I'll start with dinner last night. We we on our own, and Ann had made reservations earlier for a restaurant we had seen in the Cathedral Square. This was one of the little private family owned restaurants, or paladars, that are now being allowed to operate. Two of our group joined us to make four. It was an easy 15 minute walk into the old city from our hotel. It couldn't have been more pleasant. The appetizer was a type of fried root, Taro. Delicious. Ann had the fish of the day, MahiMahi, in a red Cuban sauce, and I had meatballs in a different sauce. One of our group couldn't eat garlic, so they made a dish just for her. Flan for desert, which was good, but not the best. While we were eating, the skies opened up, but miraculously, stopped just as we were finishing. As we walked back, we were inundated with music coming from the various windows. I couldn't tell if there were dance clubs back there or if it was just people blaring music. Cool.
This morning, we had a talk about the classic cars here. Lots of pictures of the classic Fords and Chevies from the 50s. Some old Cadillacs also. Also some time was spent on the renovation of Hemingway's old car.
We piled into the bus for one last tour of Havana, in some of the more affluent sections. We went past Fidel's house that is a state secret. A little further out, we came to a neighborhood similar to the Muraleando. Most of the art has been done by one guy, Fusta. This is a cross between Gaudi and Picasso. Wild tile figures, not only at his house, but up and down the street, including the bus stops. We had lunch there and bought a tile.
After lunch, we came back to the hotel for a session with two journalists, Mark Frank of Reuters, and Christina Escobar of the Cuban News Service. She has recently been assigned to cover the US-Cuban relationship, and was the first Cuban reporter to be in the White House since 1959. We had a wide ranging discussion about the changing relationship, the changes happening here in Cuba, and the future as Fidel and Raul plan the transition in 2018. Things happening now could not have been dreamed of 10 years ago. The opening (sort of) of the Internet is changing perceptions greatly, as has the loosening of travel restrictions. They spoke of the dissidents and how they are perceived as speaking for Cubans or some outside interest. They spoke of the aging Florida Cuban community and its diminishing influence on elections. They spoke of the changing patterns of relationships among the nations of Central and South America. They noted that the the Summit of the Americas, in which the US in the past would not allow Cuba to participate, has morphed and the upcoming summit in Panama has invited Cuba, and has told the US they could come if they wanted.
Later this evening, is our GoodBye reception and final dinner. We are to awaken tomorrow at 4:30 to get to the airport. Uggh. Assuming we get to Miami early enough, we will try to go standby for an earlier flight back to DC. At the latest, we have a 5pm flight, AND an early Tuesday flight, just in case.
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