The end

All good things must end....

 (This blog was written in Miami, but due to fatigue and mojitoes, it was not posted until now)

     Endings are pretty bitter sweet.

     There were 22 of us on the tour.  16 of us ended up staying at he hotel in Miami overnight when we came back.  Almost everybody has a flight out tomorrow.

     Funny, I've only known most of these people for a week or so.  But I really like them.  We got along   so well and laughed with each other so much.

     Loie...They thought it was Lois, and then Louie....but it is Loie.  He is from Minnesota and is a hoot! Is. He is 85 but does not act it.  He cracks jokes, flirts with the girls, talks to everyone..... I hope I am like him when I get that age.  His wife died last May.  I think he is lonely.  Me spent three nights on the veranda of the Nacional drinking and talking and he smoking.  

     Michael and Janet....Lake Tahoe people.  Michael reminds me of Rick from church!  Same deep voice, laid back approach.  Nothing seems to rattle him.  Janet once backpacked across Europe (with a guy before Michael)  She started in India, went to Pakistan, Afghanistan and all over for 14 months!  Great stories.

     Linda......she has a special place in my heart.  When I first saw her, I thought I saw my cousin Sally.  She stands like her, walks like her, laughs like her and from the side, looks like her.  It was like having my cousin back again.  When I found out she liked birds, I was floored.  Sally loved birds.  I told Linda she was a doppelganger for my cousin.  She lost her husband last year, I think in April

     Nancy, who talked to me about cameras, pictures, and explained what I was doing wrong when I could not take any more photos on my I phone.

     Larry and Patty, the first people we met.  Asians from California, they were quiet but ready to laugh. 

     Lynn and Jim...... From New Jersey, I think....now I am not sure where they came from.  She was funny and a good person to hang around with.  Jim had the knack of getting in the way.....but not a bad thing.

     Catherine....we think she is about 81 but she told us 75...... Loves music and dance, and asking questions more than me.  

     Don and Donna....DC area residents living in Maryland.  She has horses... Both are retired from NASA but they were not rocket scientists or engineers. He wants to go with me to Holland when I go biking.

     David.....teacher of history and expert on Pan American history.  He was a fun guy to talk to.  I think he lost his wife recently, but I am not sure.  I do know he is going to France in the summer and spending a week in a chateau southeast of Paris.

     Marleen....south sider from Chicago.  Kind of quiet.  She has traveled to China, South America.  Europe.  Good seat mate on the bus and loves Chicago.

     David and Didi..... Friends of Loie..... Must be about his age but not half the fun.  Good people.  He takes care of her.  She likes to laugh and have a good time.

     Barbara.....never got to really know her.  I may have called her Audry the first few days.  

     Ellie.... A Santa Barbara girl.....aquatics yoga instructor, active in her community, retired nurse.... She was like me.... always asking questions.

     Dan..... Of course, one of the best people on the trip be cause he put up with me.  

     Sarah..... Another Santa Barbara girl, very interested in art and artists....bought several art books and a print.  

     Peggy.... Probably my soul mate.  Her husband doesn't like to travel.  She seemed reserved at first, but she really opened up.  We had a lot in common and she was always great to visit with.

     Today we went on the bus to the airport.....a long trip.  We stopped at a wayside for a break and a little band was playing..  Peggy and Loie got out and danced while the rest of us cheered and clapped.   Then Loie danced with Gail, our group leader.   It was kind of symbolic on how this trip went.

     We were delayed a couple of hours at the airport in Havana because they closed the airport so Obama could take off.  There were at least 4 planes, including two cargo planes, for the president.

he was supposed to throw out the first pitch but did not.  He did sit with Raul for the first three innings or so.

     The crowd at the airport all stopped to watch the game, thinking he was tossing out the first pitch.   Even the Cubans stood and watched, knowing this was history in the making.

     Rosalen said Revolution Square was closed to Cuban people during the president's speech....which explained why no one was there.

     Tonight we all kind of ate together at the hotel.  The only one missing was Gail, and I understand she had an early flight.  She was a tough nut to crack, but at times her personality sparkled.
     I was used to paying about $5 for mojitoes in Cuba, so I had a little sticker shock after I had two with supper and discovered they were $12 each........and not as good.
     So much for that.

bongo beats at the rest stop

Peggy and Loie getting into the swing at the rest stop

from the rest stop..verdant land

one of Cuba's seven wonders of engineering

a rest stop with the Atlantic in the background

Gail and Loie practicing  danzon

Waiting for the president to arrive at the baseball game

Lots of cameras capturing the historic moment 

watching for Air Force One

there he goes.... airport open again

Day 7. Monday

I think I am near the end

(This was written while in Cuba, but not posted due to a lack of Wifi)


     Kind of a quiet day today.

     We went to a senior center and danced the slow style, danzon..

     Just like 8th grade.....the women dancers picked guys to dance with and I was the wall flower.  One woman even picked another woman!!!  Ouch.......

     Then we went back to the hotel and had dance lessons......I would like to learn to salsa, but the feet don't move quite right.  I could not get he arm leg combo right.

    Big story is the weather.  It is chilly and very windy.  So windy, there was a red flag warning and no one could swim.  I have 6 hours to entertain myself.

     I walked the beach, got my legs wet, came back and decided to go for a long walk into town.  Walked about 20 minutes and realized I was still a long way away, so I went to Xanadu, which was a mansion built by a DuPont in the 20s.  Now it is a restaurant.  

     I peeked inside, and that was a mistake.  I should have gone inside.  I could have gone up to the roof top for a drink and toured the house.  I did not know that.

    Wandered back to the hotel and still had three hours. 

So I asked about a taxi......10 CUCs.  Too much for me to go into a town just to walk around.

     I asked a coconut driver, same price.  Visited a tourist shopping mall next to the hotel.
     Two hours to go.  Found Michael and Janet and  ended up  in the bar, drinking mojitos.  I had too many today and swore off any more drinking......

     We had a special supper in the streak house part of the all inclusive resort.  I did not drink wine, just water.

    Food was good, but it was a little bittersweet, as it was our last meal together.

     Things I learned from Rosalen:

     People get pensions at age 60 for women, 65 for men.  Pensions are based on the importance of their job and their earnings.  The artist we visited the other day gets 270 pesos.....no CUCs.... a month.  The lady in charge of the dance studio gets 20 pesos a month.

     A small bottle of rum costs about 125 pesos.

     Yes, they don't have house payments or insurance payments or medical bills......but I can't imagine living on that little.

     The women in white are funded by outside agitators from Florida, the older Cubans who oppose the revolution.    To me, it sounded like the party line.
     The women in white were in the news Sunday when several were arrested when Obama came to town.  They are protesting the imprisonment of political prisoners.....husbands, sons, nephews.  Seems if you don't agree with the administration, you pay a price.

     Don't remember the details about elections.  Seems complicated.  Large group of citizens meets and selects the outstanding professionals for a convention. At that convention, delegates are elected for a regional convention....then a national convention.  The delegates then vote on the candidate they want for president.

     Best guess is the current Vice President or one of the Cuban 5 will be the new president if and when Raul steps down.
     No campaigning.  No tv ads.  No radio ads.  Candidates presented, then voted on.
     The Cuban 5 were arrested for spying in the United States in 1998.  They were convicted, imprisoned, and by 2014 all were eventually released back to Cuba, where they are viewed as heroes.  The Cuban Museum of Art even has a solitary confinement display set up to honor them.
      Guess that is about it for Cuba.  Tomorrow night I will be in Miami, USA!

danzon dancers....the fans do have a meaning, everything from" c'mon big boy" to "eww...get away"

waves crashing at DuPont mansion

beach was almost empty our resort is in the distance

getting the perfect shot

I got my legs wet in the Atlantic in Cuba!

Looking toward the DuPont house

the resort

even the outdoor pools were empty

inside the resort....don't think that's a pool

I could have rented a rusty bike

my pink Cadillac

1927 Ford taxi

DuPont mansion, now restaurant

he's evey where

our Chinese made bus

stormy water, but good for a run

my new friend...is my hair gray??

Day 6 Sunday

Palm Sunday..... But we did not see any churches with services.

More Rosalen thoughts:

     Elian Gonzales, the young man "kidnapped" and brought to America is doing well.  He has started his military service.  His removal to the USA started a legal battle that ended with a ruling that he be returned to family in Cuba.  He has finished the university and is now doing his social service in the military.

     There is a "carnival" circus area near Havana where every weekend there is a circus performance.  There is a small amusement park next to it, but Rosalen said, "To be honest, half of the rides stopped working long ago."

     We had a bus day today.  We did stop in Matanzas to watch an Afro Cuban dance group .....high energy.  Some of the people were a little older.  This is their job:   dancing, not a hobby.  Their job.  They don't earn much.

     We visited a farm owned by Hector, a farmer philosopher.  He had the coolest sculptures around his property.  We had an amazing lunch including rice and beans, soup from the moringa tree,  pork, salads....was pretty good.  We toured his grounds and he pointed out some interesting sculptures on the grounds.  Great guy.  He even opened his bee boxes and let us sample honey in the comb! He poked a hole in a section and gave us straws....it was pretty amazing.
     Side note on the moringa tree.  You can eat the leaves, or make a soup.  It is a versatile tree in that it grows everywhere and is a food source.  Rosalen said at one point Fidel urged people to plant the trees and eat the leaves because they were more nutritious, and better for you than meat.   My thought:   Of course, when he said that, meat was in short supply.... and still is.  

     Speaking of amazing, our hotel is an all inclusive resort on the ocean!  Two pools plus a great beach and all the mojitoes you want to drink!

     Funny....the whole group....all 23 of us..... Met for supper.  We broke into smaller groups and had great conversation and a great meal.  These really are wonderful people, for the most part, and I actually think I will miss them!
     And the food....endless and unlimited.  Average Cuban people can't go here.  There are Canadians, Brits, Germans   maybe some Russians or two and some Chinese...because China is becoming a big trading partner with tiny Cuba.
       Costs?  A 3.50 CUC bottle of run costs 124 Cuban pesos..... Out of reach for a people who earn only a fraction of that.  I had seen better exchange rates in Havana.

     Obama landed today.  Our joke was that whenever we saw an improvement being done, it was because Obama would be in that part of town.  The Cuban people joke:  we wish he would come more often because something gets done.

     Havana is in the middle of a prolonged drought  Funny, on the day the president visits, it rains.

Hopefully,  that is a positive sign.
     Spent the afternoon wandering the beach....not really close to a town, but it may be walking distance.  The resort is a total surprise.... assumed it would not be as good as it is.

Taxi stopped at a rest area....could say it was air conditioned, I guess.

Neat mural

In Matanzas

Part of the dance review we saw

Dance group

Marti is the father of Cuba....this person has broken the chains of slavery with Mari's help

Building on square in Matanzas

Loved the pergola in Matanzas

Our thought was these were left behind for anyone who needed them

Like going back in time

liked the doorway

Liked this one too

Another small stand... shot from the bus

I asked what the sign said....I was told don't enter, attack dogs loose at night.  We saw no dogs.

Green soup is made from moringa tree....it was tasty

paladar where we had lunch

His wife is an artist too

Dan used a steaw to suck out fresh, natural, unrefined honey

My turn to suck the honey

This is a tree rat., technically a hutia.....a giant rodent that lives in a tree...is good with pinapple and pine nuts, or as a pet

OK, Hector is an artist philosopher..... can you guess who he is honoring?  Answer at bottom.

Who is famous actor?  Answer at bottom

Which famous rock group?  Hint:  He has never bought one of their albums

What famous American?

Hector talking about life and how we are all one

all through his orchard he has trees with little signs in them

I was told what this was, but I forgot

Side view of paladar


The top photo was for Van Gogh, hence the ear.  Photo two was Charlie Chaplin...you have to look hard for the moustache.  Photo three was the Beatles and finally, Dr. Martin Luther King.  Hope you did well on the test!