Super Bowl Sunday and Havana Cuba - 03-04 February 2019

03 February 2019 - Super Bowl Sunday

At Sea

This is a welcome and relaxing sea day.  In addition to meals, I attend a destination lecture on Havana Cuba and read in the afternoon until about 4:15 when Phil insists I join him in Horizons to secure the best seats in the house for the Super Bowl Game.

Pat and Phil front and center on Super Bowl Sunday.

Oceania has two venues for game watching: Horizons with three large screens and a buffet of game day food second to none including desserts and a big cake shaped like a football stadium; and the Riviera Lounge which is a theatre style venue with a large screen.

Game Day Cake on Riviera.

It does not appear to me that there are many Patriots fans on board -- a lot of people seem neutral on who wins.    We all know what happened -- it was an unusual game but the Patriots did again which made us very happy.

It was a fun evening especially given the outcome.

03 February 2019 - Monday

Havana, Cuba - 7:00am to 5:00pm

Streets of Havana Cuba at 7:00 am on a Monday morning.

As we arrive in Havana at about 7:00 am --- I open the curtains to see that we are docked and the streets are practically empty.  It is a bit eerie since in any other big city I would expect there to be a bustling about going on at this hour as people make their way to work.  

Inside Havana Cathedral in Cuba.

Havana was founded in 1519 by the Spanish and was a Caribbean shipbuilding center by the 17th Century.  Today Havana is a metropolis with 2.1 million people.

Pat outside one of Hemingway's "watering holes" in Havana Cuba.

We are taking "The Life of Hemingway in Havana" tour with Yanni as our Guide and Ernesto as our Driver.   The first part of the tour is a walk through Old Havana as Yanni explains various styles of architecture from Baroque to Renaissance.  We walk through Cathedral Square -- with old palaces on the perimeter and of course, The Havana Cathedral, one of eleven cathedrals on the island of Cuba.   This baroque style cathedral was completed in 1777 and once held the remains of Christopher Columbus.  

Finca Vigia - Home of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba.

We pass the Hotel Ambos Mundos -- where Hemingway lived between 1929 and 1940 traveling back and forth to the United States.  We reach La Bodeguita del Medio, a bar and restaurant known for their Mojitos and for the famous clientele who used to frequent this place before the revolution in 1959.    It is a small bar area and very crowded so we are each given a mojito and walk around the narrow street out front.

Pat peeking in the front door of Finca Vigia.

After our refreshment -- we find the bus and are off to "Finca Vigia", Hemingway's house located in San Francisco de Paula -- a small working-class town about 15 miles east of Havana.  The house was built in 1886 by a Spanish Architect and purchased by Hemingway in 1940 for $12,500.  

Ernest Hemingway's Office in Cuba.

Hemingway left Cuba for the last time in July 1960 and in the Fall of 1960 the Cuban Government expropriated a good deal of foreign owned property -- including "Finca Vigia".  

Ernest Hemingway's Typewriter.

We cannot enter the house but are able to peer inside the multiple doors and windows.   Docents at all the doors offer to take photos -- tourists tip them for doing this.  We are told that the property is just as Ernest Hemingway left it in 1960.   The house and furnishings appear to be in very good condition as are the grounds.   The property includes a large in-ground pool -- a wooden fishing boat named  "Pilar", and the graves of Hemingway's four dogs.

Mother walking her children home from School in the Finca Vigia neighborhood.

This is a good and interesting tour.  It has allowed us to become familiar with this city for our return visit in two weeks. 

  

We have one more stop -- Il Floridita -- another bar proportedly frequented by Ernest Hemingway -- and known for its Daiquiri's.    It is also very crowded but we are each given a Daiquiri and mill around inside the bar -- which is bigger than the previous.

Making Daiquiri's at Il Floidita -- with Hemingway looking on to the left.

 

We are back on the ship by 1:45pm -- just before the buffet closes.  

I sit on our balcony as we leave Havana passing the 16th century fort, Castillo del Morro, what a lovely sight.   

Castillo del Morro -- guarding Havana Harbor.

We return to Miami tomorrow -- and pick up our friends, Sharon and John.   It will be fun to have them on board for the next ten days.

Thanks for Reading.

Pat