Sightseeing and Santeria with the boys

It was time to get to know my new travel mates for the next few weeks better, so I set off to meet them on the stairs of the Capitolio. It was smiles all around, besides from poor Sebastian having the hangover from hell. He was like me without food; moody and slightly aggressive. The Rum here is dangerous!

The Capitolio was an amazing sight walking up to it. Standing tall at the top of the old town, it leaves you with the image of the grandeur this city was once a witness too. It’s long and wide majestically staircase, with its huge statues guarding the entrance, and looking out over the town. We headed down the hill towards the Malecon (the road by the sea), enjoying the shade of the Prado. The Prado is a gorgeous walkway with trees, benches and the street vendors.

We stopped for the occasional photo and also to make some fun of Sebastian who had the hangover from hell, as we made our way down to the Malecon. When we stood there overlooking the water we noticed some dead birds floating in the water, and some people dressed in white performing some kind of ritual. I asked the Policeman and he explained it was a Santeria ritual. Santeria is Cuba's biggest religion based on a mix of Catholic and voodoo tradition. The sacrifice of animals is a big part of it. We stood there mesmerised by this gruesome act, but as much as we wanted to pull away, we felt compelled to watch it. It was so far from our own culture and believes. We saw one bird at the time have its throat slit downwards, and then its blood gently pored into a bucket. When enough blood had been taken it was thrown into the sea, still alive and fighting for its life trying to stay afloat, so it would not drown. It was horrendous, but we have to accept that other people have other traditions that we might not agree with.

When we finally managed to pull ourselves away from the Malecon we wandered up the Boulevard again stopping at the various museums, and places of interest on the way. We watched the Totem being put together outs side the Art museum, and in the process seeing it have a large chunk of it come of as the men putting it together seemed rather careless.

Te day passed quickly in the great company I found myself so lucky to have found, and before I knew it the evening was there, and it was time to go home to pack, get dinner, and get to bed. As I packed my bag ready for departure the next morning I really did feel truly lucky to have meet “the boys”. They are so well mannered, with a great sense of humour, so kind, so gentleman like, intelligent, and fun. It was the perfect package!

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