Complete Cuba Day 10

Day 10 - Saturday, January 18, 2014 - Breakfast at the Hotel; Depart Hotel; Visit Museum of the Revolution; Lunch at Doña Eutimia; Driving Tour of Havana; Transfer to Airport; Charter Flight to Miami; Night at Miami Airport Marriott.

Today was our last day in Cuba. We have learned so much, as well as having a new appreciation for the Cuban people.

We ate a late breakfast at the hotel and then went out on the streets to explore. Because of the high waves, the Malecon was closed so we went to the Galleria, the largest shopping in the area.

Most of the store spaces were empty, but a few held businesses for clothing, household goods, and there was also a supermarket. The largest number of stores were liquor stores.

The shelves in the supermarket were almost empty. There were a few varieties of staple goods, but for the most part Cubans have few choices for spending their hard earned CUCs.

Boli asked us to come to his room at 11:00 to view his video production of our Cuban Adventure. He also gave each of us a thumb drive with the presentation so we can share it with friends and family at home.

We collected our passports and then went back to the room to finish packing. Boris and Claudia came at 12:15 and we stored all of the luggage and the day packs on the bus.

There were two Classic American cars waiting for us to take us on a visit to a few more places in the city. Our car was a red and white 1956 Chevy. The other car was a green 1954 Chevy.

Julio, our driver, negotiated the relatively heavy Saturday traffic. The taxis were very busy; the Classic cars were everywhere, taking us back to the 1950's and 1960's, the days of our youth!

Julio drove us up to the gigantic Christ of Havana Monument and park. We were able to get fantastic panorama photos of the port and the city below.

We also visited the Che Guevara home and museum. The views were incredible and the weather really cooperated for our last day in Cuba.

The Castillo de Los Tres Reyes del Morro, a Spanish fort was our next stop. Built in 1589 and in operation until 1640, it was in great shape, meant to withstand canon fire as well as hurricanes.

There was a mix up in our lunch reservations that were made for noon. It was 2:00 by the time we arrived at the famous Doña Eutimia Restaurante. Instead we ate next door at Restaurante Paladar Victor, where there was a nice breeze from the bay.

Our choices for our last meal in Cuba were shrimp, chicken, pork or lobster. We chose the lobster! Again our side dishes were beans and rice, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, and banana chips.

Claudia took us to the Museum of the Revolution located in the former Presidential Palace. She went with us and pointed out all of the important documents and photographs of the collection.

At 4:00 Boris drove us to the Jose Marti Airport at 4 PM for our charter flight to Miami. The flight was supposed to depart at 7, but at 7:30, nothing...

There were no gate agents, the departure board still said On Time, and the five of us were getting concerned. The Cuban Nationals did not seemed stressed at all. This might be a regular occurrence.

There was still no plane but the board was changed to a 90 minute delay. At 8:30 the plane arrived from Miami, YEAH! We boarded a shuttle bus at 9:00 that took us to our SkyKing/SunCountry charter flight.

Our assigned seats were in the very back, right next to the rest rooms. There were plenty of seats so right before take off, the flight attendant asked us if we would be willing to move up to row 14 and be responsible for the Exit row.

We gladly moved, settled in, and by 9:30 we were off the ground. The forty minute flight went smoothly and in no time, we were landing at Miami International Airport.

Immigration was easy, there is a new computerized system, all touch screen automatic. The only thing was, it did not like Vic, might just have been the "born in Brazil" issue. We went through the personal check in and we were fine.

Because of that glitch, we had to go through another customs check. Once the agent saw our angelic faces, asked a few questions, we were granted access back home in the USA!

We caught the Miami Airport Marriott shuttle and we were at the hotel by 11:00pm. We were extremely tired and ready for our overnight stay.

Accommodations: MIAMI AIRPORT MARRIOTT - - - Meal: B, L, D

Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Previous Next

Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.

Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

Continue Reading Day 13