So here we are on Day 4 of our amazing adventure to Cuba. Today is a sea day while Adonia steams towards the city of Santiago de Cuba and we are grateful to have the opportunity to rest our feet and relax a little after an aggressive two-day visit to Havana. We were blessed with wonderful sunshine both days in Havana in spite of the thunderstorms that were actually forecast. The only hiccup so far was a false start in Miami where the Adonia briefly lost power on our way out of port.

Whatever the problem was, power was quickly restored and we resumed our journey only to be ordered back to port by the Coast Guard who insisted on a safety inspection. We did not get underway again until about 3:00 am on Monday morning and this delay caused us to reschedule our arrival in Havana for Tuesday instead of Monday. Long story short, the schedule change actually extended our stay in Havana however caused the cancellation of our half day scheduled stop in Cienfuegos. Although a little disappointed, we were happy to have the sea day on Monday to rest up before the activities started in Havana. I should also mention that in addition to crediting back our port charges for Cienfuegos, we were treated to wine with dinner on Monday evening and all passengers received a $75 onboard credit from the cruise line as a show of good faith.

Day one in Havana was a bus tour (onboard very comfortable Chinese buses) of New Havana including visits to the Plaza de Revolution, the home and workshop of artist Jose Fuster, and the Cuban Museum of Fine Art. Touring the city was fascinating with it’s Spanish, American and Russian influences on the buildings and monuments which are for the most part rapidly deteriorating and in many cases reduced to rubble. It was also quite noticeable how clean Havana is and we never really noticed any graffiti. One can only imagine how spectacular this city must have been before 1959. Without going into politics, it is amazing to see how warm and welcoming the Cuban people are in spite of living on so little for so many years.

Very recently the Cuban government started to allow private ownership of businesses. Most noticeably are the Paladeres, privately owned restaurants opened in the homes of Cuban families. I found it amusing that our guide basically and without knowing he was doing so, explained the concept of capitalism to us while he discussed the reasons the food, service and cleanliness of these establishments was so much better than that of the state run restaurants. Our lunch at Cannon 41, one of these new Paladeres, was fantastic and the owners and staff could not do enough to make everything perfect for us. They even provided us with small gifts and business cards to help promote their establishment for our friends back in the U.S.

Of course no visit to Havana would be complete without attending a performance at the Tropicana, an outdoor music and dance venue set among the trees, in continuous operation since 1939. The evening included table service of Havana Club rum and coke, snacks and a three-hour performance of Cuban, jazz and popular music and dance. We didn’t get back to the ship until 1:00 am and of course our Walking Tour of Old Havana started at 7:45 am. Who says we’re no longer party animals? (Ouch!)

Day two, although a little rough for the wear, we hit the streets with our guide. Probably could have done this one on our own but for our first time, we didn’t want to miss any of the highlights. It’s an easy walk from the ship to find yourself immersed in wonderful squares, museums, shops and restaurants. Internet (although censored) in Cuba is just starting to take hold and it was interesting that there are areas near government buildings where wi-fi is available and the streets in those areas are filled with people texting and surfing the web. Outside of those areas people actually look at and greet one another as they pass by. What a concept! Our tour included visits to many of Hemmingway’s favorite bars and restaurants, an art school, significant and historical government buildings and residences and finished with another excellent lunch, although this time at a government owned restaurant.

Our departure from Havana was at 4:30 pm and almost on cue, rain, thunder and lightning bade us farewell as we made our way out of Havana Harbor. The weather put a small damper on our sail-away party but it didn’t stop Sue and I as we made our way to the “Crow’s Nest” bar for our own little celebration after our first visit to Havana, Cuba. Next stop, Santiago de Cuba on Friday.