While the roads are pretty good in Cuba, it still takes hours to drive over 300 km, especially when you have to make a couple of mandatory cultural stops, potty breaks and lunch.
Our first educational moment of the day was Che Gueverra’s mausoleum and museum. There were several frustrations to the stop – the hour long wait in the sun to get in (with 3 guides you think one of them could have waited in line while the rest of us checked out the banos) and the lack of a guide in the museum (sorry, all those photos outlining his life and times didn’t mean much without any captions).
Our afternoon stop was at a magnet high school for the performing arts. Students here learn about dance, drama and music. Only the talented need apply, for example, last year 7800 applied for 20 or so slots in the drama department.
We finally arrived back in Havana around 7:30 pm, a bit road weary. We were told to bring flashlights as power can be intermittent. So far in the trip we hadn’t needed them. This night we did. The hotel had not turned on the hall lights near our room. Paul’s trusty flashlight to the rescue, so we were able to find our room without difficulty. Again our hotel is in the historic center of Havana, Hotel Florida. Built in 1836, it is a bit of a maze – there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the room numbers. Also, some rooms, ours included do not have windows (a cave dweller’s delight), but better that than intermittent water or being located above the bar where salsa dancing goes on until the wee hours. Our room is charming with high ceilings, wall paintings and antique bathroom fixtures.
Tomorrow, more culture.
