taco's & toucan's travels ~ 2019

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DAY 43

Week 7

HAVANA (La Habana, CUB)

Friday April 26^th, 2019

TODAYS MILEAGE – 10 miles / 16 kilometres

TRIP MILEAGE – 17,733 miles / 28,538 kilometres

Today would be my penultimate day in not only Havana, but also Cuba and we had a few things scheduled with the crew like cruising in 50’s convertibles, visiting Old Town Havana, a bit of a walkabout and a farewell dinner.

My first task of the day was to checking to see how our CEO – Victor, is travelling. His mum had cataract surgery rescheduled several times during the past couple of weeks, but today was the day. Like any good kid, you want to be there in support, but like any adult – work generally finds a way to impede. Not a lot we can do other than be there for him and keep his mind off worrying about it, but sometimes it’s simple a matter of a sympathetic listener that can help the most. With the promise of regular “Mama” updates, we set off for the day.

We spent a good hour travelling around in 50’s classic convertible cars. My ride was a pink & white 56 Chevrolet with ancient three cylinder Yanmar marine diesel motor, that sounded like an old chaff cutter with a stutter. Everything else in the vehicle was “Cubano original” in that it was kept running with ingenuity, bush mechanics, a big dose of luck with a prayer or three thrown in for good measure – but that was all part of the charm. I absolutely loved the experience.

We took in such sites as the tallest church in Cuba - Iglesia Del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (known locally as the Church of the Queen), the Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square) which is the 31st largest city square in the world, measures 72,000 square meters (18 acres) and includes the Memorial a José Martí as well as the Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán and Ernesto "Che" Guevara steel images that are mounted to multi story buildings.

Cruising out to the Meliá Cohiba, then turning right to drive the oceanside Malecón (officially - Avenida de Maceo) was a bit of fun before ending the cruise at the $440 - $1355 USD a night Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana.

With no wheels, it was “foot falcon” time where we’d simply wander around Old Town Havana. I decided to pull the pin just before lunch at the El Gallo Y La Muyer (Old Town Square), as my back was playing up a bit and while the crew headed off to a tapas bar for a nosebag, I headed back to the Casa Reyna for a nice long hot shower and a lie down to ease the discomfort.

I also took this opportunity to spend a couple of hours sorting out my gear for an early departure in the morning, before meeting up with Sarah, Christoph “Sexy Time” and my roomie Derek for a couple of pre-dinner Mojito’s at El Chanchullero.

The whole crew met up at the main casa, wandered over to MeKeDé Bar & Restaurant for our farewell dinner that was accompanied with it pissing down rain and an unintentional tossed prawn main course, that was something out of Fawlty Towers. A few speeches, numerous H&K’s and more than a few hasta luego’s before we dropped most of the group off at the Buena Vista Social Club show and heading to mi casa.