Carol and I are up at 4 AM and on our way to adventure before dawn
Carol and I are up at 4 AM and on our way to adventure before dawn
We check into our hotel, an annual freebie courtesy of our Hyatt credit card
Joining Joe, Linda, Reta and Brian for a meal
Joe and Reta lost some big trees from their yard during hurricane Irma
Joe entertained us with his accordian and we shared the old songs with Carol's mother Jane via Skype
Click for YouTube video
Time to board our ship!
Click for Youtube departure video
Cruising under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Panorama of the bridge. St. Petersberg is in the distant background on the left
This boat came alongside to retrieve the Tampa harbor pilot from our ship as we enter the open Gulf
The next morning we appear to be all alone in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the view from our stateroom balcony
Our dining room occupied decks 4 and 5 at the stern
Carol at breakfast
Arrival in Key West
Notice the ruined small boat docks from hurricane Irma
We boarded the "Conch Tour Train" to see the sights. (Note the feral chicken in the lower left corner)
Carol used to fly for Pan Am and she was pleased to see this building. (Click on image to view larger)
Mile zero of scenic highway 1
Piles of downed vegatation from hurricane Irma
Earnest Hemingway house in the rain. We stayed on the Conch Train which gave us a bit of protection.
Arriving in Havana before dawn
At 23 degrees 8.30 minutes N we are just barely within the tropics
These were the first old U.S. cars that we saw.
Panoramic street scene. (Carol is at the far right)
Lush courtyard
This stairway barricaded off in the middle of the street caught our attention and required more investigation.
Carol noticed this nearly hairless dog, the "Colima Dog"
The animal most frequently depicted in Colima art is the hairless dog, known as the Techichi or Escuincle. It is believed to be a relative of the Chihuahua and/or the Mexican Hairless (Xoloitzcuintle).
The word Xoloitzcuintle (pronounced show-low-eats-queen´-tlee) is derived from the name of the Aztec god Xolotl(twin brother of the god Quetzacoatl), and the Aztec word for dog, itzcuintli.
The placemats are old 33 1/3 RPM records.
Outdoor dining on a pleasant street
Cannons embedded in the street create a pedestrian walkway
A class of school children appearing very well behaved.
Nude mounted on a cock with fork
"Girl on Rooster" is a bronze sculpture located on the Plaza Vieja done by Roberto Fabelo and installed in 2012. I hope he appreciates my interpretation. A naked woman is riding a rooster. She is wearing high heels and holding a large fork. Here goes: sometimes when a Cuban woman is alone and poor, she is told to "find a gallo" which means rooster. In the U.S., we would call this a sugar daddy. To me, the sculpture represents women who have to resort to the world's oldest profession (thus the nudity and high heels) in order to feed their families (the fork). The rooster is of course the man paying for her services. It is indeed a lovely work of art and I appreciate that Senor Fabelo created it for all to enjoy.
The capitol was undergoing some renovations
Everyone seemed to like looking at the old U.S. cars
This 57 Chevy looks nice
The front car is a 56 Chevy, not sure what the back car is.
Is this a buick?
Cars in Cuba from other countries were not affected by the U.S. ban. They may be newer models.
We actually rode on one of these to get to the market.
At the market, Carol enjoyed shopping for oil paintings and children's toys.
I went shopping for genuine Cuban cigars at a licensed store.
I don't smoke but Dave does.
Statue of El Cristo and the house of Che Guevara who was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture.
Che Guevara walking on the streets of Havana in 1960 |
Che Guevara |
In Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht Granma with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Leaving Havana past Faro del Castillo del Morro (castle and lighthouse on a point)
We left the harbor area in a taxi and came to this pleasant restaurant with shaded palapas on the beach.
A palapa (a Spanish word of Mayan origin, meaning "pulpous leaf") is an open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves. It is very useful in hot weather and, therefore, very common on Mexican beaches
Carol and I were eager to do some snorkeling. You can see our ship in the far background.
We saw this spotted eel and another red one.
That is Carol snorkeling out beyond the rocks. The orange float was a rest station.
Our ship docked in Cozumel
All too soon it was time to get aboard and leave Mexico.
Here are some pictures to show what our stateroom was like.
 |
 |
Video clipof crossing the Gulf of Mexico from Cozumel to Tampa.
This was a great trip! A nice visit with Joe, Reta, Brian and Linda. A rare opportunity to visit Cuba and of course the nice beaches of Mexico.
