
Up to the bow
Gret shot of Bill! We went up to the bow to take pics. It was open, just like in Havana.
While we were sailing around Cuba, a lot of the channels were "not availablle." As soon as we left Cuba, they were working again!
Leaving for the night!
Took a picture in case we forget what time to be back!
We had about an hour to change, eat and then leave on our night excursion!
And empty! Everyone was getting ready to go out again.
Locals suggest that the statue was sculpted to depict a cigar in the right hand and a mojito in the left hand, honoring popular Cuban culture. You can totally picture in now, right? Go back to the photo of the statue from the front and you'll really see it.
christ of havana cruise cuba el cristo de la habana havana lilian jima madera monument
The statue was inaugurated on December 24, 1958. Just fifteen days later, on January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro entered Havana during the Cuban Revolution.
christ of havana cruise cuba el cristo de la habana havana lilian jima madera monument
A great view of our ship in port at Havana.
The next stop after passing the visa and health screen was the money line. They asked only one person per group stand in line for money. We learned about the money in our Cuba seminar earlier in the week. The locals have their own money they call CUPs (Cuban Peso). CUPs all have people on them, like Che Guevara, and Cuenfuegos on them. The money for tourists is a CUC, (Convertible Peso). CUCs all have landmarks on them.
cruise cuba exchange excursion havana line money terminal tour vacation
To get off the ship we had to pre-buy a visa. We bought ours through the cruise line. As Americans We were required to do 8 hours of person-to-person cultural exchange before we could just walk around by ourselves. We could do it ourselves but we'd have to meticulously document it and keep records for 5 years. We booked it through the cruise line instead. When we got off the ship we passed by doctors and nurses that were watching for sick people.They asked us not to take picturesof them. Interestingly, the nurses were wearing very short skirts and white lacy hose.
cruise cuba excursion flags havana palm terminal tour vacation
Once the ship stopped it was time to meet up with our tour. We had to meet in the theater and wait for our tour to leave.
crowd cruise excursion holland america meeting sit theater tour vacation