Feb 23, Modern Habana
On the 23rd, we were able to sleep in as much as we had up to this point. We went straight down to book a cab to make it to our walking tour by 10. Unfortunately, the cab was called a little bit late, so we arrived at the tour spot a couple minutes after 10. We met our guide, Jose, an interesting man, when we arrived. This tour started in mid-Havana, very far away from the town's tourist areas. There was a large group of tourists congregated around the tour guides, but the other people were all from Argentina, so we ended up having another personal tour guide for the day. We started off by walking over to a shrine that was built by Afro-Cubans who still follow African religions. It was just a little hole in the wall between buildings that was basically hidden in plain sight. It was painted with lots of bright colours with lots of portraits on the bricks. When we got in, we found ourselves in a live performance. There was dancing and singing involved, and lots of people gathered around, shaking their hips. After this, we walked back towards the classic Havana hotel (twice in 2 days). After this, we walked over to the first casino and first theatre in Cuba, and both were funded by the mob. Jose pointed out the once tallest building in the country, the Hilton, built before the revolution by the Hiltons. He then pointed out the new tallest building in Cuba still under construction whose main purpose is to be taller than the American built hotel, this time it’s funded by Turkish investors. We then walked up and looked at the University of Havana and then walked over to look at Revolution Square. Me and Abi were not all there on this day. We were still recovering from the walking tour from the day before. My main takeaway from this day is that Cuba is a country that time has forgotten. Their heyday has come and gone and nothing has really changed, it feels like walking into the 50s the way everything is done. The buildings were all built in colonial times or pre-revolution, and nothing has really been built to fit the current needs, but the people make do. We headed home pretty early that day; we went to get some pizza at the corner cafe close to our villa. It was 650 pesos for a whole pie, and I could not get over how great a deal it was. After, we came back and got in the pool for a little bit. We went out for dinner at the place close to our house. I once again ordered something and got something else. This time, I ordered a fajita and got a vegetable stir-fry. I can’t complain; it was one of the best things I ate on the trip.
Me and Abi Outside the African Religion Building
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