Cuban Tour: Day 1

As I previously posted, Sam and I chose to go to Cuba legally, and therefore, with a tour group that possesses the special license the US government requires for US citizens to travel there. Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) does a really good job of fulfilling the requirements of an educational, people-to-people, cultural experience while keeping the tour interesting, if not exhausting. Everyday was filled with so many activities, and so much information, that I will be hard pressed to remember it all! I will try to recall, through my photos, what we did each day, and hopefully, a little of what we learned about Cuba and its people.

First, we met with all of the other tour members the night before we left for Havana, at a hotel near the Miami Airport. There, we had an informational meeting, received our visas, special licenses, and our plane tickets. Early the next morning, we were shuttled to MIA, checked in, proceeded through security, and got on our plane for the most expensive less-than-one hour flight I've ever been on. It's only 90 miles from MIA to HAV, but according to our tickets, it was a $400 fare!

Every experience we had in Cuba was unique, including collecting our baggage at the baggage claim area at HAV. Along with our suitcases on the revolving track, there were dozens of oddly shaped packages, wrapped in lime green and hot pink "saran wrap," filled with who knows what, and several obvious items, like flat screen TVs, wrapped in cardboard and duck tape. This is how many Cuban-Americans support their family members back in Cuba. They arrive with huge, stuffed suitcases, and those weird looking plastic blobs, and then return to the US with nothing. It seems like an expensive way to ship things, but I guess it's the only way to be assured they will be delivered to family members. (Our guide, José, told us a story about some Americans he met on a tour, who sent him flea medication to be used on the stray dogs in Havana. When the package arrived, the boxes inside were empty, and he likes to imagine that whoever stole the contents is using it as eye drops!)

We left the airport in our air conditioned Chinese tour bus, and wasted no time getting started on our tour experiences. First stop: Plaza de la Revolución.

Plaza de la Revolución, or Revolution Square, was actually built during Batista's rule, and was called Plaza Civica. It was finished just before the revolution took place in 1959, and the name was changed. 

The main feature of the square is the José Martí Memorial. Martí is probably Cuba's most beloved national hero, and we saw statues of him everywhere we went. He was a leader in Cuba's fight for independence from Spain in the 1800s, and was killed in that struggle.

We also got some of our first glimpses of the famous 1950s (and older) American cars, but I will have more on that subject later...

Everywhere we went there were billboards and signs reminding everyone of the revolution. Some of them do have pictures of Fidel Castro, but generally, he does not allow images of himself, and there are no statues of him. This sign near the square reminds us it has been 53 years since the revolution, and it shows a young Fidel riding victoriously into Havana with Camilo Cienfuegos, a fellow revolutionary, who was killed later in a plane crash.

After our quick visit to the square, we headed to the Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, or the Colon Cemetery, where  1 million people have been buried. It is packed with elaborate Italian white marble memorials and mausoleums, including a very large and symbolic memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives in a warehouse fire in 1890.

Apparently, this guy on the memorial represents betrayal. The company that owned the warehouse did not disclose to the fire department that there were explosive materials inside, so they weren't expecting the explosion that killed the firefighters.

Our cemetery guide pointed out this particular grave to draw our attention to the fine work done on some of these. The draped cloth on this memorial looks almost like soft linen.

The most famous grave site in the cemetery is that of La Milagrosa. Amelia Goyri de Adot and her son died when she gave birth to him in 1901. As was the custom, the baby was buried with her, at her feet, but it is said that when she was exhumed 3 years later, her body was intact and the baby was in her arms. 

For over a hundred years, pilgrims have come to her grave and asked for miracles. Many people believe she helped them and they bring marble "cards" to thank her.

This is the main chapel in the center of the cemetery.

Luckily, there were no services while we were there, so we were able to go inside the chapel.

Our guide at the cemetery was a very knowledgeable and friendly Cuban named Andreas, who spoke very good English and looked a little like a famous American...

When I asked him if people ever tell him he looks like our President, he said, "Yes, but thank goodness I don't have his problems!"


When we left the cemetery, it had gotten really warm, and we were very pleased to be dropped off at our first lunch stop, Restaurante la Torre, at the top of a 36 story building, with incredible birds eye views of Havana and the sea.

The building with two towers, left of center in the last photo, is the Hotel Nacional, where we stayed for four nights. After our lovely lunch, we arrived at the hotel, received our welcoming Mojito, and checked into our room, which was quite nice. The Nacional was built in 1930, and although it is a bit tired, it is still a beautiful hotel, and we had nice view from our 4th floor room.

That first evening, we had family style dinner at the hotel, on an outdoor covered patio, with our fellow tour members and peacocks squawking in the background. Afterwards, Sam and I sat outside, me with a daiquiri, and he with some 7 year old Cuban rum and a cigar, listening to live music, enjoying the Cuban breeze, and thinking how lucky are we?!

Note: To view enlarged photos, just click on one of them and you will see a slide show of all photos in this post. Click the X in upper right hand corner of the slide show to return to the blog. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, any type within the post that is a different color than white, can be clicked on and it will link you either to a video Sam has posted, or another webpage with more information.