The Cigar Story

The Cigar Story

You know there has to be a cigar story. On our first trip back at Christmas, we almost got arrested buying cigars from a friend of a cousin of our driver….lol….you can read that blog to hear the whole story. Needless to say we are ready to smoke those Cohiboes that Austin (the bestman) bought for his brother Brandon in Aug in California….for only $40 for a box of 24 cigars (US Customs allows each person to bring one box of cigars back to the US for personal consumption only)

This time is was Craig’s son who was in search for a box of Cohiboes. The second nite as we were walking the streets, Austin and Craig’s son disappeared. We had to retrace our steps and all of a sudden from the balcony above I hear “Hi Pops”….it is austin and he is someone Apartment looking at cigar boxes WITHOUT telling us he was going upstairs….dam shame

Anyways I read him the riot act about disappearing…especially into someone’s house…and worse yet, taking Craig’s son with him….double dam shame

So now it was the last nite in Havana…and they were still in search of that box of cigars…teenage boys can really stay focus on one idea and one idea only….lol…a box at the store was $240 for 24 cigars. No way Austin is paying that kind of money.

Again we are walking about 14 blocks in the wrong direction from the convent/hotel…and Craig and I notice Austin disappearing around the corner with two black men with no shirts on…and the streets they are going into are NOT part of the tourist section and have no lights and very very dark….

We follow and we see the men telling Austin and Craig’s son to go up some stairs…it is super dark and does not look good at all (don’t these kids ever watch movies where tourist get rob overseas ?? or worst yet where young boys and girls get kidnapped !!)

So we tell the boys they can NOT go upstairs…the business must be done on the street….i tell the boys that this is not good business…that they will probably get cigars with sawdust in them…way to strange

So we start to walk away….and the men start to follow us….they have the box of cigars with them and are ready to sell…wait until they hear how little Austin wants to pay for them….thank God we get back to the tourist section and policeman on every corner…the men back off and call Austin some bad names.

Whew that was close….lol

We get directions from the police man on how to get back to the Plaza Vieja and then he asked us, “by the way are interested in buying some cigars ?”….i almost fainted….lol…I did not know whether he was serious or whether he was following our little episode…or what

But now the boys were more determined than ever to buy some cigars….so we went back to the original sellers in the Tourist section (which I trust a lot more) for $60. Meanwhile we buy some more souvenirs and the woman gives Craig’s son a little statue that he was looking at for his room back in DC. Mission Accomplished….(Austin just had one of the cigars with his friends in Tampa …and he said they were very strong, but good cigars).

We went back to the hotel/convent and had another big spades game until we all fell asleep. Morning came too quickly.

Day 3 (last night)

Day 3 (night)

So we had done it all in 2 days, what was there left to do ?

Craig decided on the last nite we would eat in a fancy restaurant overlooking the water….the Harbor of Cuba…a place he has spotted several times on our taxi rides…

So we showered and dressed up…thank goodness there was a late afternoon shower and the air was a little cooler…

Austin had decided during this break to pass out the remaining of his tshirts (mainly university and basketball tshirts)….he had spotted a playground nearby with children playing soccer….but one block away from this playground…a military guy in his 30’s asked if he could have a shirt…before we knew it there were young men and women dressed in green uniforms all running towards Austin…it was a feeding frenzy

Sadly the shirts never made it to the children, but then most of them were XL and XXL sizes….

On our walk to the restaurant that nite Austin gave Craig’s 15 yr old a couple of baseballs to share with the kids on the street…luck would have it…we found two boys throwing a ball made out of tape….their eyes grew wide when they saw those REAL baseballs…Austin also gave another group of boys a soccer ball…

We are also stopped by a man who says he heard we needed a taxi for the airport on Sunday morning…it seems that our driver who took us to the beach, did NOT have the right kind of permit to drive people to “Terminal DOS”…the terminal for flights back to Miami….interesting huh

We make an appointment for 7 am since we have to be at the airport by 8 am for our 10 am flight back to the USA.

At the restaurant we had Pallela (a dish with rice and many different types of seafood)….it had some of the biggest Shrimps I have ever seen….we had a feast….this time the fancy restaurant charged us $5 for a basket of bread….and the services was very slow (we had two baskets of bread)…beers were $2 and bottle water $3…we did not get out of this one cheap….

But we did see the cannon go off at 9 pm from the fort across the Harbor…it was pretty neat…we saw the flash of fire way before we heard the BOOM…

Then we went for our last walk of old Havana….i still had not shown Craig La Cathedral de Havana where I hope the Gaston Family reunion will have a family Mass in the summer of 2014.

But as we walked down the streets of old Havana, we were getting further and further AWAY from the convent/hotel…

Day 3 The Beach

Day 3 The Beach
(Raul where are you ?)

Woke up in time for 8 am Mass….the nuns (mostly from the Philippines) voices were like angels…since I was the only stranger present the priest stared at me during his sermon….of course it was all in Spanish…he did refer to the Saint Carmen whose feast day it was and the nuns laughed when the priest made a reference to the Nuns of Carmen….later this priest was at breakfast and we exchanged some stories…

Breakfast at the convent was again delicious….Austin slept through his breakfast…

At 10 am the driver that I had gotten through Manuel was waiting in the lobby…his name Raul…he was ex-military and very stern…first driver that did not laugh at my jokes…dam shame

We had hired him for $100 to take us 2 hrs to the beach and stay there for a couple of hours and then drive back…right off the bat, when we got on the highway, La Policia stopped us at one of those check points….they claimed something was wrong with his lights…but after showing several papers and turning on the lights for the lady, she let us go (you know they do the same thing in American…usually to minority groups)

We had a nice drive along the northern coast of Cuba….and got to see some sugar cane fields and some mountains….also a lot of oil wells (on our last trip our driver said that there was NO oil in them wells, it was just for the tourist buses that go back and forth to Havana)

Austin asked if Raul our driver had some more modern music to play and he put in a Rapper video…the kids were all laughing….we were back in the USA…but after a few songs, Craig and I decided to go back to softer music.

We drove through a couple of towns, one called Mantazas, and the Americans got a little flavor of another town besides Havana.

When we got to Varadero Beach (you can google earth it on your computer…2 hrs east of Havana) everyone got excited….our first stop was a bank, but they were closed for lunch…we looked for a place to have lunch, but we decided to eat at the public beach pavilion that had pizza place, sandwich place and several other options…and bathrooms….the kids were not too excited to have to pay a bathroom attendant 25 cents to pee in a nasty toilet….(and Austin will tell you they have no seats !!....i said who would want to sit there anyways)

We also went souvenir shopping….since they were so many places to check out along the beach road…

We were going to go back to the bank at 1 pm, but we could not find our driver….where is Raul ?

Craig decided to take a horse drawn taxi to the bank while I watched the boys in the ocean.

This public beach was a little different than our last visit. There were probably about 3,000 regular Cubans swimming….mostly African-Cubans…I sat in the shade and talked to some old ladies, while the boys played ball in the water with some Chickas…

One old lady was 75 yrs old and claimed to be from Santa Clara….they had ridden 3 hrs on a bus to get to the Beach….she claims to have remember El Dolores Sugar Mill….our course she said things are bad and no one has work…

We finally found Raul…and told him we were exhausted from shopping and the beach and the sun and ready to go back to Havana….we found a nice corner house with 2 old people who let us change into our dry close before getting in the van….they were 80 and 84 years old…I left them $5 dollars.

We stopped at a Pina Colado hut half way back to Havana….you pay $2 for the drink and they leave a bottle of rum on the counter and you can put as much run into the glass that you want….dam shame

I had a few….Austin drank up half his glass and then filled the rest with rum…double dam shame. It was a fun stop !!

When we arrived in Havana we took a little tour of the Malecon (highway in Havana along the water) and some of the big hotels and a quick visit to Celicia….we also saw the US interest building…and the house of the Gaston Tias which is now a school.

Day 2 (night)

Day 2 (night)

So after showers we went out looking for a restaurant to eat. As you walk along Old Havana there are men on the street trying to entice you and your party to eat at their restaurant. We had eaten at the Beer Garden the first nite, so now it was time to experience something different…and something indoors with A/C. We found this little Pub and Craig liked the idea that they had about 20 different dishes to sample (10 samples for $5)…we order our drinks…this time Mojiteos and Cuba Libras and everyone got little appetizers to sample…

I got the chicken bisque which is interesting because it is basically boneless chicken grilled….with rice and beans of course…we ate and laughed and had a grand time…final bill about $40…lol

Tonight we decided to go to the Fort that oversees the Harbor of Havana for a ceremonial firing of the cannon….we took a Taxi which took us under the tunnel and up the hill to the top of the fort. Once there we found out they wanted $8 a person to see this show…Craig and his younger son went inside…I stay outside and watched the show from on top of the castle wall…the showed lasted 30 mins

There were about 1,000 tourist there…

On the way out, there were about 20 or 30 Taxi drivers offering their services…but there were 5 of us….
One guy from behind the crowd yelled I can take ALL 5 in an AMERICAN TAXI !! for only $5…it was a 1957 or 58 Chevy…he put in his tape and we all started singing…what a blast…we had the windows open..and when we got close to the Toll for the tunnel, he asked to be quiet because of the police, but once we past the cops, he cranked up the tape again….(he dropped us off quickly and ran back to the Fort to get another fare).

We were tired and decided to go back to the room and play a little spades. SEC vs Colonial conference.

SEC won !! and we all had so much fun. (Meanwhile I was trying to get a taxi mini-van to the Beach for Sat through Manuel, Celia’s brother)

Day 2 (afternoon)

Day 2 (afternoon)

On our walk around Old Havana, Austin wanted to step outside the tourist section, so we wonder into the adjacent streets (let me tell you, you do not have to walk far to see the REAL Cuba)

The first thing we encountered was two boys about 14 or 15 playing chess. They had taken a white board and colored it with a black magic marker. The board was positioned between their legs. They sat on wooden boxes. They did not have a complete chess set. Some pieces were bottle caps, other pieces from other board games. They invited Austin to sit down for a game….with a WIDE grin. Austin declined and we proceeded to see them play. IT was a fast game with a lot of trash talking…we watched for about 30 mins then it got serious and slow. The boys were about even in play. I gave them a couple of dollar coins for their effort.

Then we saw a man in his late 30’s or 40’s dragging a woman in her late 30’s by the hair. She was screaming “Policia, por favor, Policia !!” but the 20 or so neighbors watching this spectical did nothing. Austin was a little shaken. He asked me what should we do ? I said lets go down a block and get the police. But by the time we got one or two blocks the screaming had stopped. (Later on when we got home, Austin asked his mother what she would have done ? In a foreign country, there is not much one can do…even in this country you have to be careful.) A lesson learned by a 21 yr old college student.

Back to the hotel and the napping Americans. VAMOS !! Vamos muchachoes…

This time we caught a mini-van taxi with A/C and he took all 5 of us to the City of Sports…a complex a little further away with soccer fields and baseball fields, etc….we were able to enter this sports arena

On the court was the Cuban National Team playing against the Havana All Stars….another Home Run, by luck we had found this game….perfect for our purpose of the trip….we got to see a show….the Cuban national team was good…

Unfortunately the arena had NO A/C and the windows were closed….so it was very stuffy and hot…in addition there was no lighting, so when it started to rain outside it got really dark, we were having a hard time seeing the players…so sad….the other weird thing was that there were no spectators ??...this would have been awesome entertainment for 1,000’s of young Cubans..we left before we could ask any questions…

It was raining outside and no Taxi….dam…we walked out onto the street, but had no luck waving down a Taxi…I was laughing, but Austin was getting pissed….we finally found a man washing his car at a gas station that was more than happy to take us for $5…but he did NOT have a license so he had to drop us off a couple of blocks from the Plaza Viejas

Here is where we saw a couple of barefeet kids with no shirts playing volleyball using a chain link fence used for construction for a net. Austin was really impressed with their desire to play sports.

Day 2

Day 2

Woke up at 7:30 am (on the last trip sleeping with windows open at Christmas time, the roosters were singing at 5 am !!!....like someone suggested, bring those earplugs)

The nuns had breakfast ready at 8:30 (after their 8 am daily Mass)…the coffee was very good and Craig got hooked on Café con Leche the same way that Steve Kitchens did on our last trip. Austin liked the Mango juice and eventually bought a couple of cans for our hotel room which had a little frig. The other good thing about the hotel/convent was that they sold bottle water….i think we bought them out…lol

After breakfast we went out for a little walk before it got too hot….there was a HEAT wave in the USA, so Havana was HOT too…but you know not much hotter than Florida…it is just that we were doing a lot of walking outside and enjoying the sites…

At 11 am we caught a cab (picture on this page)….two sisters in their 30’s driving little motorcycles with half-moon carriages….they said $5 to take us to the bball gym…they were a lot of fun and they were racing all the way…they were weaving in and out of traffic….we were all laughing and sticking our legs out acting like the Flintstones and helping them push….

We got to the old gym the coliseum Cuba used for the 1991 Pan Am games….Fidel Castro came here to watch the volleyball games and basketball too…but this place was in real bad shape…everything had been gutted out…the floor was all warped with splinters…the manager (a young man of about 30 yrs of age) told us we could NOT play…both backboards were broken…and by the way NO ONE had cleared anything with him….

Thank God he let us into his A/C office and we sat there waiting for Dr. Alfonso to show up. When the good doctor showed up the manager told him the same thing….i was trying to listen even though they were speaking fast in Spanish…then Herrere showed up…he is the younger brother of the MJ of Cuban basketball…Huerto Herrere who played in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics….the all time leading scorer…the younger brother was about 6’5” and 250 lbs…we beat the crap out of each other last Christmas….

I overheard Herrere telling the manager that we were invited guest of the government….and that if we were NOT allowed to play, it would be HIS responsibility!! HE would have to answer to the govt…and then the manager said…”PLAY !! PLAY !! I do not give a dam” (paraphrasing….lol)

We ended up playing 3 on 3 for 2 hours…in about 100 degree heat with no lights…it was the USA vs Cuba…the USA won with Austin, Craig and his 15 yr old son…

We passed out tshirts and took some pictures…I gave Herrere another bottle of Advil that he loved so much the first time I saw him…and we gave Dr. Alfonso some medicine for his mother…that Manela had gotten for him…another HOME RUN !! (especially when there was a chance that we would not even be able to play at all)

The sisters with their little cabs were waiting for us outside….another fun ride back to the hotel/convent…..Austin spotted a café on the side of the road and we stopped for some Cubans and more water….

We got back to the convent and the Americans looked worn out (trying to keep up with Austin will do that to people….lol)….i suggested we take naps before our next advantage….Craig and his son took my advice literaly and down they went….Austin could not sit still in our room (Even with ESPN) and we went out for a walk…

Day 1 (night)

Day 1 (night)

So we enter the convent….it has an open court yard with a water fountain and you can hear the birds chirping….so peaceful

The nun behind the counter is very nice and lets me know that Pedro Alfonso (our connection for basketball) had called and asked me to call him when we got in….there is a FREE phone behind the counter (there is also a pay phone by the stairs)

I call Pedro and he agrees to meet us for dinner with his son (a Havana university grad who met Brandon last time and has exchanged emails with Brandon since Christmas)

We check out the rooms and they are GREAT….A/C…TV with 13 channels including the very important ESPN…it is about 9 pm and we go out to the Beer Garden which is at the corner of Plaza Vieja…

We order one of the TALL beers you see in the picture….everyone orders dinner…the young boy getting a burger…lol…and Austin notice it comes with a FREE beer…he reminds the waiter…lol

About an hour into the meal, Dr. Alfonso and his son arrive…and also order the burgers…(Austin reminds the waiter about the FREE beer….lol)…we order another tall beer..and later on another….final bill was $50

Craig asks me several times if this could be possible…..7 people ate and 3 tall beers for only $50…welcome to Cuba (but don’t wait too long…these prices are surely to go up once they Americanize Havana….soon very soon)

While we are eating and talking (Dr. Alfonso is having a great conversation with Craig about the Olympics in Seoul and Cuban sports in general)…we are delighted to hear that indeed we will be able to play hoops at 12 noon on Friday with some coaches and players at the same place we played last time

A magician shows up at our table…he is fantastic…definitely a Las Vegas act….he performs magic tricks with cards for about an hour….we are all laughing and there are about 20 people watching…including the Polacia…the Magician made our $50 disappear at the end…but it was ok…he was worth it…HOMERUN !!....what a great way to start our trip

It was 11 pm and we decided to go for a little walk…and then headed back to the rooms, got to bed by 1 am watching ESPN