Courage is Grace under Pressure

A favourite quote and now a favourite place!

We gathered in the Darwin Lounge for our 2pm tour, Hemingways Trails, I was a little surprised to be getting a bus for a 2 hour walking tour, but discovered that came later, first we drove to the outskirts of Havana to Ernest Hemingways beautiful home

A pretty little house, sitting on top of a hill that you couldn’t help but fall in love with, cool interiors and tiled floors and stunning views over Havana, I could just imagine having my morning coffee on the patio before heading up to the tower studio

The afternoon was hot and sticky, so if there had been water in the swimming pool, there may have been a few more Ava Gardners among us, as she infamously swam naked here

We checked out the boat house with his pretty yacht Pilar, named I believe after his daughter, there was also a washroom & kitchen to keep his guests comfortable

From here we headed to the village of Kojimar said to be the setting for The Old Man of the Sea, enjoying a cocktail at Hemingways regular lunch spot

We had a short wander around the town, watched by the amused locals, Cubans love people watching!  The old cars were still here, but these were everyday family cars, not polished up for the tourists

And then it was back to Havana, for the walking & fun to begin!

We drank Daquiris at La Florida, where Hemingway allegedly drank 12 in an hour!  Here we chatted to some Americans keen to absorb the full Hemingway experience

Then we wandered through the streets to the hotel where Hemingway had spent his first years in Cuba and met this cool Cuban dude outside

Our final stop on the tour was Bodeguita del Medio home of the Mojito and guess who danced with the singer!

We drank our Mojitos and celebrated the fact that we’d only lost one tour participant along the way!

I’d seen this big Military Man and was sneakily trying to snap a pic of him, after all my efforts, he ended up at the same party as us!!!  Somewhere along the way we encountered Havanas Irish Street, my memory of where, exactly, may be a little shaded, with all those cocktails!

Back at the boat, a sensible person might have had a rest, but some other friends wanted to get off the ship and experience some real Cuban food, so that’s another story…..