Jack's Blog

Jack and I hit the ground running our first full day in Havana, Cuba.

We woke in the apartment, which we are lucky to have, and turned on the telvision which has only one channel. The parade had begun, yet it was only eight in the morning. Raul Castro spoke.

People say he is not a good public speaker, but he had a commanding voice, though he did pause often, perhaps because his pages blew in the wind.

The question of the day was if Fidel would make an appearance on this, his 80th birthday celebration. If he did, we would be there with the camera.

Thousands of Cubans wore revolutionary red and waved miniature flags, chanting things like, “Fidel si, Yankee no…Fidel si, Yankee no!” Jack and I picked up flags from the ground, waved them to the beat, and turned down the main road to the Plaza de La Revolucion. Somehow, we ended up IN THE PARADE!

We paraded past all the Cuban bigshots and their guests, including Raul Castro, and I believe Gabriel Garcia Marquez, though I’m not certain. News crews such as Fox and AP were on the sidelines, watching us as we beat our flags and shouted “Viva!” with the sea of Cuban comrades.

Unfortunately, no Fidel sighting, which means he must not feel well enough even to put in just a quick, Michael Jackson style appearance. Was this 80th birthday celebration more of a farewell, a strategic segway from Castro? One cannot yet be sure.

Afterwards, to celebrate our good luck marching in the parade, Jack and I went to the Bodeguita de Medio, famous for mojitos. It is full of tourists, so you can’t have a peaceful mojito like they did in Hemingway’s time (plus they are about four dollars a pop), but since they did invent the damn thing it will stay on my list.

This bartender claims to have made 500,000 mojitos in the last 15 years, and I believe him.

Jack and I enjoy his creations: