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!