Day 6 - Exploring Havana
Day 6 (Thursday)
Our free day to explore Havana. After breakfast the group boarded the bus at 10AM, later than usual, and headed for Old Havana. After talking with Raul the
night before, Rick invited him to join our group. Raul worked the night shift so after being up all night he still had energy to be our tour guide. The group
started the center of Old Havana. We walked past the old Bacardi headquarters, a beautiful art deco highrise, the national concert hall, the capital building
where parliament meets, Hotel Florida, Hotel Manzana, the 1914 Johnson&Johnson pharmacy on Calle Obispo, Hoetl Marques del Prado, and Hotel Ambos
Mundos "Two Worlds" which was a favorite hangout of Hemingway's. Old Havana is an amazing combination of 15th century Spanish, Art Deco and post
revolution modern. The building flow from one century to the next. The streets are mostly cobblestone and pedestrian areas are blocked off by using
spanish canons upended set into cement. Hemingway is referenced in many, many locations including the bar Floridita - opened in 1817, birth place of the
first daiquiri and of course one of Hemingway's favorite hangouts. There is a statue at the bar so patrons can sit with Hemingway and toast with him. We
rode the elevator up to the rooftop cafe at Ambos Mundos where we had lunch. It has a beautiful view overlooking Havana and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza
build by King Phillip II from Spain in 1558. There were so many sites to take in and Raul tried to explain everyone sharing how proud he was of the city. After
lunch we continued our walk down to the water front where the main tourist market is setup in a reclaimed train station. The group met up at 4:40 as
planned and Carlos took us all back to our Hotel. Raul lived just off the main square in old Havana so he walked home and we arranged to return to pickup
him and his wife to go to dinner with our group. Back at the hotel we changed, rested a bit and then took the bus to the National Hotel. Most of the group
agreed to wait at a sidewalk cafe while the others went to pickup Raul and Yanelis. They erturned in 10 minutes and then had to hunt for the group which
had relocated a few blocks over in a larger cafe. The group had dinner, listened to a band play and then walked to the National Hotel. The National Hotel is
a historic luxury hotel built in 1930. It resembles the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. At it's height, Havana was the Las Vegas of the Caribbean and the
National Hotel de Cuba was a the center. It was frequented by the most famous artists, actors, athletes, writers, politicians and gangsters from all around the
world. We sat out back on the patio and enjoyed the night air overlooking Havana harbor reviewing all we had seen and done on this trip. Raul and Yanelis
were thrilled to be at the hotel. Until 2008, Cuban nationals were not allowed in most of the hotels Raul had shown us that day. He shared stories on how he
was turned away just a few years ago when he tired to enter one. His eyes teared up as he told us the story and about how happy he was to be with us. We
finished our drinks, said good byes and the group grabbed one of those old taxi's to head back to the hotel. Rick and Josh took a separate taxi along with
Raul and Yanelis to take them home. In old Havana, Yanelis invited them upstairs to see their home. It was such a show of personal trust and friendship to
unexpectedly invite us into their home. We walked up 3 flights in a 110 year old building to their one bedroom apartment. It had terrazzo floors, 18 ft high
ceilings and a balcony overlooking the street below. The beauty of the building and rooms could be seen despite the decades of blockades and lack of
resources. We knew would see Yanelis at the hotel the next day but for now we said farewell to Raul - until next time. They walked us back to the central
park where Rick and Josh took a taxi back to the hotel.
DAY 6 PHOTOS