We travel to Havana

Sunday, September 20. Our eventual objective for the day was Havana, but of course we had much to do along the way. Our first stop was the museum at the Bay of Pigs, site of the ill-fated 1959 attempt by Cubans who had fled to America and the CIA to reclaim Cuba from Castro and the revolutionary Cuban government that succeeded Batista. This has to be one of the most stupid quasi military operations in history. The American Cubans were supposed to be secretly trained in Guatemala by the CIA, but they went to the bars and blabbed enough that even the New York Times ran an article about the operation a week or two before it was supposed to take place. They were supposed to land, go inland, where are they expected to be greeted by the local Cubans who it was assumed would embrace them with open arms. eager to join the counterrevolution. Instead, they landed in a swamp and were greeted by the Cuban army and a population that was not at all interested in what they had planned to do. All of them were killed or captured and we were left with a egg on our face. The museum was built in the early 1960s and features some pretty raw emotions and language referring to the US as capitalist pig’s, invaders, murderers, and other terms it hurts to hear but that most of us couldn't help cringing over for the truth they convey. It is hard to be proud of our country sometimes when we go stomping around the world trying to force people to do things our way. Yes, we do these things with the best of intentions, but we all know what road those pave.

Cigars for sale in the rest stop

Where we've been

An old Cuban tank

...and their air force, at the Bay of Pigs museum

 We then went to the Bay of Pigs itself, and to lunch at a beachfront paladar a few miles away from the museum. Before lunch we heard an interesting lecture about the national park wildlife in the huge Zapata Swamp here. I hadn't imagined that Cuba would have the funds much less the desire, to work on environmental issues or the restoration and preservation of their natural resources. Once again they surprised me. The Cuban government sponsors an extensive program designed to protect this huge wetland area and to educate Cubans and visitors alike. There are many many species of birds in the swamp, a great variety of plants, reptiles, and animals, and a bay filled with fish and a healthy coral reef. It is the only home of the nearly extinct Cuban crocodile, now being protected and restored. Its near extinction was not the result of man-made problems but rather mating with the American crocodile. The result was a nearly total loss of the pure version of the Cuban croc. They somehow found one pair of Cubans in a zoo somewhere and are trying to reintroduce them by keeping them separate from all other crocs. Not sure how this will work, but they are trying.

Lunch was another huge family style spread of delicious local seafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, and desserts. Way too much food but too tempting to resist. Cubans, who went through a period of near starvation in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, now tend to be on the chubby side. It is easy to see why, based on the quantities of food we have been served everywhere. After lunch we had the opportunity to swim in the Bay of Pigs, and a few of our group did so despite the light rain that was falling.

The rooftop where we enjoyed a lecture an glimpses of the Bay

Swimming in the Bay of Pigs

 Back on the bus, we set out for Havana, a 2 1/2 hour drive away. Before arriving there, our local guide, Ilen (pronounced Elaine), told us we were going to see a memorial dedicated to the measles crisis. We looked puzzled but she assured us we knew already about the measles crisis. Gradually we realized that she was referring to the Cuban Missile Crisis. We all had a good laugh and from then on referred to this event as the measles crisis. The memorial is located near one of the very old Spanish forts that overlooks Havana. We had wonderful views of the bay and the city of Havana from the site. The pope was in town today, and all day we have seen evidence of the excitement of his visit. In the late afternoon, at least 170 buses passed us heading back the way we have come, obviously filled with people who had made the trip to Havana to see him. That confirmed our theory that the deserted market we visited yesterday was caused by his visit. Today as we left the missile site, we had a long wait to enter the tunnel to Havana. No traffic in either direction. Obviously the pope was on the move.

The Missile Crisis Memorial

The blue arch is the entrance to the tunnel to Havana. The trip now takes a minute instead of the half hour or more it takes the long way around.

Of course we saw old cars. This one is Russian-made and is called a Believers car. The "believe" they have a car.

American classics are far more popular.

View of Havana from the ancient Castle del Morro across the bay

Better shot of Havana

The seating and crowds in this photo are remnants of the papal visit

Straight out of Grease!

Another view of the top of the tunnel entrance

Traffic waiting for the tunnel to reopen

At last we arrived at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, an old grand dame of a hotel that reminded me of Raffles in Singapore, among others of that colonial era. It is fun to be here in what is surely the most famous hotel in the city even though our room is a bit musty, the hall reeks of cigarettes and mold, and the plumbing is a little under par as usual in Cuba. I was hoping we would have washcloths here, But no, they apparently don't exist in Cuba. We had dinner in the hotel’s buffet restaurant, pretty good, but not as special as paladar dinners. Like Los Caneyes, this is a government owned hotel, and everything suffers just a little bit from that. We were all tired after a long day, however, and were glad for a low key meal and a chance for an early bedtime.

The Hotel Nacional de Cuba

We have left the roosters behind, for more elegant but equally noisy birds

View across the bay from the hotel

Our first full day in Havana

Monday, September 21. We started our day with a lecture on Cuban religion and culture. To everyone’s great surprise, we were told that Cuba is not a Catholic or even a religious country and has never been. The abandonment of Cuba by Spain after the initial discovery, the near total lack of a native population (due to disease and murder) to convert as was found elsewhere in south in Central America, and the diversity of the people who eventually settled here resulted in the development of a strong sense of an isolated Cuban national identity. From very early times Cubans did not see themselves as Spanish Cubans or Catholic Cubans but just as Cubans, first and foremost. Cuba is divided by race and class but not by religion because Cubans really don't feel strongly about religion. They go with the flow and seem to practice religion as a sort of insurance policy or wish grantor rather than from any real conviction or system of belief. In addition to the eventual Spanish settlers, large numbers of African slaves were brought to Cuba and made up a large portion of the population, still practicing some form of their old African religions, but mostly in the desultory Cuban way. They were followed over the decades and centuries by Buddhists from China, French settlers from new Orleans, Jews fleeing oppression in Spain, and even Spanish Muslims. These people may have brought their religions with them, but somehow in Cuba they soon became Cuban and their religions became less important, in some cases even disappearing. At the time of the Revolution, many Cuban Jews fled to Miami where are they did not call themselves either Jews or Cubans but Jubans, evidence of their unusual bonding with Cuba. Most Cubans, even today, baptize their children in the Catholic Church, but this does not make them Catholics. It is apparently an insurance policy just in case there's something to this religious business.

After our lecture, Javier, our faithful bus driver, reappeared, and took us to visit two of La Habana Vieja's historic plazas. The first, Plaza de San Fransisco, dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, is a large open square dominated by a former Catholic church, now used as a performance center. It was filled with people who were trying in many ways to separate tourists from their money, some by begging, and some by dressing up to be part of a photo op. An interesting statue is in this square depicting the Gentleman from Paris, el Caballero de Paris. He was a street person in the 1940s and 50s, a little mad and becoming madder, but a familiar fixture on the streets of Havana. People would give him a meal, but he never begged, always giving a gift such as a leaf or a flower petal in return. Leaving the plaza, we saw sugar cane being squeezed for juice, a very old aqueduct under the street, and a new boutique hotel with a monkish theme.

From the bus we saw old buildings in various stages of disrepair...

...or reconstruction

This one looks pretty good

Plaza de San Fransisco

I love this!

The former church

...and the saint

Ready for a photo op

This little dog was a hoot

The Gentleman of Paris

Making sugar cane juice. It must be drunk immediately as it doesn't keep. It is often mixed with fruit juice and of course, the ubiquitous rum.

The aqua duct that brought fresh water to Havana

The Friary Hotel

...and a spooky friar

Such a charming street

Next we walked to Plaza Vieja where a great deal of restoration has already occurred. It is a big open square surrounded by buildings that were once home to Cuba's very wealthy sugar barons. Many of these have now been restored and are quite beautiful again. Today the sugar barons are gone and these historic buildings serve as hotels restaurants, shops, and so on. The very large open space in the center of this plaza was once home to military exercises and parades.

Heading toward Plaza Viaja

We pass colonial architecture

In the plaza, this interesting sculpture. I wasn't crazy about the Cuban paintings we saw, but the sculpture was interesting and lots of fun.

Plaza Vieja has been largely restored.

This is a micro brewery

I love this--a woman riding her rooster and armed with a very large fork.

Before the restoration began, this plaza was almost rubble.

This beautiful old building has been entirely gutted and is being restored. It will be gorgeous!

Waiting for the lunch trade

A coffee pot

Walking to our rendezvous with the bus, we pass another fascinating sculpture. I'd love to know the story behind this one.

A Coco-cab goes by...

...and many colorful classic car taxis.

Driving around Havana, you see one interesting building...

...after another...

...including demolition.

This looks ultra sleek plus charm

Not everything is beautiful

This is clearly left from the Russian period. Cuba is currently stuck with these hideous buildings, but that doesn't mean they like them.

We enjoyed another lavish lunch before heading to the studio of a self-taught silversmith who trained as an engineer before discovering her calling in making very nice jewelry. She is also training other young Cubans in this art because there is no one left in Cuba who knows how to do this.

Our next destination was the Colon Cemetery where many of Havana’s elite are buried. Ordinary people can be buried there as well, but the section closest to the chapel is reserved for families with enough wealth for some serious displays of Italian marble.

This huge monument is the tomb of 35 firefighters who lost their lives in a tragic fire caused by an uncaring businessman.

Teardrop shapes adorn the security chain

The chapel

Touching this baby is supposed to make your wished come true.

By this time we were worn out from the activities and heat of the day, and longed for the hotel where we revived a bit before being taken to a venue where a female a cappella chorus sang for us and then talked a bit about their lives and careers.  Finally, we enjoyed dinner at a really nice paladar which gave us lots of rum and even a free cigar. B and I declined both but hilarity prevailed. A very nice ending to a very long and busy day.