The first day there, I was wandering the streets when this guy (pictured below) approached me and asked if he could help. We were forewarned about getting husseled on the streets, so I was wary. He spoke excellent English, was down to earth, and just fun, so I spent several hours with him and his buddy with this car, touring Havana. It cost a few bucks, but he was up front about it and was worth the money spent.

A show we went to one evening.

The lobby of the National Hotel. A very old and well-maintained place.

A peacock in all his glory in the grounds behind the National Hotel

This is also on the grounds behind the hotel. It is the site where the Russians were building a nuclear missile site that caused the Cuban Missile Crisis. It amazes me how many people either forgot, or never learned about, how Cuba came within minutes of being oblitorated from the face of the earth.

I was wandering around one Sunday morning and came upon this church service. The people of Cuba are very poor, but this church was large and opulent.

All the towns had very nice town squares where people would come to hang out with one another. I mean, it’s not like they have essentials like smartphones and the internet. What else do they have to do? Oh, wait, that does sound better!

Our guide took us to these people’s home for lunch. This is the buffet they prepared for us. The kitchen where it was prepared is pictured below.

Yeah, that is a dirt floor. Im thinkin there may be people in my family who would have declined the lunch offer. But the food was fresh, clean, and very good.

When we eat at resturants it was difficult to know what you were ordering because it’s all in Spanish. I knew I was ordering some kind of seafood dish and this showed up. I just looked into my new little buddy’s crawdad eyes and dug in and finished it off. It was the best seafood dish I have ever had.

This is a casa I stayed at one night. The picture below is of the guy sitting on the porch meeting the Pope in his younger days.

This is the store where people take their ration cards, issued by the government, and they are given rice, beans, flour, etc.

This is the group making our way into the jungle to the swimming hole pictured below.

Lunch with the biker bunch while being entertained.

Making our way down the road.

End of the day. Getting back on the bus.

Me, just looking cool:)

This is the land of reconditioned, very cool, cars from the 50s. The reason there are so many of them is that the 50s were the last time they were able to purchase American cars, so they hang onto them. Any newer cars are Volvos or Chinese cars.

All the large buildings were casinos from the 50s.

Went scuba diving on my last day after the tour was over. This is someone’s back patio that is used to suit up, then walk out into a tropical fish tank.