Our flight from
Fort Lauderdale to Havana left mid-morning and was only a couple of hours
long.
At one point we were able to see
the Florida Keys and the road that connects all of the islands...and we got a few photos of Cuba as we flew in.
The airport is
small but welcoming. It didn’t take long
to get our luggage but Tara’s had the zipper badly damaged and she spent some
time dealing with the airline regarding a claim.
We eventually
connected with Irma, our guide, and Henry, our driver and we all piled into the
large van. We were given a bag lunch to
eat on the way to our first stop.
The first stop
was Fusterlandia. José Fuster was a
Cuban artist who decided his home and area was dull and boring so he started
decorating the walls of his compound with mosaics…
and the artwork eventually
spilling into the neighborhood where the neighbors also helped with the
decorating. Sort of a combo of Salvador
Dali and Antonio Gaudi. Very fun.
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More Fusterland
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After leaving this fascinating and colorful place we headed into Havana where we spent some time driving around seeing the
city. It has a lovely harbor,
street vendors,
fountains (this one with no water flowing),
an interesting street scene,
and beautiful
architecture.
Unfortunately, some of the beautiful old buildings were hollow with the mold and pealing paint so typical of tropical
locations.
We drove by
Revolution Square, that commemorates the several Cuban revolutions that
occurred over a couple of centuries as they tried to win their independence.
We also stopped
at the home of artist Andy Gabyili (Googled him. Full name is Angel Eusebio Rivero Sierra). Also, very interesting work. Strong graphic art. We both really liked his work.
From there we
headed to our lovely hotel with views of the harbor. After some rest
and unpacking we headed out for dinner.
Lots and lots of food
and very eclectic décor.
Havana was
founded in 1519 and over the next centuries became a major Caribbean port and
shipping center. It was the largest port
in the region and in order to insure its defenses a large series of
fortifications were built around the bay between the 16th and the 19th
centuries. And many of them remain in
good condition.
So, we had to
take in some of the fortifications so after dinner we headed to the La Cabañna Fortress…
where we
watched a cannon ceremony. The fortress
used to fire a cannon at 8:00 to signal that the fort gates were closing. Now it is a tradition and tourist draw but
they fire at 9:00 (they also used to fire it at 6:00am to signal that the gates
were opening, but the present day populous didn’t like that so it was
discontinued.)
Havana at night.