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…