Havana, Cuba, North America

Today wasn’t a great day for me. I woke up after a pretty bad night’s sleep because I’ve had a dodgy stomach all night. It must have been something I ate, but I’m not exactly sure what it was. I spent all morning in bed, and was actually pretty happy that I hadn’t been able to book one of those tours after all. It would have been miserable having to get up at 6:30am and feeling like that all day.

I decided at noon that I just had to get up and do something, so I went out for a walk for a few hours. It was nice because I decided to do something a little different and not take my camera out with me. Sometimes I feel like I am hampered by the camera. I think that I need to get a picture of everything I see, so I don’t really get to experience things as much as when I am sans camera. It was a really good idea. The walk immediately helped me feel better and I spent most of my time just sitting in parks or on any seat I could find in the shade. I was mainly people watching, which is a great activity in a place that’s so different to me. Getting to see how the locals go about their lives on a Sunday was pretty cool.

I walked back down the Paseo and went to the Melia Cohiba where I decided to have a nice dinner. Every other night I’ve been to one of these Cuban places where all the locals eat. They accept Cuban pesos as well as convertibles, which means that I was able to get a full dinner for less than $2. It wasn’t quite like that at Melia Cohiba, but it was worth it. I had a good meal with a Cubata, or what we would call a Cuba Libre (rum and coke), and then tried a local beer as well (Cristal). It was a really nice way to finish off my day, considering how poorly it had started. I wish I’d been able to get out of Havana on this trip and see a bit more of Cuba, but I enjoyed my time in Havana. It’s one of the most culturally different places I’ve ever been to, which made it really interesting. I was way out of my comfort zone when I first got here, but feel much more comfortable now, if not for the sweltering heat, and constant sweating. I wouldn’t be in a huge hurry to come back here to Havana, but I’m really glad I saw it. I’m off to Bogota, Colombia tomorrow where I will touch South America for the first time, my sixth continent!