This looks like a painting, but it's a sculpture, pretty cool.
We spent about 2 hours there, when all of a sudden this stranger starts talking to me and I realize it's Orledis. He had said he'd stop in at the casa at 9:30 but at 10:00 I hadn't seen him so had gone on my way. He came to tell me there was a mixup with the casas and I didn't have a room where I was. I had to move out. I had left stuff strewn around the room and had promised Katia that she could use the shower and have a nap if she needed. I packed up and Orledis took me to the new place. The new place was basically just one room in someone's house. It looked pretty old, and the bedding had a shudder factor but it was clean.
The woman was really kind but spoke no English so I was glad Orledis was there to translate. He felt so bad but I know it wasn't his fault. I was still meeting Ralph, who had also moved, so Orledis walked me back to the old casa. He was hoping to see Katia one last time as well. We sat for awhile and then he decided to go, and I walked out with him. I found Ralph waiting across the street in the shade. We said goodbye to Orledis and headed to the handicraft market for some gifts.
I thought it was a cool street name...
We wandered the aisles of the market, which is in an old train station, and sometimes stopped in a stall where we just happened to stand in the way of the fan. We each bought what we wanted and wandered back in the direction of our casas along the water where there was a breeze.
Since we both had no plans, we stopped at a restaurant and had some drinks and some appies.
This is inside the beautiful restaurant:
We sat for quite a while, not only because the service was terrible but because we were finally cooling down. As we sat in the shade of "El Patio" we watched the goings on of the square. We saw a couple getting wedding photos and tons of tour groups. There was also a guy at the table behind Ralph who looked exactly like Vin Diesel, only I think maybe shorter. He wore mirrored sunglasses so I couldn't see his eyes but I stared a lot so I'm sure he thought I was a creep. Just to return to the issue of bad service, when we sat down, we waited probably close to 10+ minutes before we got menus. Then another 15 or so before we could order. She came over and when Ralph asked if he could order just sides, she said yes and then walked away. She never came back. Instead someone else came and took our order. And once everything was delivered, they never returned. Needless to say, I didn't feel bad not leaving a tip. 
Afterwards we wandered aimlessly until Ralph said he wanted to head back to his casa for a bit. We made plans to meet at this amazing taco joint that a bunch of them had gone to the day before while I lay sick in bed. I decided not to go back to my casa as it was so awkward to get buzzed in. Some amazing photos I took in my travels through Old Havana.
I love how nature's taking over.....and people DO live here.
Although they don't live here:
This guy was playing football with his son.
After walking around for over an hour though, I couldn't handle to feeling of sunscreen and sweat on my skin and turned towards my casa for a quick shower. I got turned around and headed the wrong way, several times. As I stopped at a corner to look at my map, a guy came over and spoke to me. I said "No Español" but he continued talking anyway. I think he may have been offering himself to me. Which was sort of awkward since he was old, and stuff. I asked them which way to the water and they pointed me in the direction. Not the right one, after 2 or 3 blocks I realized I didn't recognize the street names and that's when I knew I wasn't going the right way, plus, now I could use the maps as I had several street names. I turned back, dreading passing by these men again, but luckily as it turns out they weren't standing there anymore.
I made it back to the casa, passing cool street art along the way and showered and changed in 15 minutes flat. I headed back out to meet Ralph, arriving early but still he was waiting. We asked about a table but were told it would be 20-25 minutes of waiting, but we could order a mojito (or 2) in the bar a few doors down. I looked at Ralph and under my breath said (mojito or TWO?!?!) and we laughed. Just as the one mojito we each ordered was placed in front of us, the guy came in to say our table was ready. We hurriedly paid the tab and sat at our seats at the bar in the restaurant. The seats were super cool as the bartender was making amazing cocktails.
I should have taken more pictures as his drinks were works of art. I had a mango daiquiri which was delicious, and about 3 drinks in 1 and the tacos, which come with pork and chicken (and supposedly crab but I got 2 chicken).
We spent the evening chatting about travelling and New York (where Ralph is from) and laughing about some of the events of the past week. It was the perfect last night in Cuba. We said our goodbyes and left for our casas. I showered and packed and set my alarm for 3:45 am, yuck.
After a sleepless night, I zipped my bag and was ready just as the taxi arrived at 4:15. The kind lady at the casa woke up with me to make sure I got out and I thanked her profusely. Orledis had made me promise I would call from the airport so he knew I had made it safely, But we tried and it wouldn't go through. I knew he would worry so I finally decided to text him, although I don't know if it went through or not.
I had a ton of money left over so even after buying some goodies at the duty free, I was able to exchange my money. They only give back US but that works out fine as I'm heading there in August. Cuba was an amazing adventure and I met the most amazing people. I realized that I wish I was fluent in Spanish, and that I'm so grateful I chose to do this trip. I've made some lifelong friends with some like minded people. We had a lot of laughs and it was exactly what I needed, even though there wasn't much relaxation. To those of you who love my pictures, you should definitely try to see Cuba my way...there's so much to experience!
