Early at it on Monday morning with the whole gang on deck for our first excursion, "Colonial Havana". Our tour left at 7:45... And after a couple pick ups we hit the highway for Matanzas City. Great bus with all the amenities. Monica sat by our guide, Fidel Diaz, and they got along swimmingly!

It's about two hours to Havana from Varadero, but the guide did well breaking up the time and keeping everyone occupied. We entered the city via the tunnel that drills under Havana Bay, then drove the concrete Malecon along the coastline. It was busy with cars, walkers, tour buses and fishing rods dangling in the harbour. The area has definitely seen better days, and most of the street side buildings were in a dilapidated condition. We then took Paseo to Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square) and saw the industry buildings with the metal structures of Che and Camillo on the facia. Also, across the street is the Jose Marti monument that overlooks the square, often used for political rallies. After another brief bus ride we got to the El Capitolio and roamed the area for roughly 15-20 minutes.

We then struck back across the tunnel to the fort on the other side of the bay. The fort, Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, has a commanding view of Havana and her harbour, with characteristic huge walls and lined with defunct period cannons. After our tour (and the smell of finest Cohibas stogies in the gift shop), we broke for lunch at La Divina Pastora La Tasca, a ranch style restaurant set below the fort that looks back at the city of Havana across the harbour. Lunch was excellent, as we were served up fish, a fancy blue cocktail and some superb Cuban entertainment. It was a gorgeous vantage point for Havana.

In the afternoon we crossed back into city and visited the Havana Club Rum Museum (Old Havana), or Museo del Ron. We were held up for a few minutes, as two groups ahead slowed the pace. Once inside we went to the second floor of the converted colonial building, having an open square to the sky at the centre. Our guide provided brief glimpses of the early days of sugar cane production, as well as the distilling, cashing and blending processes. A lasting remark from her was based in the concept that harvesting sugar cane (thus the making of molasses and rum) was intrinsically linked to slavery. On the way out we all got a sample of the 7 year "Old Havana" product. Smooth...

Fidel then took us on a walking tour through Old Havana (Habana Vieja). We stopped at several plazas to admire the architecture and even some restoration work. The first site, Plaza Vieja stood out as perhaps the best restored and most colorful, with before and after signage posted in front of each building. The second plaza, Plaza de San Francisco de Asis was an open area nestled around a statue of St Francis Assissi. We stopped further down "Oficios" at Plaza de Armas, with its vast open book market of the writings of Fidel, Che, Camilo and others, as well as a unique "wooden street", designed as such to keep the noise of horses and carts to a minimum. The last plaza, with chairs to serve cocktails and lunch to tourists, is the site of the Catedral de San Cristobal, in Plaza de la Catedral. We went inside long enough to take a brief walk through to see the the inside and pass by the alter. A final stop on our walking tour was a busy "piña colada" bar with our tour bus conveniently parked alongside.
Our last piece of business in Havana was the incredible dockside Flea Market. Aisles of vendors selling souvenirs, food and drink, clothing and Art took up the majority of the warehouse. We spent about an hour roaming, the area with everyone picking up a little something! Hard driving entrepreneurs, and quick to mark up the price for the gringos wandering around.

Havana was a real eye opener. In Varadero you are so very insulated from what Cuba is... Leaving the shelter of the resort should be mandatory! One quickly gets a sense for the resourcefulness, resilience and character the citizens exude, under many points of adversity.