To the countryside...

Today we went on an excursion southeast of Havana into the Cuban countryside. We stopped in several small towns including Santa Maria del Rosario, Cotorro, Cuatro Caminos (Four Roads), and San Jose. It was nice to get outside of Havana and see what the smaller towns were like. We people grinding sugarcane, fixing lighters, and repairing shoes. On one of the houses I noticed an interesting plaque of an eye and tongue. It’s best not talk too much and watch what you say. There was a church in many of the towns although religion doesn’t seem to be important since the communists took over. I found it odd to be in a Latin country without the strong influence of the Catholic Church. We stopped for lunch at a roadside, outdoor café. The food was terrible.































Dinner tonight was fantastic. We ate at La Guardia, a paladar. The “paladar” system allows a Cuban family to open a small restaurant in one of the rooms in their home, and provides some of the best food in Cuba. La Guarida is one of the most famous paladars in Havana. It was also the setting for the Oscar nominated Cuban movie “Fresa y Chocolate.” La Guarida (meaning the Shelter of the Hideout) is located on the third floor of an aged apartment building in Centro Havana. As we climbed to the third floor we saw washed “disposable” diapers hanging on the clothesline to dry. We rode to the restaurant in an old, classic American convertible. The Cubans call these cars “National Treasures.”