Cigars and Rum

Off course you cant come to Cuba and not visit the Rum and Cigar shops. These are barrels of Rum. As there were no bottles available that day for bottling, the worker was allowed to work on his May day poster. See him in the back.

We visited a tobacco farm, Rob inspecting the leaves. The farmers crop had been counted by the gov official and noted on the door. Remember it all goes to the government and he gets a basic salary. Where he did make money on the side was selling us cigars he had rolled himself.

Next was the cigar making factory, they are small places with about 6 people rolling the cigars, then others checking the air flow through them and sorting according to leaf colour. Security was strict but as we got onto the bus we were offered cigars by a lady who had a huge bag of boxes. The penalty if caught is severe

The cigar shop was back in Havanna, and the guys had fun buying their favourite cigars. Our guide Jackie, is in the photo.

ox ride

I went for a bare back ride on this ox. Not easy to balance on as it wobbles alot. Good fun, although I kept feeling as if I would slide off!
Below is a photo taken from the bus of the ox wagon in the farming area.
Also saw them plowing fields.

Old Cars

Some oldies to look at.

Goltz birthday

On Goltz birthday we visited the old fort and watched the cannon blast at 9pm which used to signal the close of the city gates. Later we ate at another Hemmingway favourite, La Bodeguita restaurant. The 4 piece band walked around playing and here we all danced to their music.

Notice the walls are covered in photos of famous visitors to the spot and millions of signatures.

The evening was rounded off at a good jazz spot.

Havanna old city

The old city is beautiful. It is being restored and its wonderful to wander around the old buildings. There are many interesting museums.
We had drinks at the hotel Ernest Hemmingway lived in for a while. The group photo was taken in Floridita restaurant, a drinking spot for Hemmingway.

Coco taxi

We took a ride in this 'Coco Taxi' to a famous icecream parlour. The icecream here is really great. The interesting flavour is guava! Its strange as we saw no dairy farms on all our travels and fresh milk was not available in many shops that week.

Cuba has many tourists, majority are from Canada. The hotels we stayed in were full. This puts a strain on what food is left for the locals as the hotels have good variety on offer. Its was sad sitting at breakfast with a full spread to choose from when you know the shelves in the shops down the road are almost empty.

Havanna City view

Havanna city from La Torre restaurant. A busy and safe city day or night.

On May day we watched people arrive in buses and trucks to start the walk. They arrived at 6h30 with banners of Viva the Revolution or Viva Cuba. Everyone walked past the Revolution square where the politicians greeted them.

Once they had passed the point they went home. It is expected that you walk to show solidarity to the leaders. Alot walk as a group with their boss, as this shows him in good light.