To Havana - Flags, buses, cars & more!
Nimue
Fri 30 Dec 2011 02:53
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Havana is about a 40 minute bus ride from the marina and we managed to
catch a free ride on one of the modern buses China has given to Cuba, which left
twice daily from the hotel opposite the marina.
Of course everyone knows about the existence of 1950’s cars in Cuba and we
saw plenty of them in many states of repair! Many had been patched up and
given new engines and wheels, but others were rotting! Rather than waiting
for the return bus, we often hailed one of the old Lada non-tourist taxi’s to
get us back from Havana to the marina. Once a price had been agreed, you didn’t
have to think too much before getting into one, but nevertheless it was always
an experience; occasionally we would be choked by the incoming fumes through the
door that wouldn’t close properly, or see the road whizzing by, through the
rusting floor, but rarely did we get a ride without the car seat springs
sticking into ‘unmentionable’ parts!
 One of the ‘posh’ buses donated by the
Chinese, which took us into Old Havana
 The obligatory double decker red tourist
bus, which we used to explore many of the sights in and around
Havana
  Parking attendants are abundant,
although all they seem to do is guide you into an on or off road parking
spot. A lookout box, which we saw at most road
junctions
 Here is a type of “tuc-tuc” a modern car
and a typical 1950’s car
  More of the ‘old’ style 1950’s
cars
On our bus ride into old Havana we skirted around the Malecon, which runs
for over 3 miles and built to keep the Atlantic Ocean out of Havana. The Malecon
is now largely used by promenaders, but on stormy days the Atlantic smashes
plumes of spray across the road. The facades of the buildings lining the Malecon
are a decaying testament to the power of the sea, but are now being extensively
restored.
  The newly weds seemed to be enjoying
their ride along the Malecon
Nearby the Malecon, where police keep you moving is the
Plaza de la Dignidad, opened in April
2000 and held the first of many anti-American demonstrations. As of May 2006,
the plaza includes a stage, metal arches over the crowd area, and a monument of
138 flags, in response to and as an obstruction of the American electronic
message ticker on the fifth floor of the U.S. Interests building situated across
the street. Apparently, the relationship between the monument and the ticker
board is not coincidental, as evidenced by the flags' appearance less than a
month after the billboard’s first use and raised on 20 metre flagpoles they are
high enough to block the ticker's visibility.
The number and design of the flags were to memorialise Cuban victims of terrorism, especially the 73 people who died in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger airliner.
The ‘Wall of flags in the Plaza de Dignidad   Motorbike and sidecar - still a
popular means of transport in Cuba!
 Yes, they even have modern
ambulances!
  The ‘egg’ taxi’s are my favourite and
they look like they’re made of out ‘papier-mache’ (perhaps they are?)
 Even an old fashioned truck, which
looked brand
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