After rough night managed to get up and packed for pick up to Havana. Back to hotel Tejadillo and bed for me. Nasty tummy bug or something completely laid me out.
Pissed down with rain for much of the journey so didn’t feel too bad about not getting out. Managed to get out for about an hour in the evening. My travelling buddy had done a good rekky so we were able to focus me on getting orientated.
Feeling decidedly more perky by next morning but still not able to eat much (not necessarily a bad thing by this point!), lined up somewhere to stay for our next few stops then spent the day wandering around Havana.
Turned out to be very educational. We ran into this old Cuban guy “Frank†whose family was Jamaican and had come to Cuba in the ’30’s so he was raised in Cuba from very young. Got chatting to him on a bench and he turned out to be an “unofficial tour guide” hustling. But… He was very knowledgeable, knew his history and politics, and was a great raconteur.
Getting “Franks’s” insights into Cuba before and after the revolution was really interesting. He also took us a bit more off the beaten track into China Town, the slum areas as well as telling the stories behind some of the buildings and stuff on the more conventional sight seeing map.
In the evening took a stroll along the sea wall – Malecón, and watched the world go by.
Next day had a bit of a relapse so spent a lot it sitting around in old Havana a few short strides from our hotel. Early bus to Trinidad next morning meant another early night was desirable and the pissing rain helped encourage us off the streets and back to our hotel room.