Day 5....food galore!

We took a trip into the country today

(This was written while in Cuba.  But no Wifi, so I have posted it from the states.)

     I seem to have lost track of days.

     Room is still hot.  Complained again.  Maybe a room change.....probably nothing.

Long day today.

     We stopped at a cigar store and I bought 5 cigars and a bottle of rum. Or as they call it here, vitamin R.

     We took a bus trip out into the country.  It was actually pretty in places.

     In the rural areas we passed a lot of people in horse drawn conveyances..... and it was not for pleasure or for tourists.  This is a way of transportation common in the rural area.

     Things we learned on the bus from Rosalen:

     Abortions are lawful in Cuba.  Many young couples don't want children because it is so expensive to buy baby food, diapers and all the needed baby supplies.  So a woman who gets pregnant can go to a family doctor, ask for an abortion, he writes a script and she goes to the hospital and has the procedure.

     Lots of doctors in Cuba.  When a student graduates university, they have to do three years of social service to pay back.   Basically, they work for the government.  If you are a doctor and go to a remote village where there is limited electricity and a remote backwoods life style, you have to serve one year there and that takes care of your three year service period.  Because Cuba and Venezuela have a mutual need agreement, Cuba provides Venezuela with Doctors and Venezuela sends Cuba oil.......lots of doctors go to Venezuela, so there is a shortage of doctors in some areas.

     If a Cuban family wants a house, they have to have the money.  No mortgages in Cuba.  If you have the money, you buy the house...otherwise you save and wait.   Government will give people farm land.  They have to  work the farm for a certain period for it to become theirs.  You may be required to provide part of your crop to a local school or community center for the people to eat.    Once you stay on the farm for your required years, it becomes your property. i think she said her father was a farmer.  And I think, but I am not positive about this, that the government now allows farmers to hire people to help work the land.  The paladars also are no longer just run by the family.  Paladar owners also can hire others to work in the restaurants.  Sounds a little like capitalism to me.
     I think I asked her about apartments..... and I believe she said those are owned by individuals, so you don't pay rent.  That may explain why many of the buildings look in disrepair.
     She did not say, but I assume the farm land the government gives is land they took from corporations or large land owners after the revolution.  And the apartment buildings were taken over by the government and the apartments redistributed.

     Rosalen said he area we went to today had lots of solar power.  However, I did not see any.  Unless you count the water tanks on top of the roofs, which I suspect do heat in the sun but also provide water pressure.

     We stopped at a tobacco farm,  met the owner and his family, toured his barn and bought some cigars.....10 for 10 CUCs.

     And we had lunch at a paladar on an organic farm.

     They brought out a plate of kale and okra, then one of tomatoes, onions, cabbage; another of plantain chips; a vegetable soup; white sweet potatoes, mango, and who knows what else.  The table was full of food.  Then they brought out pork.  Actually, they had a piglet roasted and brought the whole thing out and carved it in front of us.....even had a curly tail!  After the pork came the lamb.  And the fish..  And the chicken.  Heaps of food, served family style.  Then came the flan.  It was an absolutely terrific meal.
     And this in a country where people in the cities are hungry.

     Everything was locally sourced and organic.  We toured the owners garden and learned a lot about plants...experiencing smells and textures of the various plants.  He plants marigolds to keep away bugs....got to try that.

     We then wandered the town of Vinales.....neat town of about 20,000 I think she said.  Visited a craft market and bought a couple of things that were made in Cuba.

     On the way back, we hit another scenic stop and I talked to some bikers; couple from Montana, one from Maine.  They were taking a bike trip through Cuba to see it before it changed.  Their longest day of biking was 60 miles, most days they do about 40.  One lady said when it was 93 she decided to ride the tour bus and not ride.......   Ages of the group were 18 to 73.  The tour was operated by a Canadian company, I believe.

     Supper was at a hoity toity paladar back in Havana.  I had fish.  It was not great. But is was good.  Service was a little distant.  As soon as you put something down, it was gone.

      Our room was hot, again.  This time we went down and asked for a new room.  About 30 minutes later, we were on the move to a room with air conditioning that worked.  Much better.  Dan and I were much happier.
     Anyway....on the road early tomorrow...headed to our next town.

the blue arrow on the left means room to rent

main drag in Vinales

common transportation in the rural towns..... this is not a tourist offering, just people

gas station

you can buy eggs in Vinales

these little buildings were common....sold beverages, food items, 

liked the little door in the door...good for ventilation

bike tour in Vinales

there was a dance competition on the square in Vinales Saturday night....these kids were practicing

church in Vinales on the square

all girl band...lonly one we saw....at rest stop and scenic view

N

bike tour group .... first saw in Vinales

view from the rest stop...bikers and band were both here

this man helped harvest tobacco at a farm we visited...and he rolls cigars

paladar in Havana...on the rooftop

great view, fun night, food was ok

lunch is served

Even the tail was cooked

welcoming drink was add your own

Paladar from the side

organic garden supplied food for lunch

view from the porch

owner of the farm explained his philosophy and methods

rabbits poop and feed the compost below, which is a worm bed

yucca flower

the food kept coming

Day. 4... walk, or ride?

No wine for my whine

(This was written in Cuba....but not posted due to a lack of Wifi.  i did clean up the language in this a little.)

     I am a little bitchy.

     Our room is hot.  The thermostat is set at 27, which has to be about 80.

      Dan and I have complained since check in and each time we are told someone is working on it or coming to work on it and even it's fixed.  Bullshit.  We are hot.

     Havana Libre is not Hotel Nacional.

     We finished our tour of Old Havana.  One plaza we were in was being renovated.  It was originally built as a commerce center in the 1500s or so.  But Batista ripped up the square and put in underground parking.  The buildings began to deteriorate.  Sometime in the past 15 years the parking was removed and the square restored.  The buildings are being restored also and before and after pictures dramatically tell the story.

     Lunch was on our own.  Dan and I joined the California girls at a neat little restaurant.  The grilled chicken was very good.

     We then toured the Cuban Art Museum, which features works of noted Cuban artists.

     Then we we to out to a fort on the peninsula across from Havana.  We took a tunnel that went under the water, which saves about 3 hours of driving.  Our guide called it one of the 7 engineering wonders of Cuba.

     We checked into Hotel HELL.  Our room was hot from the first moment we walked in.

      So, I went to the park across the street because it is famous for ice cream.  Tour leader Gail said to be sure to get in the right line.

     I went over, no line, and ate my ice cream. 

     I noticed lines and started watching.  These were Cuban people buying ice cream.  They used pesos.  I used CUCs, which meant I was a tourist.  No waiting for me.....waiting for ordinary Cubans.
     There were four seating sections...and four lines.  People were let in 10 at a time, and there were a lot of people in line.  Peso prices seemed  a lot less than the CUC prices....but that may have just been my math.

     We went to a paladar for super...Dan, Larry, Patty, Michael, Janet, Jim, Lynn, Cathrine and me.....great food.  Larry, Patty and I took a cab.  The others were getting into cabs as we took off.
     We got there just about 7 and expected the others to join us.  10 minutes went by...then 20.    Finally, after waiting half an hour, we decided to go ahead and eat, not knowing where the others were.  No cell phones, so communication was impossible.
     We sat down, enjoyed our complimentary welcome to my restaurant mojito,  and were ready to order when the other six walked in.
     We asked what took them so long and they replied:  They walked.   18 blocks.  In 85 degree heat.

 But they saved 10, the cost of the cab ride.  I guess they were told at the hotel it would cost 5, but the driver said 10 and they did not want to pay it.  They were told the restaurant was just two blocks over and a few blocks down.   More like 18.  We had a good laugh over it.

     They took a cab home.

     At Nacional, I would sit out on the veranda, enjoying the cool breeze.  At Libre, the front is on a busy street and the lobby is modern and noisy.  I ended up in a small bar off to the side of the lobby, sipping my final mojito of the day.  I must have been partially hidden, because people looked for me     and could not find me.
     And the room was still hot.

This sculpture is called coffeedral....made from coffee pots, the kind normal Cuban people use to brew.  You passed through the sculpture and touched a handle for good luck.

The inside was lined with mirrors.....easy for selfies!

Now that is a bug!!

My ice cream.... pretty yummy

This one is for CUC customers.... mainly tourists

View from Libre.....the big green area in the center is the ice cream park.

Our hotel.....

yes, they have movie theaters

I love these trees....the hanging roots fascinated me.

Houses that bordered the park

Everybody loves ice cream.... especially coconut!

Square is very attractive and clean

before and after of the building

This square was noisy, so one of the governors ordered the brick road to be replaced by wooden pavers to reduce noise....so these are actually wood!

At the fort overlooking Havana harbor

Dona Juana..... sounded like dontya wanna?  Good food. Restaurant was on the roof, first floor was owner, second floor rooms to rent and top floor the restaurant.  At least, that is what I think.

Our dining group

This is a newly renovated hotel on one of the squares

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.

These are people traveling to Cuba.  The blue wrapped bags are for family members..... but we all know later on they are sold on the black market.  

At the local outdoor market

No modern equipment here!

I honestly don't know how long this was sitting out.  Lyle H. would have a cow!!

Ration booklet

Staples like rice, salt, sugar.....rationed to people.  The books are needed to get supplies.

Joaquin Crespo Manzano, known as Bebo, is a famous Cuban artist.  He is 89.

Paladar for lunch

Creative!!

Two baseball legions

Hemingway stayed here when he first came to Havana

1925 elevator....still in use

View from the top of the hotel

Street scene

Home of the daiquir!!