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Ok...I am back. I found a much better computer at yet another of Habana's finest hotels.
So yesterday I wandered my way through the narrow, cobblestoned streets of Habana Vieja. This is an amazing city with so mucy history and personality. It is hot and humid, but always with that cool ocean breeze. It can be very pleasant actually while sitting in one of the city's many plazas under the huge, very old shade trees. The plazas are full of children playing, old people lounging, lovers smooching, workers resting, musicians playing their instruments for the tourists, vendors selling ice cream, fresh flowers and the typical cheesy tourist memorabilia... These are always my favorite spots while traveling. It is here in the plazas that I just sit and watch with my camera...waiting for a moment that I can casually photograph without calling too much attention to myself.
That is the advantage of being a solo female traveler who is not blond, but instead short, curvy, and darker..I can blend in with the locals. I am purposefully dressing like a Cubana too...(its also more functional in terms of comfort in the heat.) I feel like I am on safari...hunting for those moments
and images that are worth saving as a representation of Habana and its daily life. When I get a chance, I will post some of them. I saved many images that I can't wait to share. A mixutre of locals, tourists from all over the world, and the infrastructure that is so carefully maintained to serve the needs of the toursit.
Cuba is a very safe, easy, and hospitable place for a tourist. I wish I could be a fly on the wall at the home of a typical Habanero so I could get a better feel for what kind of place it is for a Cuban. The family that I am staying with are nice but distant...profesional. She is a lawyer and he is a mechanical engineer. Neither practice their professions anymore because they earn more money hosting toursits for the state. Neither seem too happy and I assume that they would rather be in the States with their families who left after the revolution. I assume their families were of the upper class when there was such a thing. Not that there isn't anymore...it is just not as obvious and more hidden. There are very wealthy people
here and all the accomodations that they need/want (designer clothing and shoe stores, fine dining restaurants, 5 star resorts, expensive cars, etc)...but none are for the Cubans. Cubans cannot access these places...son para las turistas!
The children are so active here...verbally and physically. They are like mini adults...talking, walking, dressing, expressing themselves with huge hand motions and purposeful, loud statements. There are groups of kids on every street corner playing something...marbles, soccer, hide and seek, tag, chasing/catching butterflies in plastic bottles...you name it! I noticed the little ones really like to feed the pigeons...too cute. I am going crazy over the adorable children/babies...half naked due to the heat...and such a beautiful ethnic mix of Spaniard, Taino Indian, and West African.
Cuban Spanish is so fun to listen to (especially when spoken by a child)...but difficult to understand! They talk so fast, sing-songing the sentences, and eating the last letters at the end of their words. The common expressions are different too. But I am learning! They say I sound like a Mexican when I speak spanish...of course I do! I cannot believe how fast I am rememberig my Spanish...another advantage of being solo female traveler. I must speak
in Spanish a lot more than if I had a traveling companion. I do get a lot of attention from the local men who want to be my "friend". But if he is not totally aggressive (which most are not), then I will use him to my advantage as a Spanish and cultural teacher of sorts...asking him lots of questions as though he is my tour guide. I am doing quite well communicating in Spanish! I have to. 😊 Then I just kindly make up an excuse for why I must leave and not continue with our newfound "friendship", we exchange contact info, I promise to contact him, and then I leave after a hug and a smile. No harm no foul. This strategy is working so far. 😊
However, it is very common to see foreigners and their Cuban "boyfriend/girlfriend" walking hand in hand through the city streets...its a matter of simple economic exchange according to supply and demand. Predictable and unavoidable unfortunately. Each person "supplies" something that the other one "demands."
Many of the Habaneros who approach me seem to be confused by me in terms of behavior and appearance. At first they think I am
Cubana. Then when I speak they think I am either Mexican, Italian, or French. Then when I don't want to be their "friend" (the men) even though I am a solo female...they don't know what to think. Its kinda funny.
Well, I am off to the other side of the island now. I will take a 15 hour bus ride to Santiago de Cuba...the second largest city and cultural rival to Habana. I stay there 2 nights, then 2 nights Cuba's oldest city...Baracoa. Then I return to Santiago for a night, on my way to a small rural hostal in the Sierra Maestra mountains. I will use this as my base for a hike up to La Plata...Fidel's infamous Sierra Maestra headquarters that he and his revolutionaries used during the 2 year Revolution in the late 1950s in which they fought and beat Bautista's army...taking over the country, turning it into a socialist state, and maintaining power till today. Apparently the headquarters have been preserved exactly as they were and still sit deep in the forest mountains of the Sierra Maestra. I hope to get there. We shall see!
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Maria Geronimo
non-member comment
Awesome
Great pictures, Sonya! I really enjoy reading your descriptions of everything. Keep it up when you can. Be safe!! Miss you!