Tripping With Toby: Havana

Jan. 29, 2018-Havana

Jose's description of the Cuban government: Every move you make, every breath you take. I'll be watching you.

It was such a Cuban touch. When we had our Shakespearean moment on our way to Havana, I had a cappuccino. It came with two pieces of sugar cane to use as stirrers. I may need to see the dentist for a special cleaning when we get home.

We watched a video about Hemingway on the bus after our rest stop on the 4-hour drive West to Havana. Ernest Hemingway spent half his life in Cuba. The island inspired many of his works. He was 29 years old the first time he visited. He returned for the great fishing. He rented a boat from a rum running bootlegger with whom he became lifelong friends. His second wife had a hard time giving birth. She was advised not to have more children. As a Catholic, she chose abstinence. Hemingway began having affairs & met a new love. She was married to a man Hemingway considered too weak to hold on to her. When her husband found out, she tried to sneak into Hemingway's hotel room by climbing along a ledge. Some people say it was suicide, but she fell and died.

Hemingway fancied himself a naturalist. He wanted to preserve animals to hunt them. He maintained that you can't get closer than at the time of killing. In 1939, he met his third wife. She didn't want children so he befriended local kids & organized a baseball team.

For a time, he tried to track and destroy a Nazi U-boat. Then wanted to capture one seen off the coast. When he finally saw the sub he couldn't catch it. He met his 4th wife & had the wedding reception at his favorite bar, La Floridita. It was his final and longest marriage. Even then, he met a 19 year old woman whom he invited to Cuba. Some said he needed to be in love in order to write.

He was starting to suffer physical problems including impotence. In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize after writing Old Man and the Sea. After two airplane crashes and other ills, he went to the US for treatment. He felt betrayed by his body and knew he'd never return to Cuba. Suicide in 1960, was his solution.

After his death, his connection with Santeria was researched. It's a combination of African animism and Catholicism. He may have participated in it.

More on Che, the person. He was a physician who grew up in a wealthy Argentinian family. He had asthma since he was four. He used a primitive inhaler and had difficulty when with troops in the mountains. His first marriage produced a daughter. His second marriage yielded four children. All five of his progeny are educated and productive citizens of Cuba. Che's grit is best illustrated by the statue atop his memorial. He has a rifle in his right hand and a cast and sling on his left arm. It portrays the time he fought on while injured.

Jose elaborated on Cuba's connection with the outside world. They have complete and easy IT access for a pittance. The government knows of it and doesn't interfere, but it's a private enterprise. El Pacquete are internet cards that allow Cubans to download anything on line: movies, newspaper, tv shows, etc. They call the person selling the card and it is delivered to their home. Hot spots are available in many public parks. Jose says Cubans are the new Pirates of the Caribbean. Where there's a will.....

The approach to Havana was along the water and promenade. Soviet apartments painted in bright colors were everywhere. The paint didn't help the uglies. There's no gambling in Cuba anymore except for secret cock fights. Myer Lansky took a contract of a million dollars out on Fidel after his casinos were closed. Obviously, it didn't work.

Jose & Manuel tried out a new paladare for lunch, Decameron. It was a step up from what we've had. I think they'll keep it in their repertoire. We had complimentary daiquiris and I added to the 3 coffees I'd already imbibed. When we left, my body didn't know if it wanted to pass out or run a marathon.

With that, we hit the streets in Old Havana. We covered Cathedral Square, Plaza de Armes, & walked the promenade across from the iconic El Moro Castle. Havana was well fortified in the day and was never overrun. No revolutionary battles were fought here. I hope Trump doesn't know of the success of this defensive wall. We found Hemingway's favorite bar for mojitos. He had another one for daiquiris. My takeaway from the walk was the smell of fish, cigars, and auto exhaust.

Our last destination was the cemetery, established in 1871, where Columbus isn't buried. His body was returned to Spain. Still it's called Columbus Cemetery. We had a special guide for this visit. He told us the cemetery covered 138 acres. Original plots had to be paid for in gold. It's a conglomeration of ostentatious mausoleums and tombs. Graves can be 10 feet deep or more. Some go down several stories inside the mausoleums & have elevators. Fidel put an end to the elaborate display and today's graves are more modest. There are 40 funerals/day. There were three hearses that pulled in during our short visit.

Originally a Catholic cemetery, now others are permitted burial. The guide pointed out the tomb of a Jewish man, Steinhart, who was the first US consul to Cuba. He became a wealthy man starting businesses and investing in the country. With the help of the guide who knew the tradition, David & I found rocks to place on his tomb & we said a "misheberach." Steinhart's family lives in NYC but there were many rocks from other visiting Jews.

We passed the sky-scraper that is the US Embassy on our way to check in to the hotel. It sits on the waterfront and has about 20 concrete barriers with iron poles imbedded at the front entrance. It is all but abandoned. We didn't hear any strange noises as we cruised along.

We're staying our last three nights in Cuba at Hotel Nacional built in 1930. It's significant to us since our parents stayed there in the 40's. It's a sad old lady now. The grandeur is in the grounds, exterior, and main rooms. Our room is a fire trap with exposed wires wrapped in tape and a lamp plug that is frayed. The toilet has what I call a pump flush. It takes about six quick consecutive flushes before the bowl clears. The A/C works, but we can't control the temperature. The phone repeatedly rang, but no one was at the other end. Every time we answered, the phone fell apart. We're on the waterfront side, but the windows are so dirty it's hard to see out. But it has the best FREE wifi that works in our room, and we have separate codes for the phone and iPad. Living large!

Dinner was an elaborate buffet in the hotel. We had pasta bar which was pretty good after weeks of rice and chicken. We sat with the folks from Minnesota. It was quite fortuitous. We talked about Wendy and Julian moving to acreage in Hinckley. The couple knew the town well. Then they told us his niece was a lesbian. She and her partner live in the Twin Cities. His sister-in-law was having trouble accepting it. We talked about PFLAG. Who'd a thunk.

Tomorrow we go back to the old city to plaza hop.

Toby