The Dainty Traveller

May Day 2015 Renowned Poet and Author Nancy Morejon (middle) and award winning publisher Isaac Saney! That 1950s Cadillac Our driver! La Habana! Malecon La Habana

It is quite a fun way to see Havana. You go to parque Central (Central Park) which is located in Old Havana. The cars are all lined up beside each other. They are quite stunning, like a rainbow. The drivers will tell you it costs 35 CUC, but do not pay more than 30. Bargaining is the way of life for a tourist in Cuba. They will accept 30, because the drivers are very friendly and polite. We, like most people ended up paying more than 30 because we wanted to leave a tip. There are three different options you can choose for the tour. The first is around Old Havana. The second is a drive to the beautiful suburb of Miramar. The third is to Moro, a beautiful colonial military fortress. We choose the third option. On our way to Moro, we drove through old Havana, passed the fire station, the San Jose Craft Market, the sea port, the Malecon, the Jesus Statue and then we ended up at El Moro. 

This restaurant is just a five minute walk from Habana Libre Hotel or Hotel Nacional. It is in the neighbourhood of Vedado. We ate here almost every day. Clean, good service, and tasty food. Our favourite item on the menu were the tostones (fried green plantains) topped with shredded beef or tuna and cheese. Very yummy. 

No gun crime. Obviously crime happens everywhere, but Cuba is one of the safest places in the world and probably the safest country in all of the Americas. For sure the entire Latin America and the Caribbean. The regional violence that has plagues other islands and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean has not made it to Cuba, and hopefully it stays that way. I was walking on the Malecon, or through old Havana, Vedado, and other parts of the city and sometimes late at night. I usually had my iphone in my hand and a camera around my neck. I would never do that in other countries. There are no gangs in Cuba and the safety level of the country is just fantastic! There is such a vibrant, fun, and addictive energy about Havana. It is so alive and arts and culture are supported at an institutional level. 

It all seemed fine and normal when we checked in. We got to the airport super early and were some of the first people checked on to the flight. My mother has knee problems and I am very tall so we asked the lady to make sure we were seated in the front of the plane. She said "don't worry you are way up in row 9 and you'll be fine". We thanked her, went through security, waited by our gate and then boarded the plane. The spaces between the seats on the CUBANA airplanes are EXTREMELY SMALL. I mean smaller than average (I will never say anything bad about Air Canada or Delta again, I didn't know how good I had it). I mean your knees, even if you are short or average height, instantly hit the seat in front of you. Then because we were in row 9 and behind was row 10, which is the emergency exit, seats in row 9 are not allowed to recline back. What kind of nonsense is that? So everyone on the plane started pushing their seats back. You can't blame them, because th...