The Hixson Holiday Headlines: November 2017

Cozumel, Mexico Wednesday, November 8, 2017

The pilot boat greeted us going into Cozumel around noon.

Larry spotted six other cruise ships in port so.....

we decided to let the sun sink a little and relax on the ship until later in the day. We were told that many cruise lines have turned their ships toward the western Caribbean because of the hurricane that hit the eastern islands.

Larry and I had been to Cozumel 8 years previously and we recognized the thatched roof on shore that still remained.

We left the ship about 4:00 that afternoon....it was a lot cooler and fewer people out and about. We planned to rent a scooter to go into town for the evening so we started hiking into town, about a three mile jaunt.

We thought we were back in Cuba when we spotted this oldie....it really was a flat piece of cardboard.....the sign beside it told exactly what sights were the area.....

nice sandy beaches....

lots of motor bikes and scooter shops along the road....they were shut up tight so we ended up walking around for the evening.

We saw a lot of little souvenir shops....

dive shops....

and art along the way.

The beaches were coral and rocky.

There were lots of bars and restaurants along the way...

and cute little huts to relax under when the sun was high in the sky.

The Cozumel Lighthouse

We enjoyed a lovey sunset on the beach

before heading back to the ship

The evening was gorgeous.

Cozumel had dressed up their town with better paved roads and this fantastic walk along the beach

We made it back to the terminal in time for a little Jimmy Buffet time.

The ship pulled anchor at 9:00pm setting sail for Tampa, Florida with arrival scheduled for Friday.

Our final sunset Thursday evening over the calm seas of the Gulf of Mexico. What a lovely trip!

Havana, Cuba Monday and Tuesday, November 6 and 7, 2017

After a lengthy visa process Larry and I boarded the Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, November 4 in time for lunch at noon.

After a thrilling ride under the Sun Bridge outside of St. Petersburg.....

we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

and a huge harvest moon.

Sunday was a leisure day at sea.

The pilot boat lead us through the narrow, well protected Harbor of Havana Bay early Monday morning.....

to the Sierra Maestra Terminal in San Francisco Square ....

while the sun rose from the horizon.

We got our first glimpse of Cuba.

The ship arrived in the Bay of Havana at 7:00am. We left the ship promptly at 7:30 am with plans of exploring La Habana Vieja (Old Havana).

We were utterly amazed at the old cars that passed before our eyes as we crossed the street to visit the San Francisco Square.

It was so cool to see these refurbished autos of the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s passing by to taxi passengers to their destinations.

They were real beauties.

This area, one of the largest Colonial centers in Latin America, became a part of the UNESCO cultural heritage of humanity in 1982.

After several centuries of neglect, restoration work is under way on monuments, major buildings, shops and ordinary houses.

During our early morning walk, Larry and I wandered off the beaten path ending in a very underprivileged neighborhood of Havana.

Locals were sifting through the trash looking for items to reuse….they appeared to be successful by the way they were putting items into their sacks.

Stray dogs and cats were meandering about. Human feces appeared on the street and sidewalks.

While the streets were void of traffic, locals were walking to work.

Locals bars were open and

we observed a gentleman stopping by to get a couple of shots of Cuban rum

to start his day.....The friendly Cuban invited us to join him....at 8:30 in the morning...YIKES!

Oh, the sites we saw............

We passed by a shoe factory.....

Delectable smelling things for breakfast and....

a sidecar just like our old one.......a Russian sputnik.....

as well as other unusual modes of transportation

Music was everywhere.....

An older gentleman typing on a manual typewriter....and

a room of lady seamstresses sewing up a storm on old timey sewing machines. They all stopped and waved to us, smiling.

Of all things that were observed about Cuba, the most previlent was the friendliness of the people. Cubans are good natured and always smiling.

Secondly, we always felt safe in all the areas. We were told that it was safer in Cuba than in the United States. Although the majority of Cubans speak only Spanish, they were happy and always glad to try to figure out what we were saying.

After passing through a few streets of poverty we headed on to the Plaza Vieja where we watched school children enjoying an organized recess. Schools are in old buildings with no yard so the children play in the public plazas or squares.

Plaza Vieja

Shining his 1955 Chevy

A rooster was singing cock-a-doodle-do in a home.

We passed through the Plaza de la Catedaral. Here we entered Ambos Mundos Hotel, legendary bar and restaurant to the writer Ernest Hemingway who came here to stay and drink mojitos.

Hemingway shaking hands with a young Castro

The hotel had an interesting display of photographs.

We enjoyed strolling through Plaza de Armas with a gorgeous green park in the center.

During our walk we passed numerous statues of historic figures and endless art.

We passed through the Fortress de la Real Fuerza(1558-77) built to protect the city from pirates.

A young taxi bike driver approached us, asking for our business.

Larry accepted his offer and he took us to the Centro Habana where we viewed the Capital which was in its second year of renovations.

The architecture was incredible…. but so were the cars.

Grand Theater of Havana

Museum of the Revolution and Granna Memorial

At night there was very little electrical lighting in the homes.....

but the Plazas had exquisite lighting showing the detailed architecture.

We stopped in a couple of the bars to listen to the local musicians who played a combination of African rhythm and Spanish melodies to make the unique Cuban sound using pieces of wood, empty boxes, maracas, smaller sized guitars, bango drums, accordion, bass, flute and sax....so cool.

It was really enjoyable and the audience enjoyed showing off the salsa and rumba.

Cuban Beer

The second day, Tuesday, in Havana we took a tour to the outer areas of the city.

American Embassy

The bus took us riding down the whole Malecon, or the boardwalk by the ocean. When I asked about swimming in this gorgeous beach area, the reply was "Oh no, the water is too dirty." It was used to just stroll and enjoy the view in hopes of catching an ocean breeze to cool off from the heat of the day.

We visited the neighborhood of Alfredo Sosabravo….what unusual art displays. It reminded us of Gaudi artwork in Barcelona,Spain. We enjoyed seeing the carved Tocoraro, the national bird that inspired the colors of the Cuban flag...red, white and blue.

The cars in this area were awesome.

1948 Cadillac limousine

Studebaker

We never got tired of looking at the cars.

Public education is free in Cuba as well as all medical care. We did observe private school students who wore school uniforms.

We passed through a couple of communities with large homes...evidence of the wealthy back in the 50's. These homes were abandoned when the rich fled the country while Castro took them over. It was sad to see them in such ill repair.

We visited Revolution Square where Fidel Castro celebrated becoming leader of Cuba in 1959.

Here we saw the gray marble memorial monument for Jose Marti, famous exiled leader for education. It began being built on 1953 on the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Cuba’s national hero and was completed in 1958.