Back to Havana, Cuba, March 2022

Varadero

I returned to Havana and slept 10 hours without waking. My room at casa Señora Martha that Amay kept for me was airconditioned and bug-free. I paid Amay for 3 remaining nights in Cuba and set aside $25 for the taxi to the airport. In the end, I was left with enough cash. However, I should have listened to the advice to bring more in case of emergencies like a canceled flight or a positive Covid test result.

I continued my sightseeing in Havana and met fellow Americans who were having a group excursion of the city. They were from Californian universities and had to pretend that this trip was educational to get visas and approval to travel although they were tourists like others.

I wished I could go the theater and watch a performance even though I would not understand much in Spanish. The building looked amazing from the outside. Its interior was probably equally stunning. However, it remained closed due the pandemic. By the way, masks were mandatory everywhere including on the streets, no exception, and all Cubans followed the rule.

The fort on the other river bank looked promising and I took a ferry to Casablanca to see it. The ferry leaves every 30 minutes and costs 2 pesos (2 cents!). I walked up to the fort but it was quite ordinary or perhaps I saw too many forts around the world by now.

The fort was erected between 1589 and 1630 by the order of King of Spain to protect Havana from pirates and invaders. It withstood endless attacks by Dutch, French, and British pirates for more than a century. In 1762, and after a siege that lasted for 44 days, a British army of fourteen thousand men was able to take El Morro from land.

There was nobody in the fort. When I went to the toilet, the cleaning lady asked for 5 pesos (5 cents). I did not have 5 pesos. Without batting an eyelid, she asked for $1. We settled on 10 pesos but I did not get toilet paper. Funny how the prices work in Cuba – using the toilet cost more than taking the ferry.

A strange thing happened while I was walking along an absolutely empty road to the fort. A car appeared out of nowhere speeding toward me. I froze in place expecting the driver to do something to avoid the collision. It was impossible not to see me standing in front of the car. I also did not want to make a move that disagreed with what the driver would do. The driver, however, did nothing – he or she did not beep, or slowed down, or attempt to turn. I watched the approaching car with amused detachment as if it was a game on the computer screen. It was surreal. The car was not stopping. Slowly, keeping my eyes on the car, I took a few steps away from it to the road shoulder, seconds before the car swished past like a bullet within centimeters from my body. The airwave from it rocked me and the car was gone. Everything went so fast that I did not have time to get scared. I shook my head in disbelief of how the driver behaved and resumed walking. I almost got myself run over by the car in Cuba which would be a very bad idea.

A rapid Covid test before the flight home was $25. Covid tests are done at 2 hotels in Havana and to my knowledge, they are the only places where American cards are accepted.

I celebrated my negative Covid test result on the last night in Cuba with a healthy dose of expensive imported gin and tonic. I had money to burn, woohoo!

Next morning, a very battered taxi took me to the airport. The driver connected wires under the dashboard to start the engine. It stalled halfway to the airport. The driver told me reassuringly that it was just the fuel pump, nothing to worry.  I did get to the airport on time and then home with no issues.