The hotel is very nice. It has a central water fountain surrounded by a lounge area and overlooked by the upper balconies where our rooms are located.
After breakfast we walked in the rain to various places in the colonial part of town, which is a UNESCO site and very nicely preserved
Our first stop was a typical Bodega or market. Very small but has most of what one may need to prepare meals. The meat and bread markets are separate stores.
We then went to a Ration store where the poor can get beans and rice, maybe some flour or sugar, milk in a box or powdered milk. But not enough to feed a family for a month.
We stopped at a Casas Particulares or what we might call a Bed and Breakfast and visited with the owners son. Private enterprise is allowed but inspections and taxes are increasing all the time, making it harder to earn a living.
The Temple de Yemaya is a two room center where people gather to worship as Santeria (pronounced santa ree ah).The Baba Losh or priest explained that this religion is a blending of Nigeria and Cuba and is based on the natural elements of water, air, fire and earth. This temple used water and had an alter set up with various sizes and shapes of glasses filled with water. He explained that there is only one God but they find links between saints and natural elements. ( It is not voodoo.) In this temple the water is the most important element and is the link to the Virgin Mary. In one corner they had a black Mary holding a white baby Jesus. Santeria are baptized by the Catholic Church. Music and dance are important ways of expressing their faith.
We visited the Museo de Architecture. The docent pointed ou the various ceilings, walls, doors and windows seen in the homes from 1700-1900’s. In the courtyard of the museum was a row of bathrooms with the last being a room to house the shower. All fixtures were from the US before the embargo.
After shopping on the square we had lunch in a lovely home at tables that were set for a formal banquet. Music and dance accompanied our meal of lobster.
After lunch we watched a master potter mold bowls and vases on a clay wheel at Casa del Alfarero. Then we drove to a small village outside of town where slaves used to work the sugar plantations and the the sugar mills. The tower we climbed had steep and narrow stairs and was used to keep an eye on the slaves.
After our dinner at the Palador Sol Ananda, a private restaurant where we again had lobster tails, the men visited with the owner about running a business in Cuba.
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