SATURDAY 29th

What with noisy birds and people scraping furniture above us, not to mention suitcases being bumped down the staircase adjoining our room I was a bit miffed to be woken. Keith had also been woken so putting on the bedside light I was gobsmacked to see it was just after 8am. Suitcases out by 8.30 leave at 9.30! Thankfully we had packed most items last night.

Was this Diane's frog?

The restaurant was very busy as the French group was also leaving and other tourists were heading out for the day. Last night I had been asked by a Canadian lady travelling with her husband and very young son what SAGA stood for. “I don’t really know – but in our case its ‘Senior Adults Going Alcoholic’ but there is also the saying ‘Sex annually, generally August!’ Mary Jane heard me and said it was neither of those and that SAGA was a story. The Canadian lady had thought we were something to do with a Sacramento Gardening Association but then decided not - wrong accent! We said goodbye to the hotel staff and I took a photo of our chambermaids, Dora and May, much to their surprise.

Once we were on the coach Mary Jane thanked us for being so horizontal and informed us that the staff could not believe we were a SAGA group. 10am time for the first cocktail of the day but I declined my Pina Colada settling for a slurp of Keith’s. We had stopped at this spot on our way to Vinales and today we were in time to see the farmer bring a couple of his cattle down to the pond for a drink. We only had 15 minutes and a call to the loo took up time as once again queues had formed. It’s nice to see that the men are having to queue at some locations too. These toilets are quite nice with cerise bougainvillea placed on cistern and washbasin tops. Jill was getting peeved at having to part with money every time as the lady sitting by the entrance doled out the loo paper. The coach had remained on the main highway but we had no trouble crossing as there was hardly any traffic. A young boy and girl were stood close to the coach and said hello to us all. Mary Jane spoke to them and thanked them for not asking for money.

We were returning to Havana for one night and some of the route was by fields of sugar cane, most of which had been harvested. The sugar cane soon ferments so once it is cut it has to be transported very quickly therefore the sugar cane wagons seemed to be travelling much faster than other vehicles. We passed a couple of reservoirs where the water sparkled in the lovely sunshine and a couple of men were out in canoes.

Arriving in Havana we visited The Fortress occupied by Che Guevara at the start of the Revolution. Before passing through the drawbridge we did a quick stop at the cigar shop to see the World’s Longest cigar and the man who made it just happened to be lounging on the leather settee by the doorway. More kisses for Mary Jane! We bought a bottle of rum here rather than getting one from the supermarket – the price is the same all over Cuba. From the battlements where some cannons were still in position we get a great view of the waterfront. One of the cannons is still fired every day.

With time to kill as our rooms will not be ready at the ‘Occidental’ we went on to visit the Cultural Museum. Humberto reckoned the best part of the Museum was the courtyard with a statue of Columbus so once we had taken our photos Keith and I slipped away to have a mojito in Hemingway’s Ambos Hotel across the road. It was lovely and quiet in there today and we lounged on one of the large soft sofas whilst reading my book on Cocktails of Cuba. Some of our fellow travellers thought a book on Che was more appropriate but until this holiday I didn’t do cocktails! How I wish I could email my friend Sue and tell her I was having one nearly every hour not just one a day!

At the hotel we are still on the 4^th floor but in room 418 with a sea view and a double bed plus a lovely large settee as well as an easy chair. Once we had snacked in the bar on battered shrimp, ham on toast and a plate of chips washed down with a Ron Collins cocktail - they have no mint for our mojitos we went for a walk along the seafront.

The seafront area close to our hotel and the Panorama was very rough and occupied by black Cubans sitting on walls drinking their rum cocktails. Two young children ventured into the water staying by the rocky edge as there was no sand whilst Mum watched on. It was a case of dipping their toes and running out again shrieking with delight. We walked as far as the Aquarium which was busy with local families as it is a weekend before turning up towards a housing area. We saw a few shops and street stalls, one stall had a young lady selling floral arrangements using artificial flowers, pine cones and seed cases which I duly admired.

Back at the hotel we got in the lift with Bob, Mary Jane and a porter with his luggage trolley. Like most staff the porter greeted Mary Jane kissing her on both cheeks and informing us that “she was a very famous lady in their hotel!”

Towels in the shape of kissing swans have been delivered to our room and placed on our bed along with a note from the chambermaid. We were so looking forward to a soak in the bath but the plug was missing. Most of the group were going to the ‘Tropicana’ night club for a late show that included a bottle of rum between four people, coke and a sparkling wine and lasted about 2 hours. The cost 90CUCs.

Keith and I had decided to return to the old part of Havana to sample the night life and have a meal out for a change. We ordered a taxi to take us as close to the old town as possible. The driver was very good and took us to an entrance by the Cruise ship terminal which is in the heart of Old Havana – how convenient is that? We were by St. Francis Church and our driver came with us to show us the way to Plaza Vieja where Mary Jane had said there was a restaurant with its own brewery.

At 7pm the restaurant was full inside and out so we went for a walkabout. What were people queuing for in one narrow street – A Chocolate Museum – how did we miss that! Managing to glimpse through the windows we saw men at work pounding a huge mound of chocolate. In another room people sat at tables drinking glasses of hot chocolate and through the front door the glass counter displayed a small amount of chocolates. We walked by plenty of restaurants most of them elegantly set out for dinner. We avoided the ones with their neat little tables set for two people in the cobble streets as it was far too cold to sit outside. We passed a nice one that had a large spit in the shape of a bull with the animal’s eyes shining bright blue and inside looked nice too, so when hunger was getting to us we returned to this restaurant. Most of the tables were reserved but we were able to sit at one close to the stage area. The waiter brought the menu and explained we could have a set three course meal including a drink and coffee for 20CUCs. I didn’t want the bean soup or the dessert as it was bound to be ice-cream so we chose from the a la carte. Keith ordered a seafood sword (chunks of lobster and large prawns on a skewer) whilst I had a chicken one. My starter was a mojito and Keith ordered a bowl of lobster bisque. Looking around I pointed out the display of nautical knots on a wall and then the penny dropped - this was the restaurant we came to last Monday with the group for lunch! How different it looked tonight .As we finished our meal a guitarist began to play classical Spanish music. We had come to eat too early as the reserved tables were still unoccupied and when I went to the loo I noticed more musicians and flamenco dancers getting ready behind a wooden screen.

Walking around the streets again I was a little disappointed there was no outside entertainment. It seems it had all moved into the restaurants, but we could hear the music even if we couldn’t see the performance. In Plaza Vieja I noticed a banner hanging down the wall of a lovely yellow and white building and discovered it was a ‘Camera Obscura’ site – how did we miss that? Probably because there were too many people about during the day blocking our view. In a corner close to a Planetarium we stopped for a coffee in a delightful building. The only small table available was next to hessian sacks of coffee beans piled up against the wall. Next to the sacks was a roasting oven with a wide copper tube coming out the back going up to ceiling height to then running along the length of the wall behind the serving area. Browsing the menu I didn’t know there were so many ways to serve coffee but settled for an expresso containing a coffee liqueur. Keith had another mojito only the cafe’s version was made with Aged rum and coffee liqueur – so good he had another! It was no wonder the place was popular as the prices were very reasonable. Whilst parents sat at the tables outside the children ran safely around the square. There are several tin sculptures in the square set around the fountain, a bright red apple, a brightly coloured wrapped sweet and a snowman with twiggy arms which seems to be the most popular model with the youngsters.

We returned to our hotel where the men were again entertaining the guests. The waitress was having great trouble trying to control her laughter when a couple of ladies got up to dance. The one in black had to pull her skirt down but couldn’t pull it down too far as it was strapless and she was already falling out of the top! The size and body of the lady wearing a red dress was the main problem and Keith was a bit naughty at filming her but she spotted him and duly posed not realising he was using a video camera!