Havana, Cuba

Good evening. I’m in Havana for a few days on a tour organized by my good friend Joe Sandillo. Joe started his own travel company, Almaz Journeys, that puts together tours to Cuba, Columbia, and Peru. I had wanted to come to Cuba for some time and so when he mentioned this trip to me, I was happy to sign up. You can read more about Joe’s business at www.almazjourneys.com. Almaz Journey’s Cuba tours comply with all US laws for travel to Cuba. The tour I am on is a people to people exchange where we have opportunities to meet Cuban people and support them in their private endeavors. For example, all the restaurants where we eat are privately owned “Paladars”. These are private restaurants that were illegal at one time, but were legalized in the 1990s.

I arrived yesterday afternoon on a direct flight from Atlanta and had time to walk around a little bit before our tour group met up for introductions and to go to dinner. On the drive to the city from the airport, I saw a lot of propaganda posters and murals with pictures of Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara, etc. There is no commercial advertising in Cuba, only social and political. The scenery along the road was mainly of people walking and waiting for buses. There were not that many cars on the road and many of the ones we saw were American cars from the 50s. But I also saw a number of what I think are old East German cars. I am staying at the Melia Cohiba hotel in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. The hotel is European owned and on the Malecon, Havana’s waterfront boulevard. Next to our hotel is the Riviera, formerly owned by mobster Meyer Lansky and frequented by Frank Sinatra and other American performers before the revolution. I took a little time before dinner to walk around the neighborhood. Vedado is the old upper middle class part of Havana and the grid of streets are lined with large houses that all need some work. Many of these were clearly once beautiful mansions but have almost all fallen into disrepair. In fact, almost everything we have seen is in need of renovation: houses, roads, signs, sidewalks, fountains, etc. After the group had a chance to meet each other, Joe, and our guides, William and Yusi, we went to dinner at a nearby Paladar overlooking the water.

Today we spent the morning in Old Havana, exploring the narrow streets and historic squares.Much of the architecture reminded me of St. Augustine, FL but on a grander scale. And although, other areas of Havana are in desperate need of renovation and repair, much money appear to have been spent fixing up the old part of the city. For this part of the tour we had an architectural guide who told us about the significance of many buildings. For example, we saw a hotel where Hemingway liked to stay when he was in Cuba because it had a nice view of the bay. However, Batista later built a modern glass and concrete building next to it that blocked his view. Perhaps because of this, Hemingway bought a small farm in the hills which we will visit tomorrow. We had a nice traditional Cuban lunch in a Paladar by the Cathedral and I finally got to have a real Mojito. After lunch, we went to four artists’ studios, three of which were in their private homes. I saw several pieces I liked but they were way too expensive. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the inside of homes and learning about each artist’s work. Everyone we have met has been very friendly and I am looking forward to our dinner tonight which we are having at another Paladar, this one located inside a former factory that has been turned into an art gallery / nightclub.

If you are wondering why I haven’t included pictures, it is because the internet at the hotel is very spotty. I have posted a few on Facebook, but I will post most of my pics when I return to the states.

Hasta manana.