Havana

We made it!

We had a great time with the Party like a Cuban experience hosted by Yarely Gonzalez Gill and Adriana tonight. Some traditional party snacks, several different drinks using Havana Club rum, some Cuban music and several intense games of dominoes. Drinks included the classic Mojito, Cuba Libre and Canchánchara. We ended the evening with a ride back to the room on a bike taxi. Make sure you do this when you visit.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas from Havana, Cuba!

Walking tour of Havana, Cuba with Yane. Lots of history and things to see and learn about. Havana is a little rough around the edges but if you want you can find beauty just about anywhere. This is part 1.

Part 2 of our Havana, Cuba walking tour. So much to see. The farmers market was sensory overload. The smell of fresh mangos was making me salivate. Intoxicating. I think we're taking a convertible old American car on a driving tour next so stay tuned.

Happy Mother's Day Julie! Love you!

Such good music!

This was a surprise on our driving tour today. A Cuban Missile Crisis display. This is their account if what occured. Interesting indeed.

Took a driving tour of Havana in this beauty through Ernesto. Bucket list complete. What a great tour. .

Buena Vista Social Club experience. Lots of musical taken on that stage. Met some great people. Fun night iof entertainment.

Happy Birthday beautiful! Glad we got to have it here! We had no idea why one of the staff came downstairs with maracas until they came over to the table. We told the host it was her birthday like an hour previous when we made the reservations. Great service staff. Wonderful surprise!

A little music over lunch? Sure.

Ended the evening with a home cooked meal. Julie helped cook it. We went to what our interpreter in this place called the two best restaurants in Havana and this handily beat both of those meals. Phenominal! I took a lot of video but can't post it due to bandwidth limitations but this was my favorite meal. So scrumptious!

The Cuban government gave embassy buildings to most countries. This is the Russian embassy in Havana. They did not want one built by Cuba. They built their own. It looks nothing like the others and, to me, looks like a huge listening post. Kind of vulgar looking compared with all of the other buildings in the area. I'm a little surprised there's not a giant mural on the side of Putin shirtless on a horse.

On our way out of Havana sitting in the airport we got a final reminder of the condition of infrastructure in Cuba. There were blackouts and brown outs almost everywhere we went. Even in the country the power would go out and it was almost like the people didn't even care anymore. Very difficult. Ever seen this happen in an airport? It's not good.

First visit this morning was to an art district called Fusterlandia. They wanted to call it something fun like Disneyland but for their kind of art. Hence the name. Beautiful and eccentric.

Last night in Havana. Canchanchara, mojito and a smooth Cuban stogie to seal the deal. What a fantastic trip Julie planned and a well deserved birthday getaway for her big five oh!

Next on the art day visits was an area with afro-cuban art. Much inspired by the Cuban version of Santeria. Very interesting. Hearing how their religion came into existence and their disciplines.

Last stop on the art train today was to Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Our guide wanted to make sure we got all of the important parts before we left so she walked us through. Interesting stories. I might have missed some while talking pics but hit Julie up if you want to hear them.