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| Ride to the Airport |
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| Dad throwing out some more English! |
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| Grocery Store! |
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| The Spoils! |
Friday, April 21, 2017
Heading Home
Well finally it is time to head home. Since we were not familiar with the process at the airport we decided to head out at 9:30 and give ourselves plenty of time. We all had our stuff packed up and were ready to go at 9: We settled up with Marisela for our extra charges for the week (Meals and drinks out of our fridges)and told her how much we enjoyed staying with her in her beautiful house and how much we loved our trip to Cuba. She was glad we had a great time and told us that we could expect a great time whenever we came back. She also told us that people were "extra" nice to us because we had Dad with us and in their culture they had great respect for elders. Of course Dad ate this up and now is hiring himself out to come back with anyone to Cuba if they feel like they need the "extra" protection that traveling with him brings. Our ride arrived at 9:30 and we got to ride in yet another great 50's car all the way to the airport. We wanted to get through immigration and security and then we would do a little shopping. Since prices are controlled here you can buy stuff at the airport for the same price that you can buy it in town. We were told if we wanted to buy Rum and Cigars just to wait til the airport. That way we would not have to check our bags to get them through. We actually got our tickets and were through security in just a few minutes. Tim, Julie and I bought some rum,a few cigars and then we settled in to wait for our flight. Now we just had one last hurdle.......would the USA let us back into our country when we landed in Charlotte. The entire trip Dad would never use any of the benefits that most seniors use. No elevators no special seats nothing! However there is one thing he will do that benefited all of us. He was allowed to pre-board due to his age in the cane that he had. This allowed him and all of his helpers which would be Tim, Julie and myself to board before all of the other passengers. This allowed us to make sure our Carry on's where with us and did not have to go under the plane. So after a brief wait we ere boarded and settled into our seats. Tim and I sat together and next to me was a young man that looked just like a young Castro. He had actually been in Cuba for a week by himself and had rented a car and driven around a lot of the country. We landed 30 minutes early without fanfare and now it was time to get through immigration. We knew it would not be a problem but still you just had a feeling that it might not go smoothly. Tim travels enough that he went through a special line that just scans his fingers and he was through. Dad's cane moved the rest of us to the front of the line and we were only asked one question. How many days were we in Cuba. After I answered that incorrectly ( I said 5 instead of 6. Whoops!) he said welcome back! Next we headed through customs and next we were exiting into the shuttle area. We made it. While there was never a true worry about it I would have to say that it was always on the back of our mind that something could go wrong. We had a great time for sure and I will be back. I owe a trip to Lyn and am looking forward to taking her. There are also several other big cities to see so it could take several trips to see them all. On a personal note I would like to thank Julie for helping me plan the trip and being such a great negotiator / translator while we were there. She made things so much smoother by jumping into the role from beginning to end. I would also like to give props to my Dad. He is 79....in his 80th year and really did not want to miss anything. He hung in there on everything we did. And finally a shout out to my best friend Tim. He is use to being in charge and let go of the reins and totally let us plan the trip. His most used line while in Cuba was "I am just happy to be here!" and I really think he was! Should you go to Cuba. I would say maybe. If you are expecting great resorts then I would so no. But if you have always been intrigued by this country and our relationship with it and love meeting new and interesting people then I would say hurry up and get your tickets! You will not be disappointed.
Day 5
The car arrived at 9 and the driver apologized that the car we wanted was being repaired but he had a friend that had agreed to take us and he would also come along and be our unofficial unofficial tour guide. So now we had a 50's car and two people for 15 CUC an hour. Although we were disappointed in the car it was still a great deal and we were glad that the same friendly driver that we knew was coming along for the ride. Julie found a cool restaurant for breakfast and we headed out. The restaurant was called the Cafe ArcAngel. It was yet another place with a really cool vibe and a great breakfast menu. We had a leisurely breakfast and when we finished we walked out to our waiting car and headed to Fusterlandia. It was about 30 minutes away and the way that we went took us up the Malecon. The Malecon is the roadway that goes along the seawall in Havana. It is beautiful in just about every way. Our ride eventually took us down embassy road which has just about every embassy lined up next to each other. It was really cool to see and I am glad that we got to go through it. We were totally enjoying the ride when all of a sudden we were being pulled over by the police. I think we all had a brief flash of being locked up in a Cuban prison.......one that were pretty sure would night serve Mojitos and play cool Cuban music. Anyway our two drivers got their paper work to together and went to go talk to the police. The police had actually pulled two cars at the same time. We all sat there talking about what if anything we should do. We even discussed making a run for it but decided that with Dad's running ability we would probably be apprehended about three and half feet from the car. After about ten minutes our drivers came back and said it was just a routine road check. So we were off again and soon we arrived at Fusterlandia.
When we walked into the entrance we were all amazed at how much detail was needed to create every piece of artwork. But as we walked into the neighborhood we were overwhelmed by how much there was. It went on and on. We toured it for a little over an hour and then headed out to the Marina de Hemingway. There were all kids of yachts and we walked up and down the rows just checking out the boats and talking to a few of the boat owners. Tim and I were secretly hoping that someone had diet coke on board and would share but unfortunately there was none to be had. After hanging out at the Marina we decided to go see the John Lennon Memorial. We had heard that it was a cool park and since we are fans we wanted to go check it out. We had also heard that there was a statue of John Lennon sitting on a bench and that they had had a problem with taking his glasses from time to time so now there was someone that was paid to put them on for pictures and to guard them from theft.
After about a 20 minute drive we arrived and got out and took some pictures. Because this was a popular spot we there were also a lot of taxi's there. It was fun just checking out all of the cars. By this time it was getting close to lunch so we had our drivers take us back to Old Havana and drop us off. We thanked them for a great time and were back in familiar territory once again. We checked on a few restaurants and decided we wanted to go back to Bar Montserrat. We got a table and soon found out that they were out of just about everything. Oh well just tell us what you do have and we will make do. We all found something to eat and enjoyed another Cuban band. After lunch we strolled down Obisbo street and looked in a few of the shops. Finally about we headed back to our room in a beautiful red convertible. As we headed out we got pulled by the police again. The driver went to talk to them and this time there was military police involved as well. Since we knew running was not an option we enjoyed our extra time in this beautiful car. After about 10 minutes the driver came back and said that he had been going too fast. keep in mind that most of the speedometers do not work in these cars so I am not sure how they maintain their speed. We found out later that they were having some government meetings and security had been increased in the area.
Finally we arrived home and Tim did some work while the rest of us napped and figured out where to go to dinner. I had read about a place called Meson Sancha Panza so we decided to all walk down and check it out while Tim finished up a few calls. It was about three blocks away and looked great so we made a reservation for 7 and headed back to the room. One thing that is cool in Havana when you make a reservation you actually pick your table as well. So we all headed down at 7 and had yet another great meal. We ended up having one last drink at a Bar named Wahoo's which was very close to our home. We deided to call it a night knowing that tomorrow would be a busy travel day and we had high hopes that the good ole USA would welcome us back with open arms.
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| ArcAngel |
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| ArcAngel |
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| Mi Amigos! |
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| Riviera on the Malecon |
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| Pulled by Police! |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Marina de Hemingway |
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| Marina de Hemingway |
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| Marina de Hemingway |
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| John Lennon Park |
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| Out & About |
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| Out & About |
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| Marina de Hemingway |
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| Fusterlandia |
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| Meson Sancha Panza |
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| Deer anyone!? Wahoo's |
Monday, April 17, 2017
Day 4
We got up and met at 9 to have another delicious breakfast prepared by Marisela's staff. It was 5 CuC for each person and was very plentiful. In fact we were starting to see a pattern. Three big meals a day! Yikes this could be trouble. Today we planned on touring the Partagas cigar factory. While none of us are really cigar smokers we all really wanted to see this factory. Cuba has such a history of making fine cigars that we knew it would be fun and interesting to see the process.
We walked down to the Hotel Libre and bought tickets for the tour. It was about 11 by the time we waited in line and got tickets. The lady told us that the last tour was at 12 but that it was only about 10 minutes away so we would have no problem. Tim and my Dad were waiting in the lobby and had befriended a couple that had just arrived and were giving them all of the information that we had learned over the last few days. One side note Julie did really well with Spanish even to the point where if we were talking to someone who could speak English she would tell them that she wanted to practice. They really seemed to appreciate the effort. So before we got our tour tickets Julie did a google translate of what was needed to say to get our tour tickets. When she read it to the tour guide. They obviously could tell exactly what she meant which was pretty cool but when she got the last line they looked perplexed. Anyway as it turned out she asked for 4 tickets for the tour and said we wanted to get there by plane. Ha ha! What else did google translate have us saying?!?!? So we grabbed a cab to the factory and when we went in we found out the factory had moved and this location only housed a store. They gave us the address to the factory location but the address seemed to be unfamiliar to all of the cab drivers that we tried. Finally one decided to give it a shot. Julie was using her GPS and after many turns stopping and asking directions twice we finally made it.
We were grouped with other English speaking people and had to wait about 15 minutes for our tour to start. The building was three stories tall and really had a great aroma about it. When our tour started they warned us that we would be climbing a lot of stairs and offered Dad and elevator ride. Of course he would have none of it and climbed every stair that the rest of us did. The factory was really cool. We saw everything from where workers were being trained to make cigars all the way up to workers who were making their finest cigars. It was really a sight to see. You can see a cigar being made here!
After our tour we decided to go get some lunch......after all we were pretty committed to three big meals a day ha ha! We walked a couple of blocks and caught yet another classic car and headed out a restaurant called Paladar Los Amigos. It was highly recommended by Anthony Bourdain no less. When we arrived it did not look like much but as usual we were guided around back and were once again brought to a really cool patio area where we had a beer and looked at menus while we waited for a table. I love just relaxing and sitting around these places and just watching the people. Americans are still pretty rare in Cuba so it was fun just to take it all in. When we got our table we quickly learned that they were out of several dishes that we were hoping to try. Supply in Cuba does not always meet demand and it is something that they struggle with on a daily basis. We picked some other items and had a great meal all the same. After lunch we headed back to our home to rest and maybe take a quick nap.
After relaxing for a bit it was time to head back down to Old Havana and eat dinner at Restaurante Van Van. It was the place that we had made a reservation the night before. As usual it had a very cool vibe and the food was really good. The drink menu was painted on an old record. We had a great leisurely dinner and decided to walk around a bit and see if we could find a bar with music. We ended up at the La Lluvia de Oro. It was a classic bar with a great band. It was fun watching the waiters ordering drinks from the bartender using only hand signals. The band was fun to listen to and had a lot of energy. We hung out for awhile and then headed to another bar called Bar Montserrat. It had an old time feel with big open windows and another great band. These bands are usually made up of at least 6 members and they usually pass the hat between performances. Finally we decided to head back to our house and call it a night.
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| Morning Ride! |
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| Coco Taxi outside of Partagas Store |
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| Our Tour Guide Partagas Factory |
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| Our Ride To Lunch |
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| Out & About |
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| Los Amigos |
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| Out & About |
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| Restaurante Van Van |
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| La Lluvia de Oro |
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| La Lluvia de Oro |
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| Out & About |
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| Bar Montserrat |
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| Beauty on every corner! |
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| Dad speaking English with everyone! |
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Day 3
Today we decided to ride the hop on hop off tour bus. That way we could see some places that we had not seen all from the top of an open air bus. We were able to hop on about a block from our location for 10 CUC. This would let us ride on it all day. We decided to go back to Old Havana and learn some history about Cuba by touring the Museum of the Revolution. The museum was great but I will have to admit I struggle with walking from room to room and reading all the information so I breezed through pretty quickly. I think it would have been better if I had learned more about Cuba's history before I came. If you want to know more, there is a great documentary on Netflix called The Cuba Libre Story. I just watched it when we got back and really wished I had done so before I went to Cuba. On one of the levels of the museum they had a gift shop and we went in to check it out. When we came out Dad had caught up with us and had already made a new friend. Her name was Cindy Lopez and she ran one of the gift shop tables. She spoke perfect English and had offered her seat to Dad while he waited for us to come out. We learned that she was actually in training to be a tour guide at the museum. Just one of the many super nice people that we met during our trip. After we toured the Museum we went to a nearby restaurant called Cha Cha Cha. It was really good and had a cool vibe inside. It was on the touristy side but good all the same. After lunch we decided to ride the Hop on Hop off bus back to our home and go to a market there. We hopped on the bus and started to head home. We did not know the route it was going to take so what we thought would be a 15 minute ride home ended up being a 40 minute tour of parts of Havana that we had never seen. By the time we got home we were ready to get off the bus. It had been an adventure for sure we saw a lot of sights and had to be pretty good at ducking the many tree branches that hit the top of the bus. When we got back we toured a local street market that had just about every tourist type thing you can imagine. They were actually closing up shop so we decided to head back home and maybe take a quick nap. While Dad and Julie napped Tim and I decided to go out and find the ever elusive WiFi card. It felt weird to not be connected at all day after day but it was also freeing at the same time. Tim and I walked a couple of blocks and the place we went to was out of them so we did the next best thing. We had a few drinks at a couple of the bars near our home. We got home in time for a short nap.
We had decided that we would head back down to Old Havana and try a restaurant that Julie had suggested called Restaurante Van Van. When we got there they were booked up so we got a reservation for the next night. After checking a few places we decided to have dinner at El Rum Rum. This ended up being a great choice. They had really good food and very big daiquiri's! They also had a couple singing live music that were very good. After a nice lesurily dinner we walked around a bit and came across an ice-cream place that Julie had heard about. Dad and Julie got ice-cream and said it was very good. The name of the place was Helad'Oro. Finally we called it a nightand caught a taxi back to our room. But this was not just any taxi. It was a 1937 Dodge! It was super cool and even cooler that my Dad was born the same year.We rode it back home and called it a night.
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| Morning Walk |
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| Morning Walk |
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| Morning Walk |
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| Morning Walk |
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| Out & About |
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| Hop On Hop Off Bus |
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| Out & About |
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| Out and About |
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| Out & About |
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| Museum of The Revolution |
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| Museum Of The Revolution |
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| Cha Cha Cha |
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| El Rum Rum |
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| El Rum Rum |
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| Our Ride Home |
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