Havana diaries

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

We’ve been to great places, we’ve seen a lot, we’ve followed the dead and the alive, and now it’s time to do the most important thing in Havana:

throw out your tour guide and follow your heart

Being busy while visiting all recommended attractions, we often forget to have a closer look at what is happening on our way. Havana is the best place to discover amazing things in between all its attractions.

So take a deep breath…. inhale… exhale:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

(…)

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

-Dr. Seuss

Open heart surgery: Havana diaries

For our first walk through Havana we pick San Rafael to Parque Central and Capitolio. The street is the heart of Cuba. People, cars, bicitaxis, street vendors selling bread or onions and shouting: “panadero,” “cebolla,” kids in school uniforms coming back from school. Never in my life have I seen such alive streets. Havana looks like from tourist guides. On San Rafael we are passing by department stores looking like those in Poland during PRL times. Shop counters with everything and nothing on them at the same time. Shop windows with two available models of couches, which look like they have been standing there since the Revolution. It reminds me about my childhood, when in Poland we had nothing in the shops. And even if from time to time there was something to buy, you had to stand in long lines and have ration cards to buy even such basics as sugar, milk or toilet paper.

Selling onions, Havana
Selling onions, Havana
Colorful Old Havana
Colorful Old Havana
Parking, Old Havana
Parking, Old Havana

***

We are taking an evening walk along Avenida de Italia to the Malecón, and later to Paseo de Prado. Zosia falls asleep in the baby carrier. The sun rises at 6 am and goes down around 6 pm. As it is getting dark so soon and finally the heat goes down, Cubans, old and young, start coming out to the streets. Trees at the Paseo de Prado are full of strange birds that sound like a squeaky door and make muddle. Kids are skating, running around and playing with sticks instead of toys. Streets are alive.

                ***

Everyday sweltering heat…..

Day and night….

Today we visited Havana Vieja. The most beautiful in Cuba, in Havana is what we are passing by on the way. Squares and touristic streets do not really stay in our memory. And how could they, if on each street there is so much life. Here is a trolley with bananas. Street workers are shouting to each other or sit on the stairs. Every house has a different color. Some women are moving down the baskets on the twine from the balconies, so street sellers can put something inside them. There are bars in the windows and doors. We see models – Cubans in colorful costumes, shouting kids, and PE classes on a square. The newspaper seller is passing by and Zosia is waving to him. Street painters start to talk to Zosia and show her what they are working on at the moment. Zosia is happily running through Cuban squares. Colectivos are driving everywhere. A street, a street, a street. The heart of Cuba. And look, look, here are again the half open door, painted stairs, and souvenirs sold in the staircases. There’s a cat running, and there is a dog, too. In the meanwhile Zosia finds a fountain and is playing with water. She screams from happiness and we already know that here we’ll stop by for a while, so we order Kola nacional. We are back on the street again. “Taxi amigo?” Or maybe we are looking for a restaurant, or maybe… where are we from?…

Cuba is like a beating human heart

Windows, Old Havana
Windows, Old Havana
Street workers, Old Havana
Street workers, Old Havana
Classroom, Old Havana
Classroom, Old Havana
Selling souvenirs in a staircase, Old Havana
Selling souvenirs in a staircase, Old Havana
Colorful staircase, Love travelling family in Havana Vieja
Colorful staircase, Love travelling family in Havana Vieja
Old townhouses, Havana
Old townhouses, Havana
Old-timer, Havana
Old-timer, Havana
Old Havana, Havana
Old Havana, Havana
Old Havana, Havana Vieja
Old Havana, Havana Vieja

More about Cuba:

Things to do in Havana

Havana

Ciénaga de Zapata

Cienfuegos

Trinidad

How to Prepare Your Trip to Cuba

How to travel in Cuba

Casas Particulares in Cuba

Cuban Currency

Merken

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Post Author: lovetravellingfamily

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