Hemingway and Cuba

This is me on our first morning in Havana outside the Hotel Sevilla where we stayed for three nights. A beautiful Spanish colonial hotel used as a location for the filming of Grahame Green's 'Our Man in Havana'

Havana is a captivating city and we wished we could have returned there after our two weeks travelling around Cuba and spent a couple more nights discovering more before we flew home. Especially with all the knowledge we'd gained during our travels about Cuba and of course the Revolution - but that's another story.

We were able to see Hemingway's house just outside Havana but not allowed to photograph it nor his famous fishing boat the 'Pilar' We could peep through the windows and also see the empty swimming pool where Ava Gardner swam naked. Finca Vigia is being restored so if we visit Cuba again in the future maybe we'll be allowed inside? Above is a photo of the fishing village where the Pilar was launched fishing for marlins and the setting for Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea.'

Above is a statue of Hemingway in the fishing village of Cojimar. We had a seafood lunch here in La Terraza, a bar restaurant with walls lined with photos of Hemingway posing with marlins and with Castro.

These are photos of Hemingway in the El Floridita bar in Havana where he drank and where I experienced my first Mojito cocktail. Memorable. Here's the recipe!

Cuban Towel Art

Cuban towel art in two of the hotels we stayed in. This art is all the more impressive because, unlike the Egyptians, the Cubans must have been laundering these same towels for years and years as they barely cover your bits after a shower - they've been machine washed so many times. The housekeeping staff left personal handwritten notes in the rooms wishing us a happy stay and telling us how much pleasure it gave them to clean our rooms.

People who work in the catering industry are possibly the best paid people in Cuba as at least the get ample tips to compensate for atrocious wages - not taxed by the state either. One Cuban Convertible Peso equals one USA dollar.

Morty wanted to buy this example of Cuban hand-thrown pottery! Not on my mantlepiece! Must have been the heat affecting him!

Cuban Cars

Cuba has hundreds of old American cars belching smoke, rattling along, hand painted yet startlingley beautiful to see. The Cubans must be wonderful mechanics as most of theses motors are kept running with bits of other cars - real make do and mend. Of course we took a ride in one and it was fun. This old Ford was a bit different to the rest.

When our coach driver needed fuel we had to get off the coach and wait on the roadside as he went to the secret destination to fill up the tank, armed with piles of documentation as every single litre of fuel had to be accounted for. It took over half an hour every time.

There were moments when I watched our belongings, including passports, being driven off in the pursuit of petrol when I wondered if we'd ever see them again!

The Ration Shop

The day before we left the UK and travelled to Cuba I did an online Tesco delivery order to arrive on my doorstep the day after we returned home.

On day three of our journey we saw this. A Ration Shop. All Cubans have a Ration Book with coupons for: Rice, flour, sugar, oil, bread and little else. Sparse?