It has been over a month since Cuba, but I really want to add a few more details. Didn't get done sooner--blame my schedule, my computer crashing (an Apple, really?), or the fact that it is summer and the last thing I really want to do is sit inside in front of a computer. Anyway, I am on call and waiting for a delivery so I thought this was a good time to add a post. I will try to add pictures later...

So where did I leave off? Oh, yeah, Havana is a dirty city...

I didn't spend all of my time in Havana, of course. On my third day there I caught a cab to Cojimar, a small fishing village that Hemmingway used to love, and his inspiration for "Old Man and the Sea". My driver was Jorge, from Omaha, Nebraska. Poor guy had a chance to go to the US and he ended up in Omaha. No offense, Nebraskans... So this little town was like a ghost town, desolate except when bus loads of tourists would show up. They would be shown the little light house and the water, then taken to La Tereza, a restaurant Hemmingway used to frequent. When tourists arrived, a 3 man band would immediately strike up "Hotel California", and everyone was handed a daquiri. Sitting at the bar reading and talking to the bartender, I must have seen this played out at least 2-3 times. Such a set up...Walking around the town, a man approached me a tried to strike up a conversation: "what time do you have?", "oh, you're American?", "do you want to buy a t-shirt from my sister?" When you politely decline, the request is "a dollar for my baby?" The next day I took a trip to Finca de Vigas with Terry to see Hemmingway's Cuban home. Outside of Havana the buildings seem cleaner, and Casa de Hemmingway is beautiful--no doors, open floor plan, a tower with an amazing view and his type writer facing the portal. From there it was on to Playa del Este and a great afternoon at the beach. The beach was packed--couples, families having picnics, all Cuban. The water was amazing, 4 shades of blue, the perfect temperature. I would love to go back...