Cuba Cross Over 2014 - Havana | Monday, February 24 - 0km

After breakfast we will have a meet and greet with our tour guide. Afterwards we start exploring Havana with a guided city walk. We will visit many interesting sights of “Habana Vieja” the old part of the city. We will have lunch in a typical local restaurant. In the afternoon we will visit the community project Casa del Tango. Back to the hotel you may plan the evening as you wish. Accommodation at the Hotel Plaza. (breakfast, lunch) - Trip Notes

I headed up to Level 5 for the buffet breakfast but did not eat much – I didn’t feel like eggs but had some fruit and juice. I managed to buy an internet card for the computer centre (no wifi) – 5CUC for an hour – but couldn’t open Facebook. I got into Gmail for 10 minutes but had to finish up after 10 minutes to attend the Group meeting.

 As expected, the Group was in the lobby on time and we headed up one floor to a lounge area for introductions and a briefing in German and English as I explained to Ricardo I was not German!.

We started out by bus through central Havana to Plaza de la Revolucion ("Revolution Square"). Then back to Old Havana for a walking tour covering much of the same as I did yesterday. There was a Mojito stop in a Hotel bar for the Germans then lunch at a seafood restaurant. The fish was mai mai (my my!!)  - not so tasty.

 

 

 

 

There was no visit to Casa del Tango which apparentl has closed so, after returning to the hotel, the rest of the day was free. I caught a licensed taxi to the Sprachcaffe office in Mirimar to sort out my flight to Holguin. The agent fixed it in about 15 minutes but had no explanation for why I could not have it fixed over the last month despite many emailed requests!

I had made arrangements to meet up with Paula and Azzie Reckess but could not get through to the number Paula had asked me to call. I walked to the Mirimar shopping area and had a look inside the supermarket. The meat and fish sections were empty at 4.30pm.

I still could not get through to Paula’s tour leader so took a local old car cab to Hotel Nacionale where they were supposed to stay but they were not registered. I hung around in the lobby til 6 and in they came for the planned briefing with local Jewish historian Maritza Corrales. She was very interesting.

I joined Paula’s group for dinner at the Hotel Nacionale Restaurant. Chicken with rice. Ice cream. After a stroll through the Hotel Hall of Fame, I bussed back with them to the Parque Hotel across the road from the Plaza. I tried the internet again but could not open anything so I gave up and went to the room for the night.. 

Dinner with Paula and Azzie