EL RON DE CUBA

On our first full day in Havana, we began with a lovely breakfast at our B&B. Then we were picked up by Armando-Please-Call-Me-Mandy for a driving tour of the city, in order to "get the lay of the land". We ended the tour at the Havana Club Rum Museum, for a fascinating look into Cuba's national beverage, invented as a way to use up the molasses left over from sugar production.

Scale Model of a Sugar Plantation

The Tasting Room

Lunch was at La Moneda Cubana Paladar, and was waaaay better than what we got at the Tropicana the night before!

The First of Many Many Mojitos To Be Enjoyed Throughout This Adventure

I ate shrimp and/or lobster almost daily while there.

A paladar is a non-government-owned restaurant, mostly family-run -- one of the few privately owned businesses allowed -- serving homemade Cuban food.

I love this photo I took leaning over the edge of our rooftop dining area -- Cuba's history in a nutshell.

You've got your horses and buggies, reminiscent of the era when the Spanish were in control. Then there's a row of cars from the era where things have been "stuck" for the last 50 years or so. But, you also have that giant luxury liner, filled with thousands of tourists and their pockets full of money, cruising into the harbor and providing Cuba with the possibility of moving forward.

Next, we were treated to a walking tour of Old Havana and its five main plazas, where some of the buildings date back to the 1600's, and there are even streets paved with wooden bricks.

After that we had a wee bit of time back at our B&B to rest and clean up. We came back out, expecting to see our yellow taxi van awaiting us. Instead, we found these!

Our Chariot For The Evening!

First they took us on a tour of of the hoity-toity neighborhoods filled with gorgeous mid-century homes in beautifully wooded areas. Not sure who they belonged to. They must be pretty special! Then there was a stop at the Cuban Missile Site, with a walk up to the giant Jesus statue. Most fun and educational was our stop at a guarapo shack. Yes, more rum, but this time we had to work for it!

Guarapo is a popular beverage that starts with the liquid you get from extracting sugarcane juice under pressure, which is what LB is doing in the photo above. You then add some lemon juice, some chipped ice, rum if you're an adult, et voila! But you gotta drink it fast. It starts to ferment within minutes, which is why you'll never find it in any store.

Dinner was at an Italian seafood paladar called Rio Mar. I love the custom of spreading 4 or 5 kinds of appetizers along the center of our tables, for all of us to share (the ceviche and beef carpacio were to die for!). Then we each got to select one of four or five main dish options. Then of course, there was dessert. Oh, and two drinks (more mojitos!) were included in the price of our meal as well. I wish more American restaurants served this way. Having so many choices to make, from so very many options, can be exhausting, don't you think?

Speaking of exhaustion, we were supposed to go to Fabrica de Arte Cubano after that, to see lots of local art, enjoy live music, and mingle with Cubanos and other visitors. But, since it was probably 10 or 11 pm by the time we finished eating, and it had been a very long day, we all voted to adjourn to the B&B. I guess we're getting old.