The wooden cobbles and coral church of Havana. Bollards! (no, it's true!!)

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Our first full day in Havana. Rather than explore this city ourselves, we had planned on letting someone else do it for us. We had a free walking tour booked for 2pm. These tours operate on tips only. The guides are usually very knowledgeable about their surroundings, speak excellent English and take you to the things worth seeing. They will also advise you of the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ as well as the scams and bargains. They gratefully accept gratuities at the end of the tour and never question the amount given. These tours last between two to two and a half hours and are highly recommended. Of course, the entire city can’t be covered on foot in that time but the Havana Veija, the old town, the tour that we’ve chose is, by all accounts, the most interesting and has the most unique charm.

The hot tap in the shower of our newly refurbished bathroom was slightly less cold than the cold tap but nevertheless refreshing. After a breakfast consisting of a banana smoothie, chopped melon and pineapple and scrambled eggs with ham and Cuban coffee, we ventured out. We decided to turn right at the top of our street and past the trees to see if we could work out what the house keeper was trying to tell us. We never found out because our attention was taken by a row of old vintage American cars; Buicks, Cadillacs, T-Birds. We stopped by a pink 1959 Pontiac Cabriolet. The driver was quick to engage us in conversation. Unfortunately, that conversation was in Spanish. As he noticed the somewhat blank expressions on our faces he beckoned over a colleague. He introduced himself as Johnny B Goode (although I doubt that was his real name!!) and advised us that a two-hour tour costs $60. This is consistent with reports we had read so not unreasonable. The tour included an English-speaking guide. We explained that we already had an appointment today and we take a cruise ship tomorrow but when we return we would like to provisionally book a trip with them in 9 days’ time. What we didn’t explain is that our hotel is in a different part of the city so it is unlikely we’ll be visiting the old town again. I wonder if Johnny B Goode realised that ‘<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">provisionally’ is a polite way of letting you down gently and the chances of them ever seeing us again was very poor to zero!! Probably!!

We walked down San Pedro towards a wide promenade, past the Ferry terminal where they run every twenty minutes to the suburb of Havana known as Casablanca for a fare of only 20 cents. From there it is possible to visit the statue of Christ that overlooks the city from up on high. (not quite Rio de Janiero standard but still a very prominent land mark!) We were now walking the gauntlet. Every few yards we heard the familiar cry of ‘Taxi?’ There were traditional taxis, egg shaped pedal rickshaw taxis, horse and carriages and the big flash American cars. The secret is to not to ignore them as they will keep repeating ‘Taxi? Taxi?’ As soon as you say a polite ‘No, thanks’, they speed off in search of their next potential fare. If it wasn’t the taxi’s trying to engage you, we were approached by several indigenous types. ‘Where you from?’ they would ask. ‘Mars!’ I would reply as we continue walking without making eye contact. ‘Ah, Deutsch?’ would be their response. I don’t know. Is there a Mars in Germany? Or perhaps it is spelt Marz!!

It was another hot and humid day. After walking for fifteen minutes we found an empty bench in the shade of a palm tree along the quayside of the Bay of Havana. We had been sitting for only a few moments. Suddenly a voice said ‘There you are, you don’t remember me, do you?’

Roisin and I just looked up and stared blankly at him. ‘No, sorry’

He said his name. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

‘Who’s your favourite band’, I said

‘U2, without a doubt’, came the reply. ‘But why do you ask such a random question?’

‘Because, friend, you still ain’t found what you’re looking for!!’ I said. ‘we are not who you seek.’

‘From the cruise ship?’ the stranger continued

‘Nope’

‘That one there’, as he pointed over to an Oceana ship moored at one of the berths.

‘It’s no good showing us because we still ain’t them’

He sat down beside us. His hand slapped his forehead half covering his eyes. He looked and must have felt quite foolish. I think it was a genuine error as he didn’t seem to push anything he was selling. He wasn’t even interested in where we were from!! It’s a pity he didn’t have anything to sell or own a taxi as I was starting to feel sorry for him and he would have caught me at a vulnerable moment!!

We continued our walk. A few minutes later we were stopped again. However, this time it was by a young couple who wanted us to take their photo. Handing Roisin his camera phone, he asked us where we were from (of course he did!!)

‘Liverpool, England’. We replied in unison

‘Ah, Mo Salah,’ as he named Liverpool Football club’s star striker. He thought for a moment then said after hesitation: ‘Sané?

‘No, that’s Man City’, I corrected him. ‘You mean Mané.’

‘Ah, yes of course, Mané’

He was from Dominican Republic and his girlfriend was Cuban. We chatted for five minutes or so then parted the best of friends. Perhaps all those who came before him and probably will come after him, and ask us where we are from also just want to innocently chat. Somehow, I doubt it.

The walking tour began from San Francisco square under the Fountain of the Lions. Some days before, I received an email to say that our guide would be wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt and if not, a yellow one. He would also be holding a sign saying: ‘Free walking tours.’ We arrived at 1:45pm and sat on a small wall about fifteen yards from the fountain. We had a perfect view of the fountain as well as the surrounding square. At 1:55pm there was still no activity. A man in a red and white striped jersey approached us. He was holding a piece of paper in his hand which he glanced at before asking if we were but it didn’t sound anything like Hodgson, Chris, Roisin or even Roysin (the name Roisin commonly gets called!!) We said ‘No’ so without further ado he walked away and sat in the shade on the steps of the adjacent Franciscan church after which this square had been named, looking down studying his piece of paper once more. At exactly 2pm. A young man appeared and sat on the upper steps of the Lion Fountain. Hr wore a t-shirt that advertised GuruWalks. This was our man, despite not wearing a blue and white OR a yellow top. His t-shirt was a brighter shade of red…and he wasn’t holding a sign!! He just sat on the steps peering down at his phone!! We approached him and introduced ourselves. This was Yan our guide for the next two and a half hours. This tour had been pre-booked and we were his only clients at the moment but we waited for a further ten minutes in case anyone else joined us. They didn’t which was not surprising as he had forgotten his sign!! We had our own private tour guide.

I don’t intend to provide a detailed account of our walking tour as apart from not remembering everything (dictaphone or no dictaphone), a lot of stuff can be found in history books and travel guides that would give far better explanations than I could. I prefer to select some highlights of this tour and add my own ‘spin’ to it!! The tour, as I have already mentioned, started in San Francisco Square. The 16^th century church that dominates the square was originally built by the Spanish (Catholic) Franciscan monks. However, Cuba was forcibly taken by the British in the 17^th century, they had a ready built place of worship where they could now hold their protestant services. When the Spanish eventually took back possession of Cuba (in a swap deal with Florida!) the Franciscan monks felt the church had been desecrated by these heathen protestants and thus refused to re-occupy what was once theirs. Today, due to its fabulous acoustics, the building hosts classical concerts and is a major tourist attraction.

Adjacent to the side entrance of the church is a bronze statue of a man with a long wispy goatee beard and unkempt hair. He is known as El Caballero de Paris. He was an immigrant from Paris who came to Cuba to seek his fortune. He worked at many menial jobs before finding prison for a crime he did not commit (that old chestnut!). Some say that is where he lost his mind and, after his release, he began to wander the streets which lasted forty years until his death in 1984. Despite his mental fragility, he was a well-liked, well trusted member of the community who would never accept charity, but rather work to earn his keep. Dozens of legends still surround his person. (although Yan was unable to tell us any!!). He has been inspiration to artists, writers, filmmakers and playwrights. The Caballero remains an enigmatic and unique character in the world, for it is rare that a vagabond, and on top of that a crazy vagabond, to be honoured. It is rumoured that if you touch his beard, this will give you wisdom. If you rub his finger, you will find wealth and if you stand on his foot you too will walk the streets…..as we were just about to start a two and a half hour walking tour, this part of the legend will undoubtedly come true!!

Before moving on, Yan pulled us both to one side and started with an apology. He advised us that he had been asked by several small businesses to bring any tourists to their business where they can hawk their goods and services. He added that there is no obligation. We could either take a look, buy stuff or just make excuses. He just asked us to remain polite in doing so. I thought: Ha! Polite is my middle name, knobhead!!

He immediately took us to a restaurant (that we happened to be passing anyway). The waiter showed us the menu and we made excuses of having just eaten but we will call back later in the evening. There was no hard sell or not taking ‘no’ for an answer. The waiter seemed happy with our reason and bid us farewell.

The city of Cuba was founded in the 16^th century in 1512. One of the unique features that Yan pointed out as we walked around the narrow cobbled streets and squares of the old town is the eclectic mix of architecture. Next to modern twentieth century structures stand buildings constructed in the nineteenth century some even date back as far as the birth of the city itself in the sixteenth century. There is evidence of the progressive styles from renaissance to baroque to rococo, Havana old town has it all. The back streets were without doubt, dusty with crumbling buildings standing side by side with the gaily colours facades of pastel blues, yellows and whites. Brothers in arms. It’s as if the more colourful, characteristic buildings that the city is famous for were purposely supporting the less fortunate but historically more richer counterparts.

We stopped outside Palacio de los Capitanes Generales in Calle Tacón that ran alongside the Plaza de Armas. ‘Anything unusual about this stretch of road?’ asked Yan.

Blank expressions from Roisin and I as we scoured the immediate vicinity.

‘Look down’, Yan added

‘Aah!’ exclaimed Roisin. ‘Wooden cobbles.’

The road was indeed paved with wooden cobbles. The cobbles used to be made from stone but the Duchess, who lived in the adjacent palace couldn’t not sleep in the afternoon because of the noise made by the wheels from passing carriages or the clacking of the horses’ hooves as units of soldiers rode on by. She nagged her husband, the Duke, to dig out all the cobblestones and resurface the road with wooden brick replacements. He duly obliged. I noticed these cobbles looked almost new with little evidence of wear and tear. Yan explained that the wooden cobbles have been replaced every five years since the nineteenth century to avoid rot or erosion. This Palace must have had at least thirty bed rooms. Wouldn’t it have been easier for the Duchess to move to one of the bedrooms at the rear of house??!!

Yan next pointed up to the flag flying from the mast atop the Palace. ‘Do you know what the Cuban Flag signifies?’ he asked. This was great, I thought. Not only are we on a walking tour but he is also coupling it with trivia!! Yan’s question to us, though, was rhetorical as he didn’t wait for a reply before he continued: ‘The flag is dominated by three blue stripes, representing Cuba's three military districts. The two white stripes represent the purity of the battle for independence. On the left side of the flag the red triangle symbolises strength and constancy. Each point of the triangle represents the French values of Liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality, fraternity) The white star in the middle of the triangle stands for independence. ‘

I’m not sure how a star equals independence. I’m guessing that as it is a single entity, standing alone. Unattached. Therefore symbolising independence. If this is the case, it is not the star that is of importance but the fact it is standing independent of anything else. I tried to explain that if the star was changed to something else, a banana for example, it would still convey the same significance but Yan, very diplomatically chose not to understand what I meant!!

Standing outside the cathedral of Havana, Yan gave us our next trivia question. ‘What do you think this cathedral is made from?’

‘Stone?’ I said knowing I was wrong but feeling I had to say something!

‘Limestone?’ Roisin said.

‘Coral’, was the answer. Yan pointed out the fossilised marine fauna and flora in the stone walls. The entire cathedral was constructed out of blocks of coral. This was the most fascinating fact of the day. (slightly more interesting than the wooden street cobbles!!)

A lot of the old town is shut off from traffic. There are bollards prohibiting traffic from entering certain thoroughfares. These bollards take the shape of cannons, concreted in to the roads by their muzzle. Back in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, this area of the Caribbean was awash with pirate activity (the ooh, aarrh, me hearties kind and not the unlawful downloading data kind!!) so the surrounding seas must be teaming with sunken galleons. However, although a romantic notion, these cannons are all replicas which accounts for some of the bollards strewn in the gutter left to rust. Lying there like sea lions basking in the sun.

Our tour finished up outside La Bodeguita del Medio, a famous café in Havana that is said to be the birth place of the Mojito. The place is full of curios and has thousands of signatures covering the walls. The most famous of patrons was Ernest Hemmingway who made Havana his home with his wife, Martha from 1940 until 1960. It is a very popular tourist destination so no surprise that today as with most days, the small bar was standing room only, overflowing to the pavement outside.

During a short break in the tour, we learned a little about Yan. GuruTours is a franchise business although he does not have to pay a fee to the main company and has full use of the web site to advertise himself. He is thirty-seven years old and used to work for the government but they pay very poorly (tell me about it!!) This was his full-time job. He showed us photos of his wife and twelve month old child. Not sure if this was a ploy, when it came to tips time but as we were his only clients today, we felt he deserved a little extra. I gave him $20. That is still a reasonable price for a two and a half hour tour for both of us. Was this reasonable to Yan though. He took the money gracefully and thanked us for being attentive during his explanations. We parted the best of friends and I promised to write when I get home!! (well provide feedback on his website!!)

Embarkation day started like any other. We were filled with eager anticipation and excitement. We checked out of our Casa at 11am and walked the ten minutes to the port. We arrived at the arrivals hall and showed our passport and boarding documents to the security guard. After checking the names on the documentation agreed with our passports we were waved through. In the transit shed we could quite clearly see the berth and the bay beyond. We approached a group of porters in distinct red t-shirts but where were the rest of the passengers. But more to the point, where was our ship…???

…TO BE CONTINUED!

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Comments

[Snarko Polo]

Great photos
Excellent shots, Chris; looks like you had amazing weather and presumably this is before Hurricane Michael! The walking tour sounded very revealing - many pictures appear to have nobody around in the streets..

[chrisandroisin]

Great photos (I know!!)
Thanks for your comment Snarko. Luckily we were in between cruise ships so most of the passenger had not yet arrived. The streets were much busier on the day of Embarkation. Hurricane Michael. There ill be something about this in a future episode!!