Today would be my friend’s last day in Cuba. She was originally traveling for the entire duration but pesky work threw a wrench into her plans. With that said, she marched into my bedroom with a bee in her bonnet and woke me. She wanted to get back to Havana as quickly as possible. We all missed Havana.
Luis was scheduled to return late in the afternoon but my friend had a change of plans and needed me to communicate such to Mimita. A quick phone call and Luis would arrive to fetch us right after lunch.
We returned to the open air establishment for café and pictures on the beach. The wind had settled, the surf had calmed, and the red flag had been removed allowing bathers to venture into the pristine water.
Back at our casita, we packed our bags and started to walk the 30 blocks to our lunch spot…don’t worry, we left our bags at the casita. The streets here were a huge improvement to the ones in Havana. Along the way, we admired the many touristy souvenir shops.
We arrived at Salsa Suárez Paladar, located at Calle 31 No. 103 e/ 1ra y 3ra Ave. A massive green hedge flanked the entrance. Inside, we were seated at a table near the impressive bar and the daily specials were displayed on a large blackboard.
Time to order our refreshments. We enjoyed a piña colada, strawberry and lime daiquiris. Fish dip and a chicharita (fried green banana) were presented as our welcome course. Capresse salad was shared as an appetizer. Our server answered all of our questions and made his recommendations.
We ordered fish with octopus, pasta cooked with octopus ink, escalopes crocantes de pescado (fish coated with black and white sesame seeds), breaded chicken, and curried shrimp. We ordered a café and a brownie, and we enjoyed our sobremesa. As if magic, Luis appeared right after paying the bill.
Luis dropped Mimita and myself off at the hotel to begin the check out process for our casita while the rest of the crew returned to pack the car. Well, at the hotel we encountered a small hiccup to our quick departure. They would need to send someone to re-inventory everything! Tranquila!
We waited and waited at our casita but no one showed up. Our patience was running thin and I decided to walk back to the hotel and inform them of our predicament. They were apologetic and said we could leave without the required inconvenience.
Time to hit the road.
I was drifting in and out of sleep when the sound of Mimita speaking and Luis making a sudden stop on the shoulder of the freeway jolted me wide awake. Immediately I thought we were being stopped by la policía.
I digress…when Luis accompanied us to Viñales, Mimita placed her order for the homemade cheese sold on the side of the road. We failed! We came home empty handed and she was sad. It was time to rectify our mistake.
Mimita had spotted a vendor selling her coveted cheese. She could not and would not contain her excitement. The vendor held a platter presenting three rather large pieces of cheese, one darker than the other two and a clearly larger one of the remaining two.
We sat in awe from the back seat and witnessed first hand the intricate delicacies of bartering. I have never witnessed such a quick change of monies and cheese in my life. Money was handed over and back and over again while the volume of bickering escalated regarding the piece of cheese.
It all culminated with Mimita effortlessly whipping out a plastic bag out of her purse and reaching to grab her two pieces of cheese. Transaction completed, Luis sped off.
We arrived at our casita for a quick change of clothes and off to Hotel Nacional. We moseyed to the outdoor bar overlooking el Malecón. Our crew had ordered the usual array of beverages and we all cheered to Mimita and Luis’s hospitality. I wanted to break out the “a bombo chie chie chie, a bombo chie chie chá, Luis, Mimita, ra ra ra” (similar to “for he’s a golly good fella”) chant but refrained.
Luis dropped us at La Guarida Paladar located at Concordia. No. 418 | Gervasio y Escobar. While preparing for our trip this paladar surfaced quite a few times. It was ranked as one of the top paladars in Havana.
La Guarida is located on the third and fourth floors of what would be a seriously run-down, should be condemned, apartment building. There were too many stairs to count and the marble banister was missing on parts of the stairwell. However, when we finally stepped foot in the Paladar all traces of the building below were erased.
The place was packed! Luckily we had Mimita call and make reservations as they were not taking walk-ins. We were seated at an outdoor table with a peak at the state of the art kitchen. The night was cool and the view of Havana was sprawling.
We ordered drinks along with beef carpaccio, eggplant tartar, and caesar salad for appetizers then everyone but I ascended the dangerous spiral staircase to the upper bar. For dinner we ordered rabo encendido (oxtail stew, one of my Mami’s favorite dishes), baked chicken, and three petite fillet medallions with different sauces. We ordered guava mousse for desert. During sobremesa Mimita phoned Luis and our chariot was waiting when we carefully descended the perilous stairs.
Luis dropped us off at our casita and we sat on our balcony for just a little while.
Until next time…
· izzy
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 arrived to Cuba as a party of four…but we felt like a party of five as we carried a backpack with us always. The backpack became known as la Mochila and Mimita affectionately nicknamed it “la 70 kilo mochila”. Each morning I packed la Mochila for the day ahead.
Early morning wakeup call! We were chomping at the bit for our road trip to Viñales. The four of us walked to Mimita’s home where we were once again greeted with café. Today Mimita would stay home to care for her mother and Luis would drive and accompany us on our first road trip in Cuba.
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.
Up at eight bells!
No time for our customary trip to el mercado. We need to pack our overnight bags. We are taking a road trip to Varadero Beach.
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