No blue sky today in Havana

   Glenn came to Havana from London. He told me he had some expectations about this visit and guess which was number one? He was anxious to see our sunny sky…but, unfortunately, there was no blue sky today.

   It was cloudy all day long. Glenn doesn´t know it was easier to walk our narrowed streets and climb to see the Christ of Havana without the strong sun rays killing us, but even I missed the blue of our sky, especially when I saw these photos.  I hope tomorrow Glenn can finally discover the real colors of this island.

 

 

 

   For our second day tour we are planning to visit the modern part of the city and of course I’m going to share some details about it with you. (Glenn gave me permission to share these special moments)

   I promised him more than 4 paragraphs, but we walked so hard today that my feet hurt. So I swear I´m going to write a longer text after tomorrow (only if my feet survive these long walks)

No matter how hard life can be, Art always brings happiness.

Once I heard that slogan and I felt it was a strong idea. Sometimes people wonder how could cubans resist so many adversities. Then I always have an answer “we bet on art”

I had the chance to make a tour with a very peculiar couple. She was born in Peru and he is a British man. Both of them wanted to know a little about Cuba and I shared the last 3 hours of his holidays in this Island.

This was not a common tour. We visited the wonderful squares, we talked about the arquitecture and History of Havana, but we specially devoted some time to art. That´s  how we entered that singular workshop and met some artists.

Together we admired that amazing painting and finally bought some books from Carilda Oliver Labra, Carpentier, and Daniel Chavarría. I hope Susi and her daughter can enjoy them they I did.

 Art and love are an endless source of inspiration. We Cubans know that. So I hope Susi and her friendly husband Paco, took some inspiration from us.

The Revolution Square, a special stop in our tour

The Revolution Square is a very special stop in our tours. Jan, Jennifer and Carl did enjoy that visit. From the view point they could admire the great views of Vedado, so different from Old Havana.

 Jennifer´s passion for photography, Carl´s nice smile and Jan´s useful comments made the difference during the tour.

I really appreciated their company and I hope my own experience helped a lot to have a better understanding of my people.

 

 Jan is going to love these photos and she is probably going to smile and cherish the diges she bought in Havana for her gold chain.

 

Gardens and courtyards in Old Havana

His suitcase did not arrive on time, but it didn´t   affect his happiness (at least not for a long time) Laura was already waiting for Jorge in Reina´s house in Havana.  She kept her promise “not to visit Old Havana till he arrived” and on Friday, October 4^th I was introducing this lovely couple to my city.

It´s very easy to talk when you see that surprise smile. They really enjoyed the narrow cobbled streets, the spirit of this people and specially those amazing gardens in typical courtyards.

They couldn´t stop taking photos. Cuban music, people coming and going and the rhythm of the restoration made the difference.  Jorge and Laura insisted on telling me that “coming to Cuba was a great  choice”. I have no doubt about it after looking at their happiness on these photos.

Vicente and Luciana are in love with Havana

Luciana and Vicente live in Brazil, but spent a few days in Cuba. The first time I saw them, they were having breakfast at Reina´s House in Havana. Right behind them, was the most typical view of this country.

After a few minutes they were ready to meet Old Havana. I was their guide in a very nice city tour. They had lots of questions and I did my best to help them understand our reality.

They loved our wooden street (calle de madera) and saw some Cubans working on the restoration program. Some of them are very experienced, but also young people contribute to the beauty of this ancient city.

It´s hard to express all those emotions portrait on their faces. Vicente and Luciana admire this Caribbean Island and it makes me feel so proud!Thanks for all those beautiful words and wish the best to you both.

And you, Luciana, keep smiling that way, especially when Vicente gets a little nervous hahaha.