There we all are - Alexis, Jennifer, Emma, Shannon, Angela obscured by Andrea, Graham, the 3 ladies seated, Wendy and Alex. We got all the luggage on board the bus and then we started our walking tour of Havana. Jim and I were pleased that, while we covered some of the same ground as the day before, we actually saw some parts of the city that we had not seen before.
We first of all walked along the Malecon looking over at the forts and at the huge Jesus statue. Havana's harbour is defended by 4 forts - the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, already mentioned, the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, the Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro and Castillob de San Carlos de la Habana. These forts were built to repel smugglers and to keep the English out. For many years the Canonazo (cannon fire) has been a tradition at the San Carlos Fort. At 9pm every night, no matter what the weather, a squad of militiamen, dressed in uniforms of colonial times march in a reenactment of the former custom of signalling the curfew.
This modern sculpture is called Conversation.
The Train Station
Soon we found ourselves in the Plaza de San Francisco where the most important building in the Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis.
Just outside the Basilica, underneath the statue of St. Francis there were 3 policemen. I knew Jim was going to take a photo of the statue and I was also aware that taking photos of the police or military was not allowed. However, when he asked if it was ok to take a photo, 2 of them moved off and this one remained with St. Francis!
A bronze lifesize statue stands outside the Museo de Arte Religioso. This is El Caballero de Paris (he wasn't actually from France but from Spain) who was a well known street person in Havana in the 1950s. He would walk the streets and ride the buses in Havana greeting everyone and discussing his philosophy of life, religion, politics, current affairs with everyone who crossed his path. The beard and fingers of the sculpture are shiny because passers by rub them for luck.
Alexis is starting a new shiny spot!
We made our way to Plaza Vieja, It has some beautiful buildings most of which have been restored. In the centre is a fountain which is fenced in as the school in the area could not keep the children from splashing in the fountain.
In the corner of Plaza Vieja at the top of a tall tower is the Camara Obscura which give 360 degrees views of the city of Havana. It was invented by Leonardo da Vinci and is the only one of its kind in Latin America. As we waited to get the lift an Asian group muscled in and insisted on going up before us. When we got up they were outside on the roof looking at the views. We were ushered into the room with camera obscura and the guide had just started explaining all to us when in pushed the group to join us. They then insisted on the explanations being in Spanish so as their guide could then explain it in Chinese or whatever. It was far from satisfactory! It was fascinating though to see the views of Havana with people and transport going about their business. Afterwards we then took in the views from outside.
It was time for refreshments so in to the Hotel Ambos Mundos, the first residence of Ernest Hemmingway when he was in Havana. The lift took us to the top floor rooftop bar where we had mojitos and enjoyed the views.
It was then time to get back to the bus and start our journey via Soroa to Vinales. Here are some of the sights as we made our way back.
So there was clearly an association with Ireland!
On the bus we were introduced to our very handsome young driver, Yadian. He drove us along the Malecon into the outskirts of Havana and through the district of Miramar, a really wealthy area with very big fancy houses.
All along the way Alexis gave us lots of information. One interesting thing he told us about is the celebration for 15 year old girls - Quinceanera - which has blown out of all proportions with families even going into debt to have it bigger and better. The celebration marks the transition from girlhood into womanhood and is much greater and more important than a wedding ceremony. We later saw evidence of this.
Our first stop was at the Orchid Garden. This is actually a botanical garden and has more than 700 species of orchid but lots of other ferns and plants. We had a guide from the garden who was very knowledgeable.
Lovely setting!
This plant is aptly nicknamed ladies' fingernails.
Then on to lunch - pork and beans and rice and fried plantain - near a swimming pool.This was our first experience of public toilets with an attendant doling out sheets of toilet paper for which you had to pay 25 cents. It struck me that that is really expensive - say 5 sheets for 25 cents and say 500 sheets in a roll so does that come to about 25 CUC per roll? A pack of 9 at home is around a fiver. The thing is, whether you take the toilet roll or not you still have to pay 25 cents!
Back to the coach and on to Vinales. The scenery had improved and there were lots of tobacco and agricultural fields. On arrival in Vinales we checked in to our standard B&B. To me it was of no lesser standard than the ones we had already been in.
Vinales was clearly a very rural area. Alexis told us that up until very recent times it was a very small and remote place but it now is very touristy and almost every house is a B&B.
Jim was fascinated by the fact that the masonic symbol was pinned to the door of our B&B, Villa La Victoria. He also noticed that Alexis had a mobile phone cover with the same symbol on it. It seems freemasonry is a big deal in Cuba.
Villa La Victoria, Vinales
Charlotte and Sarah relax before we are collected to go to dinner.
Alexis and Yadian brought us up to a restaurant that overlooks Vinales Valley. The view was lovely and from there we saw the sunset. The only down point was Jennifer's encouragement to the table of a dog and cat which she proceeded to feed despite opinions being voiced against such behaviour!
We were then transported back to Vinales where we were dropped off to sample the nightlife. We started at one bar and the music was good but not traditional enough for us. So we headed further down the street to a bar where there was a cabaret with singing and dancing.
And so to bed!
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