The Next Chapter: Day 447

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 447 - Tropicana

Posted by Jill Marie

Our last full day in Havana. Boo. Kim & I made the most of it. We strolled around Havana Vieja & of course, took more photos & more photos. We went to the market & I desperately searched for the artist we’d spotted on Prado last weekend. I couldn’t find him, so instead, Kim helped me pick out some artwork. I bought 2 beautiful panoramic paintings in sepia tones with a splash of colour depicting the Malécon. Of course, I also picked up dominos, a little wooden box, a Ché shirt for Jaco & a few postcards. We found a few unturned corners here & there & did our best to capture each & every moment. We even managed to stumble across the shop of one of the photographers we met on Prado! Even Havana is small!

We enjoyed dessert at the same place we visited for Kim’s birthday, snuck up to the rooftop pool & photographed Havana at night & then headed home to have lobster at Fernando y Marisol’s before we caught our cab to see Tropicana.

Fernando arranged a ride to the show for us. The gentleman was a friend of Fernando’s & funnily enough, he works on cruise ships! We had a good chat about the cruise line he works for, his 2 sons & his opportunities to travel outside of Cuba.

Tropicana is a Vegas style show. The ladies are scantily clad with big buffoons on their heads. There is plenty of dancing & live music, singing & the costumes are colourful & never dull! It was an expensive ticket, but Kim & I figured we should have one big treat, seeing as we’d scrimped on our food & lodging. ($25 per night for our rooms, $4 for breakfast, nut bars for lunch & $10 for dinner) It was certainly a once in a lifetime event & I’m glad we went. Like I said earlier, these Cubans are talented!

I’m getting quite sad that our time in Havana has come to an end. The week has flown by & I really don’t feel ready to leave. I hope Jaco & I can come here again one day. I know he likes his beach holidays, so hopefully we can balance the beach & photos, along with some extra suitcases full of goodies for Cubans in need. (And I think they are all in need – most of the people asking for things wanted soap & shampoo) If you plan a trip to Cuba – take an extra bag full of those things you never use. They will appreciate it immensely!

xxxxMaria