Day 7 - Cuba

The alarm was set for 8:30 am. What a treat! After a light breakfast at the hotel, we gathered up the clothing, shoes, pencils, pens, etc. we had brought with us and grabbed a bicitaxi, or bicycle taxi.

We told the cyclist where we wanted to go and showed him on the map too. It was a most interesting ride. Several times we heard a strange sound coming from the bike chains and we wondered if we had broken the bike! Our weight plus the amount of stuff we were carrying was a heavy load for the cyclist. He took us to a building that we didn't think was the right place and it was closed. The driver asked some locals, then realized where we wanted to go.

Unfortunately, the church we had chosen on the map as being the closest, was closed. We didn't know what we were going to do with all the stuff we had with us but the driver had another idea. We set off again and after quite a bit further, our cyclist found us an open church. By this time, we were on a first name basis with the cyclist. Jose showed us photos of his little girl on his cell phone and we visited as best we could between his English and my very poor Spanish.

The church where we stopped was a large cathedral and we weren't sure what to do after we walked in. There were some people at the front of the church who were busy, and Jose explained for us why we were there. They received the donations gratefully and were very pleased we had come.

Jose took us back to the general area we had been, this time to the National Art Museum. What a nice young man he was! The art museum consists of two buildings but we were only interested in the Cuban art exhibits.

It is a well curated museum with a large collection. The 18th century art was remarkable in scope. Cuban art and music is really promoted here and there are many talented people in and of this country. I liked a few of the more modern pieces, but lots of it I just didn't 'get'. Anyway, it was a most worthwhile visit.

We walked back to the hotel down the Paseo del Prado. It was filled with people strolling and sitting, kids playing baseball and various vendors, most of which were selling their art.

At the hotel we grabbed a quick bite and packed for the afternoon. Then we caught the beach bus right in front of our hotel. For 5 CUC, we got a ride to the area which was about 20 kilometres away. It was so worth going that distance.

The recommended stop was at the Tropicoco Hotel. Due to the lay of the land, we couldn't see much until we were right up close, then wow - live bands, kite surfers, beach bars, people, and the beautiful green-blue ocean!

We had a ball walking in the warm water, beachcombing and taking photos of course.

We found lots of beach glass and I had particular luck in finding some nice pieces. Several friendly Cubans interacted with us as we walked along and many wanted us to take pictures of them with our cameras for some strange reason.

It was fairly windy out but it was a warm ocean breeze.

The time went by all too fast and we had to make sure we caught the last bus out of there. We unloaded out treasures back at our hotel, then set out in search of the Floridita, a haunt of Ernest Hemingway. While we paused at a corner, a local asked us where we wanted to go. When we told him, he said he knew a better, cheaper place he would show us. We thought it wouldn't hurt to have a look.

We needed up having supper at one of the many places where the Buena Vista Social Club plays. Supper was nice but much larger portions than I wanted or needed. On the way back home we did find the Floridita and stopped in for a strawberry daiquiri. The place got insanely busy and we didn't stay long.

 Only one more day.