Don't Go For The Food

Friday, November 07, 2014
Havana, Cuba
Friday, November 7, 2014 The fifth in a series of seven entries; all delayed by one week.

Awake at 6:30, we tugged back the blackout curtains and window shade to see what I at first suspected was smoke from a fire and then decided was dust from a building collapse. After a few minutes, reality came into view: a truck was fogging the city. I think the fog impacts the internet. BR and I were both amazingly frustrated with the slow speeds. Ugh.

After a quick breakfast we were back on the bus and headed for the United Hebrew Congregation Centro Macabeo of Cuba—the Jewish Cemetery for Havana. There we visit graves and donate for their rehabilitation and upkeep.

Then we're off to the home of Ernest Hemingway. They tell us of his time in Havana (they say he wrote "The Old Man and the Sea" while here) and I tell them of his time in Kansas City (where he was a reporter for the Kansas City Star). You can see Hemingway’s Kansas City home from my apartment balcony, you know. It’s an even trade. I don’t really appreciate his writing but I’ve been to his homes in Key West, Havana and Kansas City. I can’t say why but I’ve been to them.

From there we board the bus and head for downtown where we are to have lunch on our own. Most of our group heads into a cafeteria at what was once the Havana Hilton. BR and I find surroundings there along with the exhaust fumes and traffic noise and the “semi-modern” hustle and bustle to be not to our liking so we take a CoCo Taxi back to the old city (7.75 CuCs) where we stroll and find a nice spot for lunch in a lovely garden at restaurant Jardín del Oriente. A Cuban sandwich for me, a pork steak, dark rice and fried plantain for BR along with a bottle of water, a glass of wine and a beer come to 10.80 CuCs (under $11.00). A good deal. We saved enough on lunch to splurge another two CuCs on ice cream.

Today is a day for music. A symphony plays in the park while a trumpeter makes music up the street. We stroll some more looking for an antique cigar box. We find several but they are priced too high until one of the vendors who said he would look for one. He later came running after us with a wooden box with Che Guevara’s picture on it for 20 CuCs. We didn’t like it much so we declined. He went running and then returned again with a wooden box marked: “Cohiba Robustos, Habana, Cuba” for 25. We happily took it. We continued strolling and taking photographs of old automobiles and their heavy chrome parts and finally hailed a CoCo Taxi for a ride back to the Meliã Cohiba Hotel (flat rate: 10 CuCs). We’re home by 5:00 and kick off our shoes to relax.

Osiris, the concierge at Meliã Cohiba has a recommendation for us. “Have dinner at Doῆa Juana Restaurante y Braseria. They will send their car here and pick you up.” We thought that sounded like a fine idea. Soon, a young man smartly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt arrived in his 1974 Fiat, smoke belching and springs creaking, to drive us the 13 blocks to the restaurant. Up three flights of stairs we joined three other tables of diners for a fine evening experience. I say experience because I have come to believe that there is not really a fine meal to be had here.

I think there are no ingredients for the chefs. I have had fish three times. We’re on an island; fish makes sense. BR has had chicken three times. We’re in the Caribbean; chicken makes sense. Doῆa Juana’s swordfish was more sword than fish; I couldn’t chew it. I’ve had tough beef but I’ve never experienced tough fish like that which is served in Cuba. The chicken is similar. I think it must be due to the lack of good ingredients.

Our Chilean sauvignon blanc was quite good but Carlos, our server, had no cooler to keep it chilled at the table. “I will keep your glasses filled,” he said. He did. He was attentive beyond all measure of expectation. A trio of bongo and two guitars played at just the right volume as BR and I talked and laughed and enjoyed each other and the night.

The boy in the Fiat brought us home safe and sound.

Comments

Theresa Alcazar
2014-11-15

You guys are glowing! So glad you're having a great time. Maybe we can finally catch up when you get back.

Betsy Sears
2014-11-17

So, if you're looking for great food on your vacation, Cuba should not be a top choice, eh?

2025-02-11

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