Pamela Smith
It is Wednesday, January 23rd; this was our second free day off to explore and finish our independent learning projects. I was interested in visiting some of Havana's oldest churches and fellow MAOL friend Stacy was interested in studying transportation in the city. We started at a cute bakery a block from our casa particular for the best croissants and eclairs and espresso around. We then hailed an old taxi for a ride to old Havana. Once there, we were planning on walking to a local craft market but ended up taking a bike taxi through the narrow streets. It was a lovely ride through the streets we had not seen yet as our driver pedaled. Once we tipped our driver, we explored two old churches built in the 17th century and even found a boxing gym that hosts boxing matches. From there we explored the market and bought many souvenirs to bring back for friends and family. Then we hailed a horse-drawn carriage to navigate us back to the capital where the old cars line up.
We bargained with a driver for a private tour in a pink 1953 Chevrolet convertible. It was a hot, windy day as we sped around the city and under the harbor to see a giant statue of Jesus installed in 1958 and an old fort that overlooks the bay. We ended our tour at Hotel Nacional de Cuba for a refreshing drink and a classic Cuban sandwich. We enjoyed the lounge sofas at the famous once mobster hotel and watched the afternoon fade to evening. This warm and sunny day ended with a slight sunburn, but a cool shower at my casa helped ease the pain.