Day1: An Introduction to Havana

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We landed at José Marti International Airport in Havana and boarded the shiny Transgaviota bus to begin our adventure. This bus is a sister to the one we used.

Bennett

We got off the bus for the first of the walking tours of this intriguing city. San Francisco Square was a good introduction to the mix of the historic and contemporary aspects of the city.

Bennett

According to Wikipedia, the basilica and the monastery of San Francisco de Asis (Saint Francis of Assisi) were build in Havana at the end of the sixteenth century (1580-91) as the home of the Franciscan community and were altered in the baroque style in 1730.
The church was used for worship by the English during the year they ruled Havana; it was not used as a church when Havana returned to Spanish rule and is now used for concerts. Attached to the Basilica is a bell tower (138-feet). Originally a statue of St. Francis of Assisi stood on the top of the bell tower but it was destroyed by a cyclone in 1846. Today a statue of Fra. Junipero Serra with Juaneño, an Indian boy, stand next to the basilica.
At one end of the square is a very modern bronze sculpture, La conversacion, installed in 2012.

Bennett

From the square we walked through the city. Lloyd met some musicians on one of the many parks along our route. Like our familiar New Orleans, in Cuba there is always music in the air.

Bennett

This statue of Christopher Columbus stands in the forecourt of the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the former official residence of the governors of Havana. It is on the Plaza de Armas in Old Havana and houses the Museo de la Ciudad. Many of the rooms are preserved with their original Colonial decoration. Learn more here.

Bennett

Soon we came to the Hotel Telegrafo, our home in Havana for five days. The first telegraph in Havana was located here, hence its name.

Bennett

The interior of the hotel is a blend of historic and modern. The bar boasts an large mosaic mural as well as some of the original architectural details that survived its modernization. We were delighted to discover that the hotel has both 110 and 220 v available in the guest rooms but no internet.

Joel Katzowitz

After a brief period to settle in to the hotel, our group reassembled to walk to a parador for dinner. On the way we stopped outside the imposing facade of the Hotel Sevilla.

Bennett

Our local guide for the duration of the trip was Osmin, the fellow in the red shirt with the sunglasses atop his head. This is the best group shot of the trip. We were so busy that we didn't get it together for a group picture.

Bennett

Our dinner the first night was provided at a parador, a restaurant in a private home. Our guide explained that the restrictions on private enterprise in Cuba are being relaxed, making it possible for Cubans to exercise their entrepreneurial muscle in small ways. The word "parador" comes from a South American soap opera, in which the poor woman wronged by the rich man opens an intimate restaurant (a parador) in her home to make money--or something like that. In any event, the idea and the term caught on. There are now paradors throughout the country. I didn't get the name of this particular parador, but the food was very good.

Bennett

In sharp contrast to the polished up, renovated sights are the back streets of Havana which are desperately in need of urban renewal. The government under Raul Castro is trying very hard to improve the lot of the people, but with no ability to borrow from the World Bank or other entities due to the U.S. embargo, there are no funds to invest for this massive undertaking. This is the area behind the elegant Hotel Telegrafo.