Monday, November 18, 2019

Havana

We had a few days in Havana prior to setting off to explore the island. We are staying at a casa or Cuban style B&B right in the old town so it is a great location. We have explored much of the old city
and have simply wandered around stopping to admire old colonial buildings or check out famous bars and nightclubs and visit some of the museums. This blog is posted after we have left Cuba as the wifi is symbolic of the pace of development in the entire country. We queued for an hour to buy a wifi card but even then could not post! Now in Mexico we will try and catch up. The photos will tell the story.


     Just down from our Casa is the huge square with memorials. Things are done on a large scale!


                    The Revolutionary Museum. It was previously the Presidential palace.


The Revolutionary Museum is in a grand old building but the displays don't match the facade!


             Gail at the harbour side fort. This is one of many constructed in colonial days.


Looking across the bay to the fort and lighthouse on the other side. We were later to visit and take the photos looking back to where we had previously stood!


                                           Gail in the quiet streets of old Havana.


There is no shortage of live music in Cuba. This was our lunch stop on the first full day.


                                            Gail in the Plaza de Santa Domingo

There were some busy streets but much of the city is quiet. There is a distinct absence of cars!


                                  The Maritime Museum was located in another old fort. It contained lots of material from the days when it was the main shipbuilding port of the Spanish Empire.


                     The two of us at the Museum. We stayed to shelter from the afternoon rain.


The Havana Cathedral.Most churches are very run down. In the struggle leading to the revolution, the Church sided with the Government in full conflict with the Revolutionary forces.


                                              Two Cuban cigar smoking Mummas.


                 One of the very famous bars of old Havana. It was a struggle to get inside!


                              We liked this bar...so we took it over revolutionary style!
We loved the casual living, eating and drinking in old Havana.It was very much like sitting in a square in the old town of any European city. Good food and friendly people.


You never know what you will come across in Cuba. The next morning it was stilt walkers.




                                                   An easy but tasty lunch.
These few days alone were the highlight of Cuba. That night we met a delightful group with strong friendships forged. It is not easy to travel around the countryside although it can be done in shared cars. We had the advantage of being able to make stops along the way and have accommodation organised for us.

2 comments:

Miss Di said...

Looks like you had a fabulous time in Cuba, looking forward to reading of your further adventures there!

Amanda said...

Looks like a fabulous visit.