Cuba

CUBA

Varadero
Passing time with a cigar and rum while enjoying the view from my Oceanview suite at Breezes Varadero.
The beach at our resort where I spent all of 2 minutes...if I wanted sand in my sandals, all I had to do was go the the golf course!
Signature 18th hole at the Varadero Golf Course. The property with its 1930s "Xanadu Mansion" (now the clubhouse) was once the exclusive summer retreat of the Dupont family.
The statuary on the 18th seems suitably unimpressed by my form

Havana
One of the many squares in Old Havana. The Spanish architecture is reasonably well-preserved here, but is crumbling in other areas of the city, especially the waterfront.
The famous Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway polished the final draft of For Whom The Bell Tolls. His Room 511 is at the top (person in window) overlooking the centre of Havana.
Typical narrow Havana street. Lots of street hawkers offering services and items, but nothing was ever pushy. Hotel Ambos Mundos in the background.

Cigars and mojitos at the Cafe Paris bar in the centre of Old Havana. These were our first mojitos, our resort having lost its crop of mint due to Hurricane Michelle.
Live music was everywhere in Cuba. Ray borrowed this guitar for a quick rendition of Stairway To Heaven. The musician countered with his own Spanish version.
These are medium-sized grave markers in Havana's graveyard. Cremation is not allowed in Cuba, and the state pays for the funerals (mostly RC). We were actually propositioned here!

Havana	One of the many squares in Old Havana. The Spanish architecture is reasonably well-preserved here, but is crumbling in other areas of the city, especially the waterfront.	The famous Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway polished the final draft of For Whom The Bell Tolls. His Room 511 is at the top (person in window) overlooking the centre of Havana.	Typical narrow Havana street. Lots of street hawkers offering services and items, but nothing was ever pushy. Hotel Ambos Mundos in the background.
	Cigars and mojitos at the Cafe Paris bar in the centre of Old Havana. These were our first mojitos, our resort having lost its crop of mint due to Hurricane Michelle.	Live music was everywhere in Cuba. Ray borrowed this guitar for a quick rendition of Stairway To Heaven. The musician countered with his own Spanish version.	These are medium-sized grave markers in Havana's graveyard. Cremation is not allowed in Cuba, and the state pays for the funerals (mostly RC). We were actually propositioned here!