Hello from Cuba (16) - The Final Day
My god, how time flies.... I have now been back from Cuba for
close to 10 days, and my reentry into the business world has
been the usual: tons of projects to catch up on, accounting
stuff to be taken care off, marketing strategies to be worked
out, etc. etc. As a result I didn't have time yet to tell you
about my final day in Cuba and my reflections and insights after
my return.
On Friday afternoon I checked out the Plaza de la Revolucion,
which is the seat of the Fidel Castro's government and the seat
of the "Comite Central" of his communist party. It is a large
square that is usually used for political rallies and speeches
and the two most distinguishing features are a huge image of Che
Guevara on a building on the west side of the square, as well as
the memorial to Jose Marti which is composed of an obelisk-like
tower and a huge statue of the national hero. The Plaza de la
Revolucion definitely has a very monumental feel to it and I
would have like to be there and experience the atmosphere during
a rallye or speech.
Well, Saturday, April 16 was my last full day in Cuba. The day
started out rainy and grey but the weather managed to clear up
nicely, so much so that I forgot to put on sunscreen and I got
myself burned on my arms pretty badly. I now officially have a
tanline half way down my upper arm since I was wearing a t-shirt
with sleeves - not a pretty sight....
My trusted friend and tour guide Pedro came to meet me early for
our last excursion around Havana. As we had done earlier in the
week, we walked towards downtown and there were a few things
that I had not seen yet. We walked all the way to the Capitolio
and caught a public bus across the bay to get to the famous
statue "Cristo de la Habana", a 17m high statue dating to the
late 1920s, that looks at downtown Havana and the harbour
entrance from a ridge on the other side of the water.
The view from up there was fabulous. We saw the entire skyline
of Havana (obviously pretty devoid of skyscrapers), had a view
of the entire Bay of Havana and saw a huge cruise ship anchored
at the Terminal Sierra Maestra. (Incidentally, due to the
embargo, any cruise ship docking in Cuba is not allowed to dock
in the US for 6 months..).
After successfully catching a sunburn we caught another bus back
into town and sat around in a tourist cafe along the waterfront.
A group of performance artists on stilts, the so-called "Teatro
de la Calle" (Street Theatre) came by and perched high up on
their stilts, they danced to the ubiquitous rhythms of Salsa.
Later that afternoon we caught the local ferry to the other side
of Havana Bay, to a residential neighbourhood called "La Regla".
This is definitely not a tourist area, so we just hopped off,
walked around for a half hour and returned to the ferry dock.
Our effort was rewarded with a view of one of the most beautiful
sunsets across Havana Bay before we returned to the downtown
area to head into the Barrio Chino for a final tasty, yet
affordable meal.
I headed back to the hotel fairly early since I still had to
pack my suitcase. Sunday morning I took a little walk through
the neighbourhood, taking a few final snapshots of the area,
including the Habana Libre hotel and the famous Coppelia
icecream park. Pedro had dropped by and we said our goodbyes in
front of my hotel.
My friend Pedro had been my tourguide, my local expert and my
bodyguard against the constant onslaught of male attention for
close to 2 weeks and we had developed a great friendship. We
dropped by at his sister-in-laws who works in the neighbourhood
and another round of goodbyes was exchanged.
In the airport shuttle I connected with another young woman from
Vancouver who had also attended a 2-week course at the
University of Havana and we exchanged stories and experiences on
our way, in Spanish, of course.
I think what made this trip so unique and special was the fact
that I had the opportunity to connect with locals and to be
immersed and receive a personal introduction to the Cuban
lifestyle. I had made a real effort to seek out contacts with
locals, in restaurants, in the bank, at the bus station, at the
university, really whereever I could.
My experience in Cuba was made most special by the people that I
met. I really have to thank Pedro, his family, my friend Sandra
in Vinales and all the other local Cubans who showed me great
hospitality and who taught me so much about this strange and
unique country.