Havana--pearl of Cuba

Havana from Morro Castle

Most tourists visiting Cuba go either to the resorts or to Havana.  There is much more to see in Cuba than just Havana, but this vibrant city is certainly at the top of the list of places to visit on the island.  It is the only city in Cuba where Cubans cannot move without permission, probably because most Cubans would like to live in Havana.  It is a city filled with music, art, culture and, of course, government and international diplomats—and Hemingway, who lived off and on in Havana for 20 years.

one of Havana's oldest buildings

We stayed in a too-large hotel out of the city center, which we won’t do again, but it was right on the Malecon, the drive along Havana’s large seawall.  I walked in the sultry evening for several miles along the seawall, enjoying the calm sea, fisherman and families strolling together.  There was a warm breeze that picked up during the evening until, about 10 p.m., the calm water had surged into huge waves battering the seawall and closing the Malecon.  This continued throughout the next day.

the seawall on my evening walk

The newly opened U.S. embassy is also on the Malecon.  Previously, it housed the U.S. interest section, under the auspices of the Swiss embassy.  Now our flag flies over the large building.  Ironically, it is right next to the monument to anti-imperialism (Spain and the U.S., in Cuban history).  The official Cuban line is that the U.S. is still an imperialist country that has nearly destroyed the Cuban economy—and, indeed, the sanctions have made life very difficult for Cubans.  I agree with the Cubans, virtually everyone, who hopes newly-established relations between Cuba and the U.S. will soon bring about sanctions relief, freedom of travel and family reunions.

same place 12 hours later

Hemingway’s home, Finca Vigia, is outside central Havana on a hill overlooking the city and ocean, quite a spectacular site.  You can’t go inside the house, but can peer inside through windows and doors.  Fortunately, we visited in the late afternoon when the huge busloads of tourists had vanished, so had a peaceful walk around by ourselves.  His fourth wife, Mary Hemingway, built a tower where she thought Hemingway would enjoy writing, but he didn’t really want to write there.  Rumor has it that he used it, with its spectacular views, as a place for trysts with young women and Hollywood actresses who sought him out.  He preferred to write standing up, in a bedroom, typewriter perched on a bookcase.

Finca Vigia, Hemingway's home

room where Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea (typewriter on bookcase)

One night, we went to see a performance of the Buena Vista Social Club, a wonderful band and dancers who perform Havana-heyday music and dancing in several locations near the central plaza.  They are very loud, very good, very entertaining, and very good at drawing the audience into their performance.  Havana also has excellent flamenco dancing, which we plan to include when we visit with our groups.

theater with Capitol (modeled on U.S. Capitol) behind

One real highlight of the cultural scene is the Compas Dance Company.  They have a relic of a building in a suburb where they practice and perform for tourists.  They are unbelievable, combining traditional Afro-Cuban music, which is a critical component of Cuban culture, with Spanish flamenco and American jazz.  One night they were performing at a club and didn’t have enough drums.  So, some of the company grabbed wooden chairs and turned them into drums.  Since then, they have choreographed and practiced incredible music and dancing using chairs as drums and dancing flamenco at the same time.  I can’t describe it even remotely adequately, but those of you who go to Cuba with us will see Compas and be as amazed as we were.  And that’s just the beginning.  Such an enjoyable experience.

Compas dance company using chair drums

The historic center of Havana provides a wonderful walking tour.  Our guide, quite a remarkable guy, is very knowledgeable about architecture, music, art and history, so we had a fascinating tour of Old Havana.  He showed me the oldest church in Havana, a tiny Greek Orthodox church in a garden next to a large Catholic church.  One of the big tourist attractions is seeing the city in vintage convertibles, most in beautiful condition.  These provide a great tour of the main plazas and monuments as well as the Malecon.

orchids at Soroa Orchid Garden, Vinales Valley

About 2 hours outside Havana is the gorgeous mountain valley of Vinales.  It is usually all that tourists traveling only to Havana see, and it is well worth the visit.  Surrounded by mountains, Vinales is a big tobacco-growing and cigar-making area.  We also visited an orchid garden created by a grieving father in honor of his daughter who had died prematurely.  We had lunch at a paladar started by a young woman and run by her family.  She has a large garden and farm that provides all the fruits, vegetables and meat for her menu.  The paladar is an old house with a wide veranda encircling the house and overlooking the farm and the mountains beyond.  Excellent meal, interesting entrepreneur, great visit.

El Paraiso paladar, Vinales

To protect Havana from invaders and pirates, there are 2 fortresses on either side of the narrow inlet into the large back bay.  One is Morro Castle (again) which offers great views of the city and Atlantic Ocean. 

La Floridita, one of Hemingway's favorite bars

Morro Castle, Havana