I awoke in my bed to the familiar humming of my room air-conditioner. What time is it? There was not a clock in my room and our cell phones slept in la Mochila. Who else is awake? What are we going to do with our day? It was a leisurely morning for all of us. Because of our limited Wi-Fi access, weather was determined by opening the wood shuttered doors to our balcony. The day was a overcast. It felt right, like a comforting blanket, we were assimilating to Cuba.
We walked to our breakfast spot, Café Mamaine, to enjoy coffee and breakfast. Itbegan to drizzle, so we moved inside from the narrow outdoor courtyard. We ordered fried eggs, toast, pancakes, chorizo and coffee. With breakfast finished, I bought a Coke and Fanta from the glass door cooler for Mimita and Luis. He was hankering for an orange soda the day before in Viñales but did not have any luck. Off to Mimita’s house we walked for more café and our daily briefing. Unfortunately, the sidewalks in Cuba are narrow and squalid. Many are in a poor state, uneven, and without manhole covers, which make walking along them dangerous…keep your eye on the sidewalk!
We jumped in the Bel Air and headed to Centro Habana to start our search for the home of a friend’s abuela (grandmother). We were provided the address by my friend’s dad and I promised him pictures. Luis parked the car on Virtudes e/ Gervasio y Escobar and we walked looking for the house numbers. Six pairs of eyes were focused but we could not find No. 619. Mimita suggested it might be another number and we continued our search….723, 722 then 719.
There it still stood, with peeling paint and a gentleman sitting on its stoop. …or at least we thought. As I was snapping pictures, my mind drifted to my friend and her dad. I remembered their excitement as they shared with me the memories created in this home. Unlike myself, my friend was 8 years old when she left Cuba, old enough to have her own recollections. After returning to the United States and showing him the pictures, he sadly informed me they were not of his childhood home.
Luis deposited us at Plaza Vieja (Old Square), where we watched kids play soccer and handed out more caramelos. We walked and walked until we were tired and ready for refreshments and a snack. We stopped at Hotel Los Frailes (Monk Hotel) located at Calle Teniente Rey No. 8 e/ Mercaderes y Oficios. Our exhausted bodies plopped into comfy leather sofas and ordered café, water, and Cubatas. We snacked on la Mochila goodies of goldfish and nuts then resumed our walk.
Once again rested, we strolled through Plaza San Francisco de Assisi where we stopped to admire La Conversacion (The Conversation) statue. This bronze statue was sculpted by Etienne and donated in 2012 to the city of Havana by Vittorio Perrota, the French ambassador, as gesture of friendship between France and Cuba.
The sun was setting as we continued to aimlessly wander what now were becoming familiar streets. We ended up strolling on Obispo and came face to face with Hotel Ambos Mundos. We rode the lift to the rooftop again and enjoyed another beverage, french fries and the stunning nighttime views of Havana.
Time for dinner! From our notes, we choose El Rum Rum de la Habana located at Calle Empedrado No. 256 e/ Cuba y Aguiar. We were seated at a table in the front of the paladar next to the impressive wood bar. We ordered sangria, a piña colada, water, and…. well, you guessed it…. Cubatas. For an appetizer we had amazing hummus. We dined on camarones (shrimp) al rum rum, camarones a la parilla. ropa vieja, paella, and vaca frita (fried cow). The vaca frita was some of the best I have eaten. There were the usual accompaniments. Our bellies were full and we had tons of leftovers to once again bring back to Mimita’s home for Tía Nena and Luis.
Mimita rang Luis and he drove us home via El Malecón . It was full of locals and tourists, just as he had described. We drove past the United States Interest Section, located on the fifth floor of the Embassy of Switzerland. This embassy was the protecting power of the United States between 1961 and 2015. During this period, Cuba and the US did not have embassies in each other’s countries. The Forest of Flags erected in 2006, sits strategically to obscure the US interest section’s electronic billboard. The 20-meter flagpoles waved 138 flags, each black with a centered white star to mourn the Cuban victims of Bay of Pigs invasion, a 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner and other events Cuba blames on the United States. As we drove by, only a solitary Cuban flag waved on one of the poles.
Luis dropped us at our casita. We continued with our evening tradition of sitting on the balcony. As we sat in the white iron chairs, we viewed the Wall of Flags to the north of us. Exhausted we retired to our rooms…I longed for my bed, which I was already accustomed to…another early morning wakeup call tomorrow.
-Izzy
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