Making new friends in Havana

MONDAY- August 8, 2016, 8 a.m.- 

 I got my customary 10-12 hours of sleep and woke up at 6 a.m.  Last night I got to chat with Carolyn for a while while I was doing my blog.  At 7:45 p.m. I was even able to have a video call with Sam, after which I had a delicious fruit dinner made up of sliced mangos, papaya, pineapple and something else.  With a bottle of water.  All for only $2.50! I took a much needed shower before dinner, so hopped into bed feeling happy and refreshed.

This morning I switched on the TV, but it was about somebody having an affair, which I didn’t like, so I turned it off and came up here to my room above the spiral stairs to type this.   

Fashion Ettiquete in Cuba

I thought I’d give a fashion run-down, in case any of you amigas and amigos are planning a trip to Cuba.  Hoochie momma clothes work just fine. Lol Seriously, because the streets of Havana are all torn up, most of the women-and younger men wear flats or flip flops.  The women all wear skin tight leggings and many have mega cleavage in skin-tight tops.  Others-middle aged women,  are more conservative.  The older men wear pants and nice shirts.   Almost all women wear their hair up off their necks.  But all clothing is very lightweight because of the extreme heat here on the equator.   There are quite a few back-packing young Europeans here, and I haven’t met any Americans. Some of the European youth come in large groups of about 20 and get a Cuban tour guide, that they often can’t understand. Lol

I thought I had to cover my knees and arms to be respectful of the culture, but after reading Lonely Planet reviews and talking to Jacque, I repacked my suitcase with all sleeveless tops and skorts  and shorts.  I am so glad I did!

These are just my observations from hanging out at the hotel down the street on the ocean to get on the internet, and from walking the streets of Havana, often leading to mega tourist shopping strips.

Cats and Dogs

While there are some cats and dogs in the streets, most of the dogs are being walked by people on leashes.  Cats, I am told, aren’t fed by anybody; they have to find and eat rats (one  of which I have yet to see).

Median

The apartment I am staying in is right in the middle of Havana; to the left is Old Town and poorer sections and to the right goes straight to the city, getting more affluent as one gets closer to the city or sometimes the beach.  The beaches, by the way are no big deal.  I posted some pics yesterday; they are simplistic and nothing out of the ordinary.  The point, however, where I photographed the Havana skyline, is majestic.

It seems quite a few Spaniards come here.  And Jacque said a lot of Mexicans come here during the summer.

Tu-Kola Dilemma   

I am down  to my last “tu-Kola,” which is the Cuban Diet Coke knock off, because the Mercado was closed Sunday.  As much as I dislike this cola, I have to drink it! Lol   Last night I must’ve drank a gallon of water, too.  It’s so damn hot here all the men carry a rag to wipe off their sweat every five minutes or so.

If you buy water on the streets it costs 50 cents, but in bars or the hotels it costs $2.50.

Street Etiquette:

Everybody on the street is respectful of each other, and although they are curious about me, only a few men greet me with “hola” or, if later in the night, they try to strike up a conversation.  That’s when I go to bed. Lol  The older men are the most curious.  Nestor says Havana had two major pimps.  They wound up- naturally, fighting over the same woman- and both pimps died in the battle.   So, what is left are the “dandies,” which are the old men dressed up in fine clothes with a hat and cigar walking around trying to get $1 to take a photograph with tourists.

The Story of Santa Barbara

There is a story about Saint Barbara, who is on my medallion:  She made someone (Batista, it must have been, and Castro) promise not to kill her husband.  If they did not murder him, she promised to build a statue of Christ up by the walls that used to encase Havana against the Spanish.  And she built it high up in the air.  He must be 20 feet tall, comparable to that in Brazil.  I only was able to get a picture of it off in the distance, but will try to get a closer one.  Anyway, she is the first woman ever to construct a statue of Christ.  She is a warrier and a very strong woman, who is usually depicted carrying a sword and wearing a crown. She has since become a Cuban saint.  This happened in the 1500s.

Nestor is Leaving

Nestor is going away for four days and will be back Thursday.  I hope I get to see him again, because I have some things from the United States for him and his mother.  He has been so good to me, renting out a car for two days to take me touring, and spending his time with me.  I don’t know where I would have it been, if not for him.  I certainly would have a much more limited reference point on Havana.

 I’m going to head downstairs and see if that Mercado is open now that it’s 8 a.m. so I can buy more of that terrible TuKola.  

I have $200 dollars in CUCs left so will have to go to the big fancy hotel close to downtown Havana for more money today.  The clincher is that I need $18 round trip/taxi to get it.  But I get free internet there so it’s okay. 

I also have to head out a couple of miles to the shopping strip to buy more earrings, and to try to find a big plastic shopping bag I can use to haul all of my gifts back to Mexico and then the U.S. As usual, I packed too much! 

Everybody, please pray that I can find my plane ticket revision to Mexico, as I cannot locate it at present.  :-<

 I'm at that same hotel lobby again and  I  just made two new friends- a mother and daughter from Norway who I'm meeting here at 7 for dinner tonight!  They are great-very open and friendly.  I would give my eye teeth if my parents would travel  with me!