Our last day in Cuba was very full. We started at 7:30, partly because there was a bigger ship due in port, and our ship had to move out into the bay to let them dock at the pier. We opted to do the full day tour with lunch, which was over 8 hours all told. It was partly a bus tour; but there were also some walking tours included.
We started at the heart of every Cuban city, the Plaza de la Revolución. Sanitago’s is impressive. Also known as Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, it’s dominated by a 16-meter tall statue of hero Antonio Maceo on horseback. He was known by the nickname “The Bronze Titan” both for his skin color and because of his strength. It’s said he recovered from more than 25 war injuries over the course of some 500 military battles. The statue is surrounded by 23 huge machetes sticking up from the grass. There’s also an eternal flame to honor the martyrs of the Revolution.
Next we charged up San Juan Hill. Well, we didn’t charge. More climbed at a slow walking pace. There’s a large memorial park on top of the hill, which was built by the US, so all the signs are in English and Spanish. There are monuments to the various groups who fought here, the Cubans, the Americans, and the Spanish troops. Some of the trenches have been preserved and some of the cannons and guns are on display.
From there we drove out to the Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, or known more informally as Castillo del Morro. This is the big fortress that guards the entrance to the bay. It was built by the Spanish in the classic style they used all over the Caribbean, with massive stone walls and distinctive guard towers at the corners. The views from there are wonderful. Because it’s a major tourist attraction there are stands set up along the approach to the fortress where artists and vendors sell handcrafts, t-shirts with Che on them and cigars and rum.
Our next stop was the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. Until recently it was most famous for the tomb and monument to José Martí, the “Poet of The Revolution”. His monument is a huge tower of sandstone with Art Deco female figures on the corners. Uniformed soldiers stand guard at the entrance.
Since December 4, 2016 the cemetery has become famous for a newer resident. Fidel Castro’s ashes are interred here. In keeping with his wishes, his monument is simple. Its inspiration was taken from a line from a José Martí poem, “All the glory of the world fits in a single kernel of corn.” People have had trouble seeing the monument’s resemblance to a corn kernel, though. Almost from the beginning people have been calling it “La piedra de Fidel,” (Fidel’s stone). We watched the changing of the guard, which happens every half hour. As one would expect, there was much goosestepping by uniformed soldiers.
The rest of the cemetery is also impressive. There are many above-ground tombs of wealthy Cuban families, including several members of the Bacardi rum family. They mostly feature white marble and life-sized statuary. It reminded me of La Recoletta cemetery in Buenos Aires, only smaller.
From the cemetery we went to lunch. We at at a “private” restaurant. In the Cuban sense, this means someplace that is privately owned, as opposed to government owned. This particular restaurant’s owner has American friends as partners. They put up the start-up money, and he manages the restaurant. He also lives upstairs, so it’s safe to say he’s a “hands on” manager. The dining rooms are in several rooms and the patio of the ground floor of what was a house. The food was typical Cuban fare, served “family style”, with plates for every 3 or 4 people. It was a lot of food, and it was all delicious.
We started with glasses of chilled fruit juice, such as orange, pineapple, or guava. This was followed by platters of beautiful ripe fruits including papaya, guava, banana, and pineapple. After we had enjoyed the fruits, the mains started to arrive, starting with the starches. Big bowls of rice and beans were accompanied by mashed yellow sweet potato and fried green plantains. Then the meats. First was a dish of slices of roast pork in a savory sauce. Then sauteed fish and bowls of shrimp in a red sauce. It was all wonderful, and a bit more than we all could manage to eat. For dessert they brought a very rich, creamy flan. It was one of the best meals we had in Cuba.
After lunch we drove around the town a bit, seeing some of the landmarks. Then we had our “cultural exchange” stop for the day. We visited a neighborhood music school.
Here anyone can come and audition, and if the professors feel they have a talent, they get free training for an instrument or singing. They only catch is that because the school isn’t government funded, they can’t provide instruments. The students have to somehow provide their own, and often have to share. Given their hardships, the school has done an amazing job. Many of their students have been good enough to go on to the state music schools and become professional musicians. Several of the students performed for us, (even though most of them looked quite nervous).
It was great to see people with such determination doing so much with so little.
The last stop was some free time to walk around the main plaza.
Parque Cespedes, as it is known today, is the standard Plaza de Armas found at the center of all Spanish Colonial towns. It has been renamed in honor of a Cuban planter who freed his slaves and was one of the first to declare independence from Spain. It’s a pleasant park that follows the usual pattern of Cathedral on one side, City Hall on the other, what had been the Governor’s House, and townhouses of the wealthy on the other sides.
The Cathedral is quite modern looking, as it has been rebuilt several times due to fires and such.
By this time the temperature was nearing 100F and I was feeling tired, so I opted to stay on the air conditioned bus. Van and most of the others went out with the guide for a walk around.
After spending about 30 minutes the group returned to the bus and we went back to the port. This time we had to tender back to the ship, but we got lucky. After we got through security Van and I were able to get some of the last seats on the waiting tender and go out right away.
Once everyone was back onboard we sailed out of Santiago harbor around 5:00, with the now customary mojitos on the Sun Deck. The ship then began making its way slowly back to Ft Lauderdale. We would spend the next two days at sea.
My Global Wanderings 