Cuba 6: Saturday Morning (Cruising about in our Chevrolet)

From the moment we landed in Cuba, we were asked to "be flexible." The only guarantee they could make about our trip was that it would not go smoothly and we had to accept that. It might be the hotel room didn't have soap, or the restaurant didn't have the food you wanted (such as eggs or yogurt for breakfast). Saturday morning it meant our guest speaker had a sudden health emergency and could not make it until Sunday. Meanwhile, come back in about a half an hour for "mmmmm," which was originally planned for Sunday morning. 

"Mmmmmm" turned out to be rides in classic cars. If you have seen any pictures of Cuba is involves a 1950's era American car. Road Scholar brought together seven of the shiniest convertible classic cars in shades ranging from Barbie pink to hot rod red with gleaming white interiors for us to take for a car parade. We climbed in. Before we started our driver took some pictures of Don and I, then he invited me to sit in the drivers seat. Made me instantly miss top down days in New Jersey (soon!!). I should add the time Martha and I went for a ride in a convertible in Cuba to the list of reasons why I wanted one for myself. 

The drivers formed a long parade of cars with Lian orchestrating the order. Though we started in the second car from the front, as we drove along the Malecon, soon the other cars were waving as they passed us and their driver played "La cucaracha" on their horns. It was quite a cacophony!

Some sights we passed in our 45-minute drive include the Parque Almendares (the largest park in Cuba), many embassies in the Miramar district, more old cars, the Chinese cemetery, and the famous Necropolis Christobal Colon (the fourth largest above ground cemeteries in the world).

Wendy from New Jersey took this picture of the car parade as we were driving.

Afterwards we took a group photo. Photo credit to Mike P. Our car had already left.

We ended in Revolution Square. To the left was a building with Che Guevera's face on it. To the right, Camilo Cienfuego. Thus began our learning about the times that led up to the 1959 revolution. 

In the bus Lian updated us on the life of Elian Gonzales. Back when he was five years old in 1999 (seems both like last year and a long, long time ago). Elian Gonzales's mother tried to smuggle the two of them into the United States on a raft. She died. He survived. His father fought to have the United States send him back to Cuba. It became a huge protest. Students were given food in exchange for participating. Today he is an industrial engineer and a deputy in the Cuban Congress.