Papa Hemingway — Captain Father John

On Thursday we visited the estate of the famous author Ernest Hemingway. His 10 acre estate is now a museum. Ernest Hemingway’s first trip to Havana was in 1938. He was on a ship traveling from Spain to Key West and the ship stopped in Havana. He was only in Havana for 48 hours but he fell in love with the city and returned there every year after that. His wife saw an advertisement to rent an estate with a hilltop view of Havana. They visited it and Papa said he didn’t like it and went fishing for four days. When he returned from fishing his wife had rented the estate and moved all their possessions in. A turning point in Hemingway’s life came during his second safari to Africa in 1954. The plane he was flying on crashed in Africa on while returning from the safari. The plane that was sent to rescue him also crashed with Hemingway and his wife onboard. The newspapers announced that Hemingway and his wife died in the plane crash.

He became obsessed with his own mortality and sank into a deep alcoholic depression that was exacerbated by severe diabetes and liver disease. He committed suicide in Montana on July 2, 1961 at the age of 63. He left an unfinished manuscript at his home in Cuba.

Hemingway installed a roller on the stern of Pilar to make it easier to bring the marlin onboard.

Next we went to Cojimar the sea coast town where Hemingway wrote about the Old Man and the Sea. We also had a mojito in one of Papa’s favorite bars the La Terraza De Cojimar. In the afternoon we strolled around old Havana and had lunch and a daiquiri at the Floridita restaurant. Papa Hemingway complained to the bartender that the daiquiri is like a soft drink. He created his own recipe called the Papa daiquiri which has half the sugar and twice the rum.

A Spanish fort in Cojimar.

Gabe and Angela in Cojimar.

Later in the afternoon we visited a hotel lobby and bought a hour of WIFI time for $10. It appears the world has continued to spin despite the fact that we have been disconnected. The WIFI at the El Dorado Cafe next to the boat has not worked in quite a while. When things break in Cuba the repair time can be infinite because they have no spare parts. I wandered around in the dark looking for the Harbormaster’s office. He said we could use his WIFI. Eventually I found the office and tried to log on. It turns out I need a user name and password that can only be obtained by buying a WIFI card from the Aquatic hotel. The hotel is about a 2 mile round trip walk. I headed back to the boat and mention to the security guard that I cannot use the WIFI because I do not have a card. He says he has two one hour cards I can have. The cards cost $1.50 for one hour so I give him $5.00.

We had a new guest join us. Richard who has known Gabe for 20 years flew into Havana to meet him. They had talked about getting together in Havana for many years and now it has happened. Richard lives in Connecticut and has two teenage daughters. The family has lived in Australia twice once in France. Richard graduated from Northeastern University in 1986. I graduated from there in 1974.

Richard and Gabe.

We went to dinner at a rooftop walk up restaurant called La Guarida. Gabe said don’t be alarmed that it looks like a bombed out crack house. The entrance to the restaurant did look like a set from an apocalyptic movie with nefarious looking characters lurking around a dark dilapidated building with deteriorating walls covered in graffiti. There is also Fidel’s manifesto and a painting of a young Fidel on the staircase wall.

Viva Fidel

It is a five story walk up to the restaurant and another three stories to the roof. The panoramic view from the rooftop is worth the climb. They have built a large picture frame on the oceanside ledge to outline the city. The food is excellent and also worth the climb. On the way home at 12:30 am our driver Miguel stopped at new disco bar called The Up and Down. The music was so loud it was painful. We left immediately and returned to the boat at 1:00 am. There were still sailors in the bar the marina.

Miguel described life under socialism. He said everyone has access to a free education, housing and healthcare. Our healthcare costs is $3.00 per day per person for full access to the Cuban healthcare system. Children are required to attend school through high school. If their grades are good they can choose to go to the university. If their grades are low they enter the trades as plumbers, carpenters, electricians, police, military, etc.. If they attend the university they can continue for an advanced degree in medicine. The students select their own course of study. Upon graduation the government places them in a job that fits their skills somewhere in the country. You are required to move to the location and are given housing. A family of three is assigned a one room apartment. Each family receives ration cards and can go to the commissary once per month. They receive five pounds of flour, five pounds of rice, five ponds of sugar and some other staples. They may get small portions of chicken and pork. With the $24 per month ( yes, per month) that they receive as pay from the government they can buy additional food on the parallel market. The farmers are allowed to sell a small portion of their crops at farmers markets. Up until 1980 there were also ration cards for clothes. It was possible to get one pair of pants or one shirt per month but not both pants and a shirt. Cuba has three main exports – cigars, rum and doctors. Cuba sends doctors around the world to work in third world countries. They charge $1,000 per month and pay the doctors $24 per month. That is a good profit margin.

Smoking is encouraged in Cuba. There are no smoking restrictions. You can smoke a cigar in the restaurant, you can smoke a cigar while checking into your hotel and smoke in the elevator and in your hotel room.

The Cuban government has no tolerance for drink driving. Miguel shared a story about his brother’s recent experience with the police. He had one beer at lunch around noon. At 11:00 pm he was driving and was pulled over for a routine traffic stop. He was given a breathalyzer test and registered .005. His driver’s license was suspended for six months.

On Friday morning we visited the Partagas cigar factory. They make seven brands of cigars including Cohiba. There are 250 cigar rollers employed in the factory. They work 5 days a week two weeks per month and six days per week the other two weeks per month from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. They are expected to roll 80 to 150 cigars per day depending on the type of cigar. If they roll more than their quota of cigars per day they get a small bonus. If they achieve their quota of cigars per day they are allowed to take five cigars to smoke or sell.i

We had lunch in old Havana at the Cafe Del Oriente. This is an elegant restaurant with waiters wearing tuxedos and table side preparation of salads. We did not have a mojito at lunch today. After lunch we strolled around old Havana and viewed the Spanish architecture, courtyards and many sculptures.

Our next stop was the Havana Club rum factory. The guided tour explained the history of the brand and how the Bacardi family fled Cuba after the revolution. The government couldn’t let a perfectly good rum factory go to waste so they nationalized it and started producing the Havana Club rum. They have a secret formula and secret fast acting yeast that gives Havana Club rum its unique flavor. They also use old whiskey kegs to age the rum.

We will be in Havana for one more day and plan to drive to the south side of the island to visit the infamous Bay of Pigs. There is a history museum and restaurant in the Bay of Pigs.

On Sunday our plan is to sail west for a day or two before turning south and eventually east to Santiago de Cuba.

The good ship Pilar. You can see how well positioned we are to the El Dorado bar/cafe.