Day 2: Rest Day in Havana

I was beat last might and went to bed around 8:30...slept until 7:30 this morning. Even though there was no time change, I guess all the stress of traveling got to me. I didn't mention going out to dinner with Matt last night. It was good to have someone fluent on Spanish with me I must say. First was understanding pricing. CUCs or CUPs. Important to know. The former is worth 24 times the latter. Don't want to mix them up. The price for my pizza (without cheese) and fresh mango juice was 65 CUPs or $2.80. And the pizza was delicious by the way. I may subsist on pizza here :).

So after a great night's sleep, breakfast at the Casa was at 8:30. For 5 CUCs ($5), I got a fruit plate, eggs and potatoes and rice dish, yummy bread, grilled cheese sandwich and ice cream. Needless to say a couple of things I didn't eat. But I'm tempted to just say "screw it" and eat the dairy and resume my vegan lifestyle back home. I'm going to starve here otherwise. I've already had plenty of meat. My body won't be happy though.

So today I deemed a rest day. Permission to do nothing. But that never happens. I got Blaze reassembled and tires inflated. She seems to survive the trip no worse for wear. Then I've been doing a lot of reading about the history of Cuba. I need to be in a country to want to know about it. Immersion. It's got a fascinating history that many sources would be able to tell you better than I can. What I see are rough, broken streets and crumbling buildings and old, dilapidated cars with their hoods up and several men tinkering. But what I also see are lush bushes and trees, vibrant colors, swept sidewalks and porches, and people...everywhere people. People talking to their neighbors. People walking home with produce in a bag. Kids playing kickball in the streets. People riding their bicycles or old motorcycles. Life! Everything should old and patched. Everything has value. But the cleanliness amazes me. Pride. I've always believed it doesn't take money to clean up your world. Just pride. And that's what I see here. And it feels good.

I went for a long walk trying to get lost. The streets don't have signs on most of them so it's important to have a sense of where you came from. It can get quite confusing. Funny story over breakfast with an American guest here, a mid twenties black girl from NYC. She took a bus into Old Havana yesterday and it was after 10 pm when she tried to find a taxi to come back. None to be found. Long story short she ended up with a bicycle cab. The streets are not lit. She wasn't sure of the address. He had to keep stopping to get directions to the street. Around and around they went before she found something saved on her phone that had the directions I'm Spanish. She doesn't read Spanish but the guy did. It took an hour to get back. Very confusing. Addresses are often given with the names of the side streets...what it's between.

The AirBnb is owned by a woman who works in some bio medical field. Both daughters are professionals, one a professor here at the University and the other a doctor in Albania. The ex-wife husband does much of the work around the Casa.

The place is a building from the Colonial period, as are most of the buildings in Havana. Built with such grandeur: columns in the front, tile floors, very high ceilings. And lots of patching as everything is very old. There's even a dial telephone that I used to call a woman I'm meeting tomorrow. That brought back memories! I'm old enough to remember party lines and operators that said "number please":).

And life here is from that earlier time. Slower pace. A simplicity. No Internet. Disconnected. I wish I were writing this by hand. I think I'd enjoy the process more. But then it would have to be transcribed and I'm back to typing.

I'm also fascinated with the people pedaling their wares door to door crying out. Brooms. Baked goods. Sometimes I didn't know what was in their bags. Old, young, man, woman. There's no homeless in Cuba. Everyone gets a house, food rations, health care. The basic needs are met by the government. But for extras they must find a way. I heard waitresses make $20/month. So tips are critical. And yet my taxi to here was $40 (bigger cab for bike).

A produce shop

Guys working on their car

Or working on another vehicle.

Lots of different means of transportation!

Off to finish resting;))

Oh, I needed that nap. Now I've gone down the street to eat. They hand me a menu and I pull out Google Translate. It works offline thank goodness. Many things do not translate. But "Ropa Vieja" was the best..."Old Clothes ":))). Finally the waitress has pity on me and comes to translate a bit. So I ordered "Pascado Grille". I think I'm getting grilled fish with a salad. Oh why, oh why didn't I study Spanish when I was younger. Everyone should learn Spanish!!

I'm having a hard time transitioning to tourist mode. I'm feeling uncomfortable sticking out like a sore thumb and taking pictures. I've got to get over it. Tourism has become a major industry for this country. And I know me. I need adjustment time to get in the groove. Wait til I take Blaze out for a spin. What a spectacle.

After my dinner arrived, which was delicious, but I was surprised because it was in a take away box, a young girl at another table invited me to come sit with her. She spoke done English so that helped. Julianna was born in Cuba but met a Greek man on vacation and married him. She now lives on the island of Cyprus and is back to visit family. Soon some more friends joined us and for most of the conversation I was lost. Then Julianna left for 20 minutes leaving me alone with Harold I think his name was. He didn't speak much English so we chatted through Google Translate. It was a funny way to have a conversation but I learned he was 55 and would have to work until 75 before he could retire. He works for the money exchange. He didn't smoke but the young ladies did and after an hour plus of smoke, I just had to excuse myself. It just makes my throat so sore. Was fun with them though but made me realize how hard it's going to be to communicate.

Buenos noches.