As luck would have it, the day before our trip Don was talking to his friend C. C said the highlight of his trip twelve years earlier was Fusterlandia. Senor Fuster was inspired by Gaudi's Parc Guell, so he created a similar place in Havana. Reading the description, and seeing pictures, I thought more of Isaiah Zayas' Magic Garden on South Street in Philadelphia. Hearing Don talk about it, I knew we would go, it was just a matter of when and how. According to our daily schedule, our only free time was Sunday afternoon. Fusterlandia was open until 4, but unlike most other places that was the time for last entrance, not the time we had to leave. By the time we left the craft market and got back to the hotel, Lian had three taxis waiting for us. For $40, each taxi would take us to Fusterlandia and wait to take us back ($10 for each rider). The ride was about 30 minutes into a neighborhood where we were not likely to find another taxi on our own.
Last month I took a photography class. My biggest take away was to be intentional when I took pictures. That lesson was thrown out the taxi window. I just snapped away and hoped something would turn out. I did not have time to absorb, appreciate, and enjoy, only time to snap and keep moving. Don was the same.
Just like in Philadelphia, Senor Fuster's neighbors encouraged him to spread his artwork throughout the barrio. Wendy and Ruth were good sports and went with us to see some of the art on the neighboring streets. If Don and I were alone, we would have spent much more time so it was a good thing they were there to be our conscious!
We even had time at the hotel to shower and change before meeting up at 5:45 pm for dinner and a choir concert.
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