DAYS 212-218: Havana, Cuba Photo Tour

One afternoon, Pepe from Casa de Ana y Pepe offered to show us around the old city of Havana.  On another day, my cousin Tere and her family brought us around the neighborhood to see many of the notable areas of Vedado and Miramar.  When we weren't with family, we also spent some time on our own in Havana, exploring the old city, walking along the Malecon (Havana's sea wall) and wandering through the streets of Vedado. Much of the city has been frozen in time since the 1950's, so it's a fascinating place to simply wander around.  Here's a photo recap of many of the things we saw.

Pepe gave us a lift into town in this old Ford from the '50s.

We drove through a beautiful park called Parque Almendares.

Old American cars at Parque Almendares

Monument to Jose Marti, a famous Cuban poet from the 1800's. The monument is located in the center of the Plaza de la Revolucion, where many of the government offices are located.

One of the government buildings in the Plaza de la Revolucion. Che Guevara is a national hero in Cuba and his image can be found everywhere.

This is Camilo Cienfuegos - one of Fidel Castro's top commanders. Below his facade it says "Vas bien, Fidel" (You’re doing fine, Fidel), representing the famous response of Camilo to Fidel when he asked, "Am I doing all right, Camilo?".

Old cars parked along the Plaza de Revolucion

This is the main entrance to the University of Havana. It's a huge university with tens of thousands of students. University tuition is free to Cuban students, but they must pass a test in order to enroll.

This is the athletics area of the university which has clearly been abandoned. I imagine at one point this pool hosted swim meets. A common theme we saw around Havana was pools and fountains without water. We suspect the fountains and pools remain waterless due to the electrical requirements and associated cost of operating pumping and filtration equipment.

The Capitol Building, modeled after the US Capitol

The Payret Theater with the Capitol in the background. This main street is called the Paseo del Prado.

Gran Teatro de la Habana, home to the Cuban Ballet and currently undergoing renovations. It is a stunning building, reminiscent of something you'd find in Paris or Vienna. The building was originally built to hold social gatherings for the immigrants from Galacia, Spain in the early 1900s.

In some respects, not much has physically changed since the 50's other than the passage of time, and certain things that either were or were not given a fresh coat of paint.

Across the street from the Capitol building

This is the Havana Libre hotel in central Havana. It used to be the Hilton pre-revolution. The Hilton opened a matter of months before Castro took control of the government. It was then taken by the government and was home to Castro's offices for several years in the early 60's.

Statue of Christ overlooking the city

This is Havana's oldest cathedral. My mom and uncle were baptized here.

Inside the cathedral. The chandelier was a gift from Mexico and is supposed to represent a traditional dress worn by Mexican women in the old days.

Plaza next to the Cathedral

Beautiful windows in Cathedral Square

Students visiting the Museum of the Revolucion. This building used to be the Presidential Palace for Cuban presidents prior to the revolution. This is where Castro's army attempted to assassinate Batista. You can still see the bullet holes on the marble wall behind the students pictured above.

The Hotel Ambos Mundos, where Hemingway lived for several years.

In the hotel lobby

We passed by this place - La Bodeguita del Medio - where Hemingway is said to have gone for his mojitos. We stuck our heads inside to check it out.

Despite the fact that the bar was tiny, they had an amazing band playing,

More cowbell!

Chris in the doorway of the Bodeguita del Medio

This guy was rolling cigars in a local shop.

A smoking room near the cigar roller

Sevillanas! The Spanish culture is still alive and kicking in Havana. We spotted these flamenco dancers while passing by a restaurant named El Meson de la Flota on calle Obispo.

An old fashioned pharmacy named Taquechel. In the old days, the chemists used to keep medicines and herbs in the porcelain jars in the glass cabinets. They would mix them in the back lab and send them off to their customers. Today it's still a pharmacy - but the things that are actually for sale are on the lower cabinets. The jars are just for show.

We climbed up to the top of one of the taller buildings in old Havana to catch an aerial view of the city.

Up on the roof

How cute is this little ice cream shop on the roof?

The Capitol building in the distance

Looking down on the square

This is one of several old train cars that were used to shuttle Cuban and visiting presidents around the country in the old days. The US President had a special car reserved for him when he was visiting Cuba. Today it's on display in the old city.

Pretty street in Havana Vieja

Car trouble

This mini church is a Greek Orthodox chapel on the grounds of a larger church

In the same garden was a lovely memorial to Mother Teresa

Headless geese wander the premises

We peeked into the lobby of the Havana Club distillery

These mail slots are all over old Havana.

Happy New Year! This restaurant is located right in front of the Cathedral.

Strolling back along the Malecon

Lots of people come here at dusk to fish

Even more common than classic American cars from the 1950's are these Soviet-built Ladas from the 1970's and 1980's. There are also Mercedes from the 1980's. We were in one with almost 800,000 miles on the odometer.

This is the Hotel Nacional, maybe the most famous old hotel in Havana. It sits upon a promontory overlooking the Malecon and the sea. It's an art deco style building constructed in the 1930's. They keep this one in very nice shape.

Looking up at the Hotel Nacional from the street

Built into the rock outcropping is an old fort used during the time of the Spanish Conquistadors. It currently houses an exhibit on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Sunset over the Vedado neighborhood of Havana

View of the Malecon and old Havana in the distance. People are just starting to gather along the Malecon around sunset. On Saturday nights, the Malecon is full of thousands of Cubans hanging out, talking, playing music and dancing until the early morning hours.

Granizado is like a slushie in the US or a piragua in Puerto Rico. It's shaved ice with some kind of sweet flavoring.

Colon Cemetery in Vedado. With 500+ elaborate mausoleums, it is one of the great historical cemeteries of the world. It is said to be the second most important cemetery in Latin America after La Recoleta in Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, we only saw the cemetery from outside the gate as the guards tried to charge us to enter (even though I have family buried here).

There are no advertisments in Cuba since it's a communist society. However, there is a lot of propaganda like this billboard saying "Everything for the revolution".

This flag was at half mast for Nelson Mandela, who died the day before.

Final Thoughts
Walking around Havana was a fascinating experience, not just because it hasn't changed much since 1960, but also because of the of influences of the communist system on everyday life.  For example, it occurred to us that neither of our careers (marketing and investments) exist in any form here.  These are two growing industries worldwide, and neither career path is an option for young people in Cuba.  Even China, which is still politically a communist society, has evolved to a largely free market economy.  In one way, it's unfortunate that the people in Cuba can't benefit from these opportunities. However as a visitor, it was refreshing to experience a society free of chain restaurants, hotels, stores, in-your-face ads, etc.  In many respects, life is much simpler here and people really seem to enjoy the company of  one another.  You'll find some of the friendliest people in the world in Cuba, even if you are an American:)