Havana

Yesterday I went to Havana. I was supposed to go the day before but the car and driver that I had lined up failed to show up. There are any number of factors that might have caused this no-show. He may have misunderstood the time or day for the trip. He may have decided that it wasn’t worth it for him. He may have gotten a better offer from someone else. All of these things are possible; the only thing I know for sure is he didn’t show.

When the driver did not show, I asked the hotel management for help in arranging something. The price went up, from 90 CUC to 120 CUC however may package now included car, driver and a very pretty young translator/tour guide. It seemed like the right thing to do, so I did it.

Rather than write about Havana here, I am going to write a longer article about it when I get back. I want to do some research and get some facts straight before spouting off. Spouting off is what this blog is about.

It was a long day in Havana. We left at 8:00 AM and got back at 5:00 PM. The drive there and back is about two hours each way so we spent 5 hours in the city, looking around, shopping for cigars and stopping for lunch and coffee. On my return, I had a nap from 5:00 PM, after sleeping the last hour in the car too, until 8:00 PM.

After I awoke and had the usual buffet fair at the hotel, I went to the “Beach Party” advertised as the evening’s entertainment. It was a loud, energetic affair where hotel staff shot soap suds and water over the crowd on the beach while they played loud disco music. People were dancing and soaping up and dancing and rinsing down. It was fun to watch.

In the midst of all of this I met a young lady not getting wet or soapy. I asked why she wasn't taking part and she said, in broken English, that she didn’t want to get wet but wanted to go dancing in Varadero instead. Apparently she was visiting from Milan and those who know me know how much I like that part of Italy. I said “let’s go”, so we grabbed a cab and went into town. It was fun!

I think I might be recovering my sense of adventure.