, and all proved to be well beyond expectations.  It was no different here in Cuba.  I had long dreamed of cruising along the fabled five mile malecon (a shoreline pedestrian promenade) separating a vibrant Havana city from the azure blue and benign Gulf Stream.  Alas, it was not in the cards this day as our taxi rumbled towards the city center.  The unseasonably horrible weather of the past few days had stirred up the Stream so much that crashing waves had inundated the malecon and closed its entire length to vehicles.  My first priority, to see the malecon, was out of the question.  Instead we gazed at the deteriorating neighborhoods passing by the open windows of our 1954 Ford taxi.  

As it was our first day in Cuba, we were newbies about negotiating taxi rates. We paid around $25 to arrive at the center of Havana but would later find the regular rate was around $15 to $20.  Subsequently we would take a free tourist bus into town from the hotel across from our marina slip using taxis only when we missed the bus going back to Marina Hemingway or did not wish to wait for a bus. The bus always took a little longer but made stops at all the major tourist locations outside of the city center. Havana city center, on the other hand, is a very walk-able place with many of the must see attractions within a mile or two of the Capital building.  This is a city chock full of museums and parks and wherever you wander… the sound of music.   

Hollywood Set?

Optional GM or Ford Paint Schemes? 

Once we acclimated to the movie set that is boulevards jammed with 1950 automobiles sporting a myriad of colors that occur neither in nature nor the paint shops of Ford or GM, we strolled into the Museum of the Revolution.  It is housed in what in what pre-revolution had been Cuba’s “White House.”  The minutiae of Fidel’s rise are painstakingly prioritized in hundreds of photos of men with beards standing around with rifles.  Highlights?  The radio Fidel had used to broadcast his arrival from Mexico is prominently displayed but for me, walking up the three flights of the magnificent open marble staircase was reminiscent of an unplanned layover I had in the Athens airport not long after a 1980’s terrorist attack.  I can report that the tell-tale mark a bullet makes in pristine marble is remarkably similar no matter in which out of the way corner of the world the marble may be ensconced. And this Cuban staircase was pockmarked with hundreds of those telltale indentations.  Outside the building, a fenced in park with equipment remnants of the US backed invasion force are proudly on display and freshly painted so the bullet holes are readily apparent.  Next to that, the actual 60 foot boat that brought Fidel and 81 friends from Mexico to Cuba to overthrow Batista.  My boat is 41 feet and once I had 19 people on board for a party in the slip in Marina del Rey. That weight load submerged my entire waterline.  Venturing out to sea in that condition is inconceivable to me.  The fine line between bravery and foolhardiness was obviously more fluid to Fidel than it is to me. 

 Cuba's Former 'White House' 

Batista's Last Stand (or sit)

Back at the center of the city, we have a pleasant lunch at the open air patio of the Ingleterra Hotel.  One of the Havana landmarks, it too is a bit downtrodden (no toilet paper or flushing toilets in the restrooms) but the sandwiches and local beer are excellent. The strolling musicians put a smile on everyone’s face even as they shill for tips and CD sales.  I desperately wanted to see Cuba before it becomes a suburb of Florida as the constraints on Americans traveling here are removed and so I care little that we must stuff our pockets and handbags with toilet paper for any necessary stops. I am happy to be here see this authentic Havana.  In May of 2016, the Starwood hotel chain concluded a deal with the Cuban government to rehab and update three major Havana hotels to American tourist standards.  The Ingleterra was one of them.  The good news is that toilets will flush.  The bad news is that finding an open table on this patio for lunch will be nigh on to impossible.   Further disturbances in the Force occurred on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 when the first commercial US airline in fifty years landed on Cuban soil.

   Finding an available tiled table will be difficult 

It is said that Ernest Hemingway was instrumental in making daiquiris famous at the Floridita tavern. In truth it would appear he drank them wherever and whenever he paused to pee.The famous Floridita however, was on my priority must-see list (as with every tourist in Havana) so we imbibed (they were delicious, if a bit overpriced) then asked a local to document my homage to the Hemingway legend.  Worth every peso. 

The Five Amigos at the Floridita

On our trip back to the marina one other element became quite obvious.  Not just housing was in terrible shape, buildings of every shape and size were run down.  Paint chipped and missing, plaster falling off in chunks, walkways cracked and uneven, all screamed for attention in spite of the captivating and innovative architecture that is everywhere throughout the city.  It is a spectacularly beautiful city… until you look more closely. It is sad to witness this neglect (due to economic issues of course) but there is a bright spot.  Whenever one comes across a reminder of Fidel, or Raoul, or Che or even the Revolution, the reminder itself will be freshly painted, well maintained and expensively displayed.  Just goes to show… everyone’s priorities are different.   And I’m okay with that because it has been one terrific day in Havana, Cuba.  Terrific days are pretty high on my personal priority list.