Three weary feet
I was met at the airport by the tour company’s representative who pointed me in the direction of the money changing ATMs before we got into a taxi to drive to the Old Town where R had already gone. It took half an hour or so to get there from the airport, with amazingly little traffic for what I’d expected of a Friday night.
A late supper overlooking the square
We are staying in a Casa Particulare which is a privately run homestay/apartment. It looks like the owners have broken the original flat into two or three mini apartments, with a bedroom, a tiny kitchenette and even tinier bathroom. But there’s airconditioning – something necessary for people who have come from winter into hot humidity!
Three amigos
K arrived during the early hours of the morning, so we met her for breakfast: a bowl of fruit, some eggs with cheese, tomato and cucumber, and bread and jam. Plus mango juice and tea/coffee – we were set for the day!
R and the model train set
Stop 1 for the day was meeting our guide for the next 11 days, B, and heading to the Rum Museum around the corner, run by Havana Club. There were videos, old sugarcane processing and distilling equipment and a model train set depicting one of the big sugarcane areas, since the sugar/rum industry was a big reason why the trains were brought to Cuba. Then we were given a taste of one of the Havana Club rums, and exit through the gift shop.
Tasting
We waved goodbye to B for the day and headed off for a wander. We didn’t bother using a map since we were doing a proper walking tour the next day, but just saw where our feet would take us. That included the disused cruise ship wharf, an old stone fort/castle with a moat and cannons, and winding our way through the narrow streets between flaking pastel walls.
A moat!
Lunch was a little street café where we had our first experience of the live bands that populate many of the city’s cars and cafes. They could see me bouncing in my seat and asked me up to dance. Luckily there was only us and the café staff at this point, or it could have got embarrassing, but it was fun nevertheless!
A mojito… and the band in the background
Boogie oogie oogie!
A quick nap was in order after lunch, before venturing out to follow the water all around the point and then have dinner. The waterfront was quite busy with other walkers and tourists mingling with the fishers and other locals relaxing,
Along the water front
We walked back along a boulevard with a wide walkway along the middle (Paseo del Prado) where lots of people were hanging out, kids playing and rollerblading, adults walking and talking. This deposited us back in the middle of the city and we walked vaguely back in the direction of the Old Square, looking for somewhere to stop for a drink and later some dinner.
Panorama of the Old Square, with statue of woman and chicken!
It was prime café time, so all the live musicians were plying their wares, often in opposition to the band playing in the next café! It all added to the raucous atmosphere, and we sat down at a café in the Old Square that used old LPs as placemats at their tables. We shared a mix of snacks for dinner: fried plantains, meatballs and bruschetta, all washed down with mojitos, pina coladas or fruit juices.
Virgin mango daiquiri – bigger than my head!
Once we’d been live music-ed out, we headed upstairs to one of the balcony cafes across the square in search of icecream for dessert. They were out of icecream unfortunately, but they did provide us with virgin fruit daiquiris – a fruit slushy!
Two Weeks Away 