3/18 - day 9 (day 7 of BR)

3/18 - day 9 (day 7 of BR) 

Going home. Today was a travel day and our last day in Havana. 

Packing up was particularly satisfying besides the usual reasons. A few days ago, James made a speech in the bus about conditions for everyday Cubans. We had read some things in the pre-trip materials from Backroads about how some basic items were in short supply and anything that we could bring and/or leave behind would be appreciated. I believe in avoiding waste as much as possible and over the years, have learned better how to recycle, reuse, and repurpose to keep things out of landfills. Sadly, we do not have a very efficient system of recycling in the US and too many people throw things into the trash rather than trying to find another life for things, so this seemed like a great opportunity to put my principles into practice.

James suggested that the BR people would find appropriate recipients for anything we were willing to give away, beginning with cycling equipment. Since I had a closet full of bike jerseys, that seemed like a great place to start. None of the jerseys I brought were souvenirs from overseas trips or otherwise had sentimental value, so into the donation bag they went. It seemed a little gross to donate used bike shorts, but James was planning to wash everything, so out they went too. So did jackets, gloves, socks, my pedals, warm weather clothes… the goal was to go home with an empty suitcase. I didn’t quite make it to that level, but two bags of gear became one bag of gear and everything in my wash kit except my toothbrush went too. Even extra string bags and day packs that I pack in all my luggage went because I could replace almost all of them. It was extremely satisfying. The guides really appreciated it. I told them to send us a picture of everything piled in their living room floor.

The morning activity consisted of a walking tour of old Havana. We went to a couple of nice shops and I bought some nice socks ostensibly for cycling since I no longer had any in my bag.

It's a woman-owned shop.

Here is a picture of one of the state-owned stores for bread. This is the line of people waiting for their daily ration. The ration was one slice! I don’t know how you can be very productive if you have to spend this much time standing in line for a slice of bread.

Here is a picture of a pharmacy/pharmacy museum. It operated strictly on US cash and it was very expensive.

Compare that with the store that provides prescriptions for free with a doctor’e script.

We walked to a square that many BRers commented looked like being in Europe. A couple of them commented why can't all of Havana look like this?

We stopped at a coffee shop, Cafe el Escorial, and I looked over the shoulder of a young woman who was sketching portraits. I realized she was drawing on the of members of our group who was having a birthday. She was really good, and no sooner did she finish, but she started drawing me.

portrait here

I wasn’t sure if she was commissioned by the guides or if it was a coincidence that she was there at the same time as us. If it was the latter, it wouldn’t be the first time a street artist went to a touristy area to hustle a couple of bucks.

We had a nice chat.

Here is the Plaza de Catedral with a church built by the Jesuits who were later thrown out of the country. Since this was the second or third landmark commemorating the Jesuit presence in Cuba, I should definitely get Le Moyne to reimburse me for this trip.

A couple of us who had mid-afternoon flights walked back to the hotel where our boxed lunches that were supposed to be ready were not. Adria helped us order off the menu and what ended up in my box was nothing that he asked her to make. I ate it and I’m not dead yet.

The ride to the airport was uneventful and we spent a couple of hours chatting with a couple other BR people and some travelers on our flight. The flights were also uneventful, just the way we like it.

Home by midnight.