On Tour With Robert Plant In Havana

A beautifully warm and sunny day greeted everyone on boarding the bus for the guided tour of Havana. The journey itself was an education, again seeing the different types and quality of buildings, cars and the Cuban people going about their daily business. Not all of the cars driven by Cubans are as classy as might be imagined!

After a short drive the bus stopped in one of Havana’s suburbs, the name of which escapes me, but which was home to one of the several rum factories in the area. To see a small factory producing such a class product is quite something, the workers seemed very proud of what they did and rightly so as the free samples offered proved. This sort of small-scale, high quality, industry would have been seen in the UK before the big businesses took them all over and it seems a shame that we have lost these.

Most people on the trip bought souvenirs and at the equivalent cost of just over a £1 for a bottle of rum (or Ron as the Cubans know it), of which there were many varieties, so those ready to move on waited on the balcony at the front of the factory. Despite it being very humid and comfortable enough for shorts and t-shirts small wet spots began appearing on the road, the origin of these spots becoming suddenly apparent when the heavens opened and the first of many tropical storms were experienced. A damp stroll back to the bus for the next stage in the journey was then undertaken and no sooner underway the sun returned.

Next stop was Revolution Square around which many government buildings exist including that occupied by Che Guevara when he was Finance Minister. (For further information on these click on the links). The square also is the location where many major parades and other events take place and should they take place on a day like when we visited it is difficult to believe that anyone could remain there for any length of time as it was absolutely scorching hot.

Getting back on the bus again, next stop was the Havana Fortress which protected the harbour from invaders from the North. From the Fortress there were great views of Havana including the Hotel and also grey clouds gathering in the distance which seemed to be heading towards the Fortress. Loud cracks of thunder together with flashes of lightning accompanied the clouds and it was clear the bus was the next stop.

As the rain began and got heavier and heavier it became apparent that any further sight-seeing was going to be impossible unless a soaking was deemed acceptable. So, we skipped the museum of the revolution to head back early to the hotel, the journey was again entertaining watching the Cuban children running about in the rain and laying in the huge puddles that soon appeared.


Arriving back at the hotel early another people-watching session in the garden enjoying a Mojito or three before tea was what was called for and on wandering down to the restaurant for a buffet tea, strangely with a similar selection of goodies as were available for breakfast awaited us and as I studied the pictures on the wall of the stairway on the way there. It seems that the hotel has had a great number of celebrities visit in the past.


Well I thought that if it was good enough for Robert Plant then it was certainly good enough for me!


More about Havana and celebrity next time and hopefully a couple of video's as well and once the Cuban adventure ends there may well be more on other issues including some political comment. Lucky you!