December 01 – Havana

Breakfast was served at the rooftop restaurant with lovely views of the bay.  The scrambled eggs were served square??!!

Our driver took us a few blocks up to the old section of Havana where we had a walking tour. 

A statue of Christ across the harbor.

It’s an interesting section of town with a pretty park.

The streets are cobblestone...

and there are lots of colorful colonial buildings...

and colonnades.  

(Tara also shopped a bit for a new suitcase to replace her damaged one.)

One of the first sights was this entrance gate. 

We saw street artists...

and a bit of art...

including this mural with a living wall above it. 

There were street vendors...

and large squares.

Church of San Cristóbal in Havana

We saw a young woman having her photo taken.  It was for her quinceanera (a celebration of her 15th birthday that marks a girls passage from girlhood to womanhood).

Havana is a city stuck in time.  Besides all of the old, colonial buildings there is much of the 1950’s here.  Since the US embargo of Cuba in the late 50’s the country has not been able to import a lot of cars so many of the 50’s cars can be seen on the streets of the city.  Many are in beautiful condition. 

More photos of the Fortifications.

While walking the town we saw many sculptures as well as street artists posing as statues.  One looked like a pirate…very Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Unfortunately, Tara thought it was a statue and when it suddenly moved she collapsed.  Seems she has unsteady blood pressure that can drop quickly when she is shocked.  She eventually recovered and we headed on to lunch. 

Cat begging at lunch.

After lunch we enjoyed a wonderful acapella concert by the Coro Vocal Leo, a very good national group.

The courtyard of the building where they performed.

Today's tour also took us to Morro Castle, across the harbor.

The castle chapel.

There were good views of Havana.

The next activity was a highlight of the trip.  Because of the embargo Cuba has many old, classic cars...many from the 50's.  So we got an extensive driving tour of Havana in a fleet of 4 convertible cars from the 50's.  These cars are passed down through the generations and are lovingly maintained.  Many are retrofitted as it is hard to get original parts from the US.

We were in a 1954 Buick. Paul decided he needed a photo of him sitting behind the wheel of this beauty.

Some sights from our tour.

Capital Building

Revolution Square

The Chinatown Gate.  Most of the Chinese left after the embargo in the 50's so there are almost no Chinese left in Cuba...but the gate remains.

Gas is hard to come by and the lines for gas can last for hours.  This line of taxis are waiting for gas.  

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More Drive through Havana
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We ended the sightseeing day at a local crafts market right by the bay.  Lots of interesting objects but we didn’t buy anything. 

We walked back to the hotel, only a block away, and had a bit of down time before heading out for dinner at local Indian restaurant that also had a great jazz band. 

Great first full day of sightseeing.  Really packed.