Sue's Travels: Cuba - 15 December 2011

We started out at 9:30 am and headed to one of the forts which protected the harbor of Havana. At one time this fort was captured by the British for a year. We wandered through the fort (Cost 7 Convertible Pesos) for about an hour and a half. There were a lot of models and pictures. The fort was constructed of Lime stone mined in Cuba.

The port of Havana was an important port. The fleet taking the gold from America assembled in the harbor of Havana before leaving in convoy for Cadiz, Spain. The Havana was an extremely safe harbor because there was a relatively long, narrow channel which led into a wide anchorage. Our guide described it as a “bag” harbor. At night, chain could be raised which would prevent entry into the “bag”.

Entering the fort with Havana in the background

Views from fort

Signage describing the fort

Canon with canon balls

Model of Light house

The fort on the other side of the bay

The city of Havana in the distance

Original Cannon

View of city of Havana

Canon

Chapel in the fort. While the fort was constructed in 16th century, the chapel was constructed in the 18th century.

Model of one of Columbus' ships

Native craft

Model of fort

Another fort model

Looking out to sea

After leaving the fort, we returned to the hotel to drop off those who are leaving today, which included Steve and Bernadette, the tour leaders.

The rest of us were driven into a shopping street in downtown Havana and dropped off. The bus returned to the hotel to take those who were leaving to the airport. We gently ambled down the streets and went into some shops, where we saw how little was available at prices the average Cuban can afford (average wage is $40/Month). We also saw the condition of many of the building. We were in an area that prior to the revolution was an elegant shopping street. I am sorry that I didn’t get a picture of Havana’s China Town, which consists of a single street with so-called Chinese restaurants. Each restaurant had an individual in front whose job was to pull you into their restaurant.

Semi Gothic Church in downtown Havana

Street Scene

Occassionally, one sees a well maintained or restored building

Since most of us did not want a big meal, we went to the Hotel Ingleterra, where we had sandwiches for lunch. Following a leisurely lunch, we went back to the Mercado where I bought another drum and some wooden cars for my little dividends. Our guide, Abel, dropped us at the hotel. We are meeting at 7:00 PM to go out for dinner.

Having lunch at Hotel Inglaterre

Note Pedicabs

I think it may be an Edsel

my hotel room

We went to dinner at a marvelous restaurant near an army base. The ambiance was lovely and the food was good. The name of the restaurant was Dona Carmela. If you didn’t know that it was there, you would never find it. It is a privately run restaurant which explains why it was so good.