An Afternoon Drive around Havana

More of Havana, Cuba

We have scheduled a 3:30 meeting with a local tour guide with Blexie-Havana Tours.  We were to meet Romilio at a cafe near the cruise ship.  There were many opportunities to book a taxi tour along the route, but we already have a plan.  Romilio saw me and called to me right away, then asked for Amy.  Once the five of us were introduced, Romilio negotiated a car and driver for the afternoon. Michael and his 1958 Chevy Impala (with the original engine).

Most of the cars have been converted to diesel over the past 50 years.  We explained that we had seen Old Town and were now looking to go further afield, with dinner reservations at 7pm.

We had a list of sights we wanted, and Romilio had some additional for us to see in the time we had.

The Christ of Havana (Spanish: Cristo de La Habana) is a large sculpture representing Jesus of Nazareth on a hilltop overlooking the bay in Havana, Cuba. It is the work of the Cuban sculptor Jilma Madera, who won the commission for it in 1953.

Romilio, John, and our ship.  The view from the Christ Statue.

The harbor lighthouse and some street art.

The Malecón (officially Avenida de Maceo) is a broad esplanade, roadway, and seawall which stretches for 8 km (5 miles) along the coast in Havana, Cuba, from the mouth of Havana Harbor in Old Havana, along the north side of the Centro Habana neighborhood, ending in the Vedado neighborhood

The Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine (Spanish: Monumento a las víctimas del Maine) was built in 1925 in on the Malecón boulevard at the end of Línea street, in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, built in honor of the American sailors who died in the explosion of USS Maine in 1898, which served as the pretext for the United States to declare war on Spain thus starting the Spanish–American War. The ship had anchored at Havana three weeks previously at the request of American Consul Fitzhugh Lee.

La Fábrica de Arte Cubano is an art gallery and club in Havana, Cuba. The Fábrica's gallery and stage were established inside of a former cooking oil factory and has since gained notoriety as one of Havana's premier nightclubs and art galas.

A drive through the Jardín Botánico Nacional

El Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba to replace the Espada Cemetery in the Barrio de San Lázaro. Named for Christopher Columbus, the cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. It is estimated the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums. Before the Espada Cemetery and Colon Cemetery were built, interments took place in crypts at the various churches throughout Havana, for example, at the Havana Cathedral or the Iglesia del Espíritu Santo File: Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, Havana master sepulchre.jpg in Havana Vieja.

Square of the Revolution ( Spanish pronunciation:  [plasa ðe la reβolusjon] ), "Revolution Square", is a municipality (or borough) and a square in Havana , Cuba .

The municipality, one of the 15 forming the city, stretches from the square down to the sea at the Malecón and includes the Vedado district.

John Lennon Park or Parque John Lennon (formerly known as Parque Menocal) is a public park, located in the Vedado district in Havana, Cuba.

The classic cars are all registered with the Cuban government and are considered national treasures.  To the point that non-Cubans are actually forbidden to drive them.

Then we stopped at the National Hotel and had cocktails overlooking the Caribean Ocean.

The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, which opened in December 1930. Located on the seafront of the Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering a commanding view of the Malecón, Havana Harbor, and the city.