We parked our car in the long-term section of the hotel parking lot and availed ourselves of the hotel shuttle bus to the airport. Then we spent about an hour checking in, getting our "Cuba ready" stamps on our boarding passes and snaking through the security line. Then we twiddled our thumbs for an hour before the plane boarded.
Flight out of Miami:
Flight into Havana:
One statistic I read is that Tourism to Cuba is up 450 percent this year. Then there was the wait for the bags to be unloaded. We were beginning to get the feeling that life moves a great deal slower in the Tropics. Our carefully arranged taxi pickup did not materialize so we called our host (thank you Harry for bringing those unlocked cell phones and the worldwide SIM cards that actually dynamically attached to CubaCel) who arranged by phone for another taxi to take us into Havana. Our host, Otto, was here to greet us and gave us the lay of the land of the apartment and the neighborhood. We had a short nap and then walked four blocks to a restaurant for dinner.
I'm now sitting on the open porch enjoying the breeze while I type away.
Being in a country where we don't speak the language and where most of the people we will be in contact with do not speak English will be challenging. Once we get used to feeling slightly uneasy this will be quite an adventure.
Being in a country where we don't speak the language and where most of the people we will be in contact with do not speak English will be challenging. Once we get used to feeling slightly uneasy this will be quite an adventure.