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Published: April 10th 2011
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The Bay of Pigs
I Commit a Crime
My Spanish lessons are over and I’m leaving Havana and joining an organised tour around Cuba.
Things get off to a bad start. I move out of Mi Casa and check in at the
Hotel Plaza in Havana expecting to meet the rest of the group and get to know some of the people at a meal in the evening. I arrive at the meeting point to find I am the only person there – no one else is there and there are no messages for me. I end up at a “group meal” of just one person but am re-assured that the trip hasn’t been cancelled when I return to my room and meet a naked man coming out of the shower. It’s
Dave, my room-mate for the next two weeks. Dave has arrived at the hotel with two chocolate bars and two bottles of whiskey – I think we’re probably going to get on quite well!
Eventually the rest of the group arrive and the get-together happens the following day. It’s a large group, mostly British but with two Czechs, a Dane, a New Zealander and, of course,
an Australian joining us. This is definitely a “mature” group of people. I’m amazed to find that I am one of the younger members of the group and look forward to some fun evenings of swapping prescription medicines!
After a tour of Havana the group all go off on their own to do some sight-seeing. I kindly show
Dave the way to the
Museo De La Revolucion and then sneak back to the hotel and steal his fun-sized Crunchie Bar out of the fridge. My excuse is that I haven’t had any chocolate for more than five weeks – but I’m sure that Karma will get me back in the next few days!
Playa Giron
The Bay of Pigs, or
Playa Giron to Cubans is the area on the South Coast of Cuba where the invasion of Cuba by American-backed mercenaries and Cuban exiles happened a couple of years after the success of the Revolution. The mercenaries were beaten back within 72 hours but the stand-off between the USA and Cuba has continued for 50 years since then.
As we approach the Bay of Pigs we pass posters proclaiming where Fidel took command of the
Fidel
A famous photo of him at the front line Cuban forces and the point of the furthest advance of the mercenaries. And as we reach the site of the museum another poster proudly proclaims “The First Defeat of Yankee Imperialism in The Americas”. Along the road close to the bay we see memorials to Cuban soldiers who died in the invasion.
The museum itself has been recently renovated, perhaps in preparation for the forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations. It contains some photographs taken during the invasion {
I don’t think there are too many in existence }, more photographs of related events, maps and some recovered military hardware.
There is a landing craft used by the mercenaries on display. Like the landing craft in the
Museo De La Revolucion in Havana it has a skull-and-crossbones painted on it. Initially I’d thought that this was a bit of overkill by the Cuban restorers, but several people have assured me that the mercenaries did actually use a skull-and-crossbones logo!
There is also a lot more information on the invasion in the
Museo De La Revolucion in Havana.
At the time of my visit to Cuba preparations are taking place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the defeat of the
invasion. The
Plaza De La Revolucion has been blocked to traffic on some days while rehearsals take place for a big day of parades and a show of military strength at the Plaza.
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