Bobthebuilder's next adventure - Key West to Havana, Cuba

[Birdog]

Thanks for sharing, Bob ! looking forward to more stories & pics

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Old Havana
Pictures of Old Havana. The pic with wall and opening was an entrance to the city where the gate would be closed each night. A very Spanish / European feel to it with narrow streets and plazas.
The pic with railing around is the remains of an old underground water tunnel.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Old Havana pics

 

[Bobthebuilder]

More Old Havana pics,

Some restorations under way. Money is drying up. In this pic with tower crane, only the facade is preserve

In the plaza the black balls you see on the pavers for vehicle control are actual cannon balls.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Last pics of Old Havana.

My buddies enjoying a mojito at a really neat bar that was once something like a monastery.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

I had previously mentioned that there was also a not so pretty side to Havana. Like about 90% of the city is decaying as shown in this group of pictures. There is little money to keep the properties maintained. Notice in the pics tho that the streets are clean and not littered. It is a shame to see things falling apart like this but I guess this problem is not just unique to Cuba. Communism has not brought any signs of prosperity to the island and has actually robbed them of it. They are starting to get their eyes open and are wanting change.
Later I will also post some pics of some beautiful restorations done mostly with European money but that to is drying up.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

More decay. Note the roof mostly missing.

 

[Sea-Dated]

Interesting pics. Thanks again for taking us along on your journey.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Girls, girls, girls.

Ha, I knew that would get your attention ! LOL

All you single guys are probably wondering about the Cuban women and are too shy to ask. LOL
The Cuban women for the most part are petite and drop dead gorgeous and take great pride in their figures. Now where is Jay ( Jayboat) and his camera when you need him ! LOL If you think you can pick up chicks doing the bar scene in Havana, think again. You have a better chance of picking up a hot European chick with a Cigar Factory tour group than in a bar. ALL of the girls in the bars are hookers. First of all I hope I can safely talk about this, as those of you on the board that really know me, also know that I would not get involved with these women. Nor did my crew. Prostitution in Havana is pretty well at epidemic proportion. Our taxi driver called them “ social workers “. LOL It seems to be quite out in the open and no effort made by the authorities to stop it. In the bars you cannot make eye contact or they are all over you and will not leave you alone. My bar visit with my buddies was short as I was curious to see if it was as bad as they say. It was. Funny story – The hotels do not let the girls in. So we said to Manny our taxi driver – so then how does that work? He says the girls who are mostly young, take you home, walk past mom and dad who will be in the kitchen or living room and into the bedroom. Too strange. I almost said “too funny” but I guess it's not really when you think about it.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Other tidbits of information

There is almost no violent crime in Cuba. The general population does not have guns.
There is no drug problem in Cuba I was told.
There is petty theft and many or most officials are corrupt, extracting bribes given the oportunity.
There was some begging but not near as much as I thought there would be.
I only saw one person that I would equate to a homeless street person here. I gave him some money.
Kids – lots of kids but I did not see a single one riding a skateboard or push scooter in the 3 days there.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

A couple of my favorite restorations and the Bacardi building. Not sure if Bacardi is a reno or new building. Lots of marble around the entrance. Bacardi of coarse is big in all of the Caribbean.

 

[wananewboat]

Were the parents older or younger than you guys?:rofl:

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Were the parents older or younger than you guys?:rofl:

He, he. I'm not falling for that trap! The correct answer is we don't know as we did not let the girls take us home, Nice try ! LOL

Bob

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Some random favorites

The stop lights were kinda neat. note the countdown to green. great setup for drag racing ! LOL This area was called Miramar. This is where the elite used to live before the revolution. Now it is mostly embassy's and diplomats and a special few.

The garden pic was a lobby area in a hotel in Old Havana.

The old lady is not one of the hotties I referred to in post # 189 ! LOL

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Last of random favorites

Perfume factory etc.

I will post the last 6 pictures tonight. Almost done.

Bob

 

[Scarab KV]

What a great way to spend the last hour. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

 

[Scarab KV]

Arrive at Marina Hemingway shortly after 10 AM.
Takes just over an hour to clear with all authorities to leave. Bribes are limited to Tee shirts and hats.
Coast Guard officials instruct us not to run down the coast toward central Havana but rather go 5 miles straight out before setting our coarse for Key West. No reason given.

Probably to make sure you can't dart in towards shore and pick up something or somebody.

 

[Ted]

Great story and great insight Bob, thanks for sharing. I have always been fascinated with the island and have really liked all the ex-pats I have met. My Mom spent some of her wild youth down there and I'd love to see what it's like.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Probably to make sure you can't dart in towards shore and pick up something or somebody.

Don't think so and as I thought about it came up with 3 possible reasons:

1) I had read before going that a Russian sub was on it's way for a visit. Maybe it was arriving?

2) The concert was that afternoon and was a huge event for the Cuban's. Might have been a security thing.

3) there is is a very busy coastal highway called the Malecon and I'm sure the sight of our boat running along the coast would have been a huge distraction to drivers. It would be highly unlikely that very many Cuban people would have ever seen a boat like Team PREDATOR.

Their security forces would tell us very little and did not allow us to take pictures that I would love to have.

Bob

 

[Bobthebuilder]

The Revolution

I had considerable reservation about posting the following groups of pictures but as I thought about it, my story or travelogue would not be complete without showing some of the landmarks related to the Revolution. It is quite visible to anyone visiting Cuba and cannot be ignored. I would like to be clear that I strongly oppose any form of dictatorship or communism, or it's ideologies. The pic of me standing beside the Che Guevara flag shows my disapproval of the Castro regime. I took considerable risk to have that pic taken. I'm not sure what might have happened had the wrong person witnessed that. The Cuban people are ready for and are wanting change. I think it will come, but not real soon. Perhaps when both Castros and the old guard pass away. The people we met were extremely nice and deserving of a better life. Hopefully the freedom and liberty we enjoy, will find it's way to the shores of Cuba soon.

Pics 2 & 3 are the Ministry of the Interior buildings that overlook Revolution Square. This is Cuba's most secret and sinister organization. We dealt with them on our arrival without problem. If you look closely at the roof of pic 3 you will see 3 people. They were looking down on us with binoculars. When I expressed concern to Manny our taxi driver he just laughed. It seems more and more the people do not have the fear that they used to of the government.