"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit...” Aristotle
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(Vintage cars at the Capitol) |
Day 15: 03/07/25 (Thursday)
Activity: Havana City Tour
Hotel: Home in La Havana, Cuba
0ld Havana or La Habana Vieja is the city center and one of the fifteen municipalities forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana.
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(A morning view from our apartment) |
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(A public park in front of our apartment) |
Our lodging was in the old Quarters Havana. During the day, the park in front of the apartment was not as busy and as noisy as when it was at night. Although this area attracts a lot of visitors, there are still a lot of residential buildings. Many old buildings in the southern half of Havana Vieja have been transformed into apartments, and some of these apartments are available for visitors to rent.
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(Narrow streets in Havana Vieja} |
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(A typical front facade of a shop) |
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(A small park, our meeting place with our tour guide) |
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(Meeting brother Hamzah, a local Muslim) |
The bronze statue of Simon Bolivar stands in a small park at the corner of Mercaderes and Obrapia streets in Havana's Old Town. This statue honors Simon Bolivar, the Latin American liberator, and is situated in a serene park setting. The peaceful atmosphere reflect on Bolivar's legacy in this tranquil environment.
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(The statue of Simon Bolivar) |
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(The Conversation sculpture) |
Mr. Rollie, our tour guide was a little late as his motorbike broke down on the way to meet us. Our walking tour with Rollie covered most of the old buildings and historical sites of The Old Quarter of Havana. We walked through the streets with the quaint historical buildings. Each building has a story to share.
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(A beautiful vibrant Portuguese Cafe) |
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(Local scenes: A gypsy and a flower girl) |
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(One of the many sidewalk cafes in old town) |
Hotel Ambos Mundos, also known as the Hemingway Hotel is built with a square form with five floors. It has an eclectic set of characteristics of 20th-century style architecture. It was built in 1924 on a site that previously had been occupied by an old family house on the corner of Calle Obispo and Mercaderes (Bishop and Merchants Streets) in Old Havana. It is a frequent tourist destination because it was home to the popular writer Ernest Hemingway for seven years in the 1930.
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(The famous Ambos Mundos Hotel) |
The Museum of Mural Painting is housed in a historic building considered to be the oldest house in Havana, on the gloomy Calle Obispo , in the historic center of the city. This museum brings together, explains, and encourages exploration of the diverse pictorial treasures found on the walls and facades of some of Old Havana's buildings both contemporary and those created during the city's various artistic periods. The foundation occupies the upper and lower parts of the house, including the entrance hall, the gallery, and the courtyard. The museum is equipped with various panels with historical information.
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(El Templete Monument) |
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(The 1st town hall meeting in 1519) |
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(Three large historical canvas paintings) |
Legend has it that both the first religious ceremony and first council meeting for Havana took place under the shade of the Ceiba tree. Ceiba trees were highly revered by the indigenous inhabitants of Cuba, who were all wiped out by genocide and disease when Cuba became a Spanish colony. For the Africans brought here as slaves to replace them, the ceiba tree filled the void left by the absence of their beloved baobabs. People all over the Caribbean and in various parts of South American attribute magical-religious powers to these trees.
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(The Ceiba tree brought in by the Africans) |
Plaza de San Francisco de Asis Square was built facing Havana port in the 16th century, when Spanish galleons would stop here on their way through the Indies to Spain. It currently functions as a gateway to the city. Here you can find a lot of pleasant cafes and restaurants.. Throughout the first few decades of the 15th century the square had a market and, in 1608, a church. The market was moved to the Plaza Vieja Square after monks complained about the noise.
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(The fortress is a Shipwreck Museum) |
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(The lookout tower is crown with weather vane, La Giraldilla) |
Plaza de Armas is a historic square in Old Havana. It is a significant landmark, known for its colonial architecture and as a central gathering place. The monument to Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was erected in 1955, replacing a statue of the unpopular Spanish king Ferdinand VII, symbolizing Cuba's path to independence. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is known as the "Father of the Homeland," he was a Cuban sugar mill owner who freed his slaves in 1868 and initiated the Ten Years' War for Cuban independence from Spain.
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(Carlos Manuel de Céspedes) |
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(The entrance to the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales) |
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(A worker replacing wooden brick in front of the palace) |
While taking photos of the street art of Old Quarter of Havana we found a statue of José María López Lledin, an elegant vagabond known as El Caballero de Paris who wandered the streets of Havana and was a well-known cult figure.
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(Vibrant water colour paintings for sales) |
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(A statue of José María López Lledin, an elegant vagabond) |
Walking in the hot summer sun around Havana Vieja was quite exhausting and we were drenched in sweat. We had a coffee break at one of the plaza cafe and watched people go about their businesses in Plaza de San Francisco de Asis.
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(A church converted into Museum of Sacred Art and Concert Avenue) |
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(Having a cup of coffee and a lot of water) |
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(The statue of Frederick Chopin at Plaza San Francisco) |
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(The statue of Eusebio Leal Spengler, Cuban historian) |
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(A gentleman smoking Cuban cigar) |
At Plaza Vieja we headed to the Camera Obscura, an optical device mounted atop a 1909 building that projects a real-time 360° view of the colonial streets below. There was a small entrance fee and a guide to explain the landmarks. There is a rooftop terrace with a panoramic view.
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(The interior view of the mosque) |
The National Capitol of Cuba, also known as Capitolio Nacional de La Habana, is a public edifice in Havana, the capital of Cuba. The building was commissioned by Cuban president Gerardo Machado and built from 1926 to 1929 under the direction of Eugenio Rayneri Piedra.
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(A vintage car and the Capitol Building) |
At the end of the tour, we went to El Chanchullero Restaurant but it was full and the queue was long. Instead we went to a chick D' Lirios Restaurant located in front of the Capitol Building. Large portion of Caribbean and Cuban cuisines are served at D' Lirios. The unique characteristic of this place is the live baritone performance of their serving staff. It is considered to be one of the best restaurants in Havana.
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(D' Lirios Restaurant, one of the best restaurant in town) |
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(Having seafood dishes for lunch) |
We were back at our apartment for solat jamak before we went out again to explore the other parts of Havana. We rented two trishaws to Jose Marti Mercado for souvenirs hunting. There was a misunderstanding at the end of the ride. Unsurprisingly, we ended up paying double than the agreed rental rate. We were earlier warned of scammers, conmen and pick-pockets in the old.Havana.
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(Kilometer 0 Cafe in the Old Quarters) |
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(The park in front of our apartment) |
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(Trishaws peddlers, beware of scammers) |
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(The easy way to move around town) |
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(Argument on the unfair price) |
Mercado de Artesania is a huge warehouse, sitting on the docks of Havana bay. It is home to numerous vendors who sell goods, artifacts, curios and paintings. Once you go here, you probably will have seen it all in the old town of Havana. Vendors know some English, most will bargain, and some will force you to buy their products so one has to be careful and ask about the price. We bought some fridge magnets and duffel bags from here.
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(Mercado de Artesania was once a warehouse) |
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(A huge warehouse by the Havana Bay) |
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(Choosing souvenirs to bring home) |
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(Fridge magnets and car number plates) |
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(Memorabilia and Cuban t-shirts) |
Havana is full of history, and there is plenty to see besides Spanish architectures and attractions in the old city. From Jose Marti Mercado, we hired a Classic Car taxi for the afternoon tour to see the other part of Havana city. We had to cross the bay to get to Casablanca on the other side of the harbour.
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(1946 Chevrolet Stylemaster for our taxi tour) |
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(Many vintage cars to choose from) |
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(A Coco Taxi, a distinctive form of taxi only in Cuba) |
Our first stop was at the Plaza de La Revolucion where many political rallies take place and Fidel Castro and other political figures address Cubans. The square is dominated by the José Martí Memorial. Opposite the memorial are the offices of the Ministries of the Interior and Communications, whose facades feature matching steel memorials of the two most important deceased heroes of the Cuban Revolution: Che Guevara, with the quotation "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (Ever Onward to Victory) and Camilo Cienfuegos, with the quotation "Vas bien, Fidel" (You're doing fine, Fidel).
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(Cuba sign located near the historic Hotel Nacional de Cuba) |
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(Cuba sign on the Malecon in Havana) |
Not far was the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, one of the Americas' largest colonial forts, built in the 18th century. Cannon‑firing ceremony is held here at 9 pm daily and could be seen from the Old Havana.
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(The Fort of San Carlos de la Cabana) |
We visited the Christ of Havana, a majestic 20 m marble statue of Christ overlooking Havana Bay, sculpted in 1958 from Italian Carrara marble. There is a panoramic terrace perfect for sunrise or sunset city views.
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(The Christ of Havana statue) |
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(The panoramic view of Havana Harbor) |
Che Guevara"s house is located near the Christ statue. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, better known as El Ché, is one of the most important and symbolic figures during and after the Cuban Revolution. His likeness has become synonymous with revolutionary grit. It has transcended from his iconic heroism into a pop culture phenomenon whose image is used on everything from coffee mugs, ceramics, and pullovers - to statues, iron busts, and murals worldwide. Comandancia del Che is a Military History Museum. The museum includes a downed US plane from the Missile Crisis. There are many outdoor exhibits rich in Cold War history.
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(The house of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna) |
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(The outdoor exhibits of cold war history) |
Back at the Home In La Habana we went for more souvenir hunting at the souvenir shops next to our apartment.
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(Havana Vieja at night) |
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