Cuba day 3: Havana on New Years Day

Despite Mira's complaints that we should be up early to take advantage of the day it was very difficult to get her up. Aleisha was no easier.

We had arranged breakfast with our host for CUC5 each. If turned or to be Frankfurters, ham and cheese scrambled eggs, chide and yellow bread rolls. Not really exciting but ok.

We discussed what we would like to do over the next days, then Mira left early to meet (new) friends in the Plaza Vieja, we agreed to meet at the Museo de la Revolución later on.

Luci, Aleisha & I went to the Museo de la Revolución. It was poorly signed, difficult to follow what happened. It was the previous Presidential Palace, with some detiails of an attampt on Batista's life in 1957, out of 35 assailants only 3 survived. Also photos ant other info on the revolution. More interesting were the Granma yacht, some remains of a U2 shot down in 1963, a rocket of the kind that downed it, and a couple of saircraft used during the revolution.

We didn't see Mira. Luci was in a rush so she got a taxi and we headed off toward the university. On the way we decided to continue to the Viazul bus terminal as she really wanted to leave Havana. There we found out that all buses were booked out to go anywhere in the next few days. Luci was very disappointed and wanted to return to Mexico. We looked for a while for a phone SIM but no luck, then decided to take a bus instead of a taxi. Local buses here are articulated, this one with loud Latin music.

In town there was a huge crowd around the theatre, rumour has it that Raul Castro was there. Luci insisted on going twice down Obispo St to find 'something' to take back for the dinner that we would have at the Casa Arrendador, I was getting edgy as we were now very late, and couldn't believe it when she and Aleisha appeared with... 4 plastic glasses with melting icecream in them. We got a taxi back and arrived before they had totally melted.

Dinner turned out to be chicken fried with lemon juice, which Luci and Mira seemed to like a lot.

While there we met a German couple who announced they had gone to the airport and had been told that if they arrived there at 4am they would definitely get on the flight to Santiago. Luci was delighted by this, declaring if we can't go to Santiago then she will go back to Mexico.

About 9.30 Mira went out to "meet a friend for 30 mins". There was the Minnie issue of how to get to the airport in the morning, it would have to be a prearranged taxi but Vilma couldn't find anything, nor helping hugely by promising to tell us when a taxi had agreed but then going to sleep instead. Baby suggested taking the same taxi as the Germans on a second trip, but Luci rang one she had used earlier who was happy to take us, and at 2/3 the price. We packed, I went to bed, around 12.30 Luci poked me in the ribs saying "how can you sleep when Mira is out so late and we don't know where she is?" I replied that worrying wouldn't really helpRead more