The tour started by bus taking us to revolution square. It's a very large square were one million Cubans gathered to see the pope. Towering over the square is the Jose Marti memorial. The square has the iconic image of Che Guevara on the Ministry of Interal affairs with the phrase Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Always toward victory) which you see throughout Cuba.
From there we headed up to El Parque Historico Militar Morro-Cabaňa or El Morro a fort built in 1589 to protect the entrance to the harbour from pirates and other invaders. We learned that the fort had withstood many attacks but was finally captured by the British in 1762 after a 44 day siege. From the fort we had dramatic views of the city and harbour all the way back along to our hotel. There was also a collection of artists there and a small market with friendly but not pushy sellers.
From the fort we headed back down into the city to central Havana where we parked up in front of the Capitolo Nacional (the Capital building, similar to, but larger than the US Capital building in Washington) to get our first taste of the hustle and bustle of the city. We did get hassled a little bit here but. The architecture of the Capitolo and surrounding buildings was stunning but much like the rest of the city there was a lot of decay and neglect which I understand is due to lack of funds. We also saw a lot more of the old 1950s American cars that Havana is famous for. We went to buy water which was a bit of a chore as we had to work out the locals queuing system who were using the same shop to spend there rations. We were amazed at the price difference here compared to the hotel. It was one of the few places where we were hassled purely for money but I did help out an old lady who assured me she would be buying milk for her grandchildren.
From here we got back on the bus and headed to Habana Vieja (the old town). The central part of Havana is pretty compact and you could walk around quite easily.
In the old town we parked up next to an area where they were working on on uncovering parts of the historic wall which used to surround the old town. From there we headed to the first of the 4 main squares in the city - the cathedral square which was very impressive. We were laughing at the two old ladies dressed in traditional costumes but heavily made up where they would sell kisses and a photo - I think that's what I liked about Havana and Cuba in general were the innovative ways the locals made money from the tourists. After spending time looking around the Catedral de San Cristobal we were led through the old streets and squares where we stopped to watch some impressive street performers. We called into el Museo de la Farmacia Habanera - a very impressive old chemist shop with lots of old jars and a skeleton in a case.
Before lunch we walked down to Plaza de San Francisco de Asis and Plaza Vieja where we stopped for a beer in the Taberna de la Muralla a micro brewery. We had lunch in a restaurant called el Meson de la Flota accompanied by a Flamenco show and of course another beer.
After lunch we walked the Plaza de Armas. We were told that part of the road was wooden but made to look like stone - the reason being that the governor didn't want the noise of his parading troops to interrupt his siesta! The square which is lined with palm trees has a statue of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Cubas first revolutionary freedom fighter. Also taking up a large area of the square was the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales built on the site of Havanas first church as well as el Castillo de la Real Fuerza the oldest existing fort in the Americas. There was also a book fair going on.
With the jet lag kicking in we headed back to our hotel. I didn't fancy a siesta but I did want to find out more about the hotel so I went down to find one of the free daily tours. I was the only person on the tour so I got a personal tour of the hotel by the resident historian. She showed me around the hotel and it's link to the Mafia. The hotel was built in 1930 as a copy of a hotel in Florida. In 1946 the hotel hosted the largest ever meeting of the American Mafia outside of the US. Mobsters Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano set up the meeting under the guise of a frank Sinatra concert. They still show off the Mafia suites and although all the roulette and gaming tables have gone you can see what was the casino. One really surprising feature of the hotel were the tunnels and Tagana Cave, fortifications and gun batteries used during the Cuban Missile crisis - you can still see boxes of soviet ammunition as well as a piece of a U2 American spy plane shot down over Havana. I also saw the Santa Clara battery a canon which had been used to cover the harbour from the opposite side of to the fort we had visited earlier in the day. The tour ended in a bar which we had totally missed Bar Vista al Golfo which included pictures of all the famous people who had visited the hotel including a surprising number of American celebrities who had visited unofficially.
When the tour ended I collected Jen and Chelsea to show them the new bar before we took a taxi back into central Havana for our evening meal and Buena Vista Social club 50s night concert. The concert was held in the Bacardi Rum museum and we arrived early so checked out a bar next door called Dos Hermanos. It was a nice but but pretty quiet so the resident musicians came right up to our table to give us a personal performance.
We headed next door for our meal and concert and received our complimentary cocktail and took our seats. Chelsea's eyes lit up as they gave her a Mojito but one sip and it was quickly handed over! The meal was OK but overpriced - you could have just come for a drink and the concert which in hindsight we should have done however the concert was excellent. A lot of the musicians and performers were very old however it was amazing how much energy they had and the music they could produce. As well as the musicians their were dancers in 50s costumes and everyone was invited up to dance - all in all an excellent day and night.
We left the concert feeling merry and I negotiated a good price back to the hotel in a dodgy looking taxi before having a nightcap out on the terrace bar.
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