What you didn't want to know about TD...in 10 words or less: Day 3

Stream of consciousness

(This was basically written while in Cuba. I could not post because Wifi is not widespread there.)

The government has recently created hot spots for Internet, which is virtually nonexistent in people's homes. You can find the hot spots because they are street corners packed with people using computers. You buy a card, get a code, type in the code and get on line. Cards are for 2 hours, so people buy multiple cards.

Cell phone service is spotty.

Roads through the country are in terrible shape.

Transportation from small towns to Havana is a major undertaking.
Although they have railroads, passenger service is almost nonexistent as engines and cars break down en route, stranding travelers.

We went to a farmer's market today. Our group was divided into 5 teams, each with a specific food group to buy. We were given 50 pesos (abput 2 CUCs) to buy vegetables.

Staple supplies in Cuba are rationed. You get X amount of sugar, or rice, or flour, depending on your family size. If you want more, you have to buy it at a market like we were at. The food at the government supply house is very cheap....but not of great quality. So we went to buy rice to bring to a family we were visiting.

Except today there was no rice. And beans were extremely costly. A drought has impacted the crops.

These are issues the Cuban people face every day. Shortages of art supplies, diapers, clothing, food....mainly because of the embargo.

But they don't hate us.

Remarkable.

Anyway, today we did a walking tour of Old Havana. We also toured a cathedral and went to a roof top bar in the first hotel Hemingway stayed in when coming to Cuba.

The elevator in the hotel was made in 1925 and still has the original equipment. The steel cage holds about 6 people and is run by an elevator operator, as are all elevators in public buildings and some hotels, it seems. Government jobs.

We made a home visit and had a session with an 89 year old man who is a former art professor and a leading artist in Cuba. He had work for sale, but nothing I liked. In fact, his work seemed old....like he had cleaned out a closet. He gave an interesting talk. His son is in the states, and because of that he became under suspicion by the government. Our guide said he went into a depression, which affected his work.

At lunch we met two baseball players, one a Cuban all star in his day. In fact, his jersey is in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame in the Latin American wing. They are going to help prep the Cuban players for their game with the Tampa Rays.

We had lunch in a paladar.... a restaurant set up in a home. In this case, the restaurant was in the side and back yard of the house, with the kitchen in the house. A roof covered the back yard. All we had was a salad, but the ambience was amazing.

At the end of the day today, a couple of others (Michael and Janet) and I decided not to ride the bus back to the hotel, but to wander Old Havana.

We wandered down streets crowded with people and shops set up in doorways, selling souvenirs....t shirts , bags, hats, fans, dolls......lots of stuff I don't think was made in Havana or even in Cuba.

We made it to Floridita. This is the bar that Hemingway frequented when he lived in Cuba. In fact, there is a bronze statue of him in his favorite spot in the bar. I could see why it was his favorite, you can see the entire room and observe all the characters at play. This is the home of the daiquiri, and I had one. It was so good, I had another.

I gotta stop drinking.
We were waiting for Rosalen at the museum. While there, a pedicab driver ... Eddie. He asked if we needed a. taxi. Janet said no, and the usual discussion of where are you from started. The cab driver has a brother living in San Francisco. He said his brother was very lucky, because life in Cuba was "hard....very hard. You have to work hard to survive."

He then said something startling: "We love you Americans."

And I think he was sincere. We have not had any feelings of resentment during our stay here, even though you could argue that the embargoes have created this difficult life in Cuba.

They love Obama. Why? Because he has made it easier for Cuban people to come home and to bring gifts to their families....like shoes, jeans, clothes, food items. These gifts are often sold on the black market.

In the Miami airport, there were people with huge plastic wrapped bags that we're going to Cuba. These packages had all sorts of stuff people need. We even saw TVs! In blue wrap! All of this is stuff they can't get in Cuba.

We met Rosalen at the art museum and she took us to the paladar. The food was amazing. I had a chicken pollo, which was chicken in a rice bed with a sweet sauce of some kind.

This paladar was also amazing in the art hanging on the walls and the little things... like upside down chairs in the corners.... they did to keep the home theme. I thought there was a bed in one part, but I did not look close enough. It was a headboard with a bench seat attached. The bedding was actually a table. The foot of the bed was another bench seat. Very creative.

Then it was back to the hotel and time for my final mojito........or two. This became a routine for the three nights at the Nacional. Usually Loie would find me there and we would sip our drinks and listen to the music while enjoying the cool night breeze.
Loie, by the way, is a retired shop teacher from Minnesota. He told jokes, was the first to dance, always got hugs from the pretty girls, and was the life of the party. At 85, he was much younger than me.