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Old 27 Jan 20, 07:22 PM  
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mitch84
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Marella Flavours of the Caribbean - day 4

I manage an extra 30 mins of sleep today and wake up at 8, we have loads of time as we don’t arrive until 11am in Havana, so I have a leisurely shower, pack my bag and fill in my visa form.

I go up a floor to the main dining room for breakfast, and order the banana pancakes with apple juice and coffee.

I absolutely love breakfast in the main dining room, I get a view of the sea and it’s so relaxing. It looks like a lovely day.

I go back to my cabin, we’re still over an hour til arrival, and whilst I can see land, we are a way off. The sail in is apparently spectacular, so I’ll see which side we end up on, and maybe head up on deck. I end up falling asleep over my book and waking up docked. Ahh well, I can see it on our way out tomorrow. It’s gone 11 by this point so I decide to grab lunch in the main dining room on the nose of 12, and let the queues go down.

The reason I’m trying to stuff a bit more food in me today is that I have completely messed up with money. All the reading I did suggested that I needed to take cash out in the UK, bring those notes to change into CUC, then give them back to the exchange bureau when leaving tomorrow night to swap back. Except at Manchester airport I forgot. So I have a Visa card (thankfully as apparently they are funny with MasterCard) and $21usd, which they are also funny with, oh and 3 pesos...sure something will work out, if not I can just come back to the ship each meal.

Normally when on holiday without DH I buy him a gift from each port, but there just wasn’t anything yesterday, he really fancies trying a Cuban cigar though, so hopefully they take cards.

Lunch is fabulous, I get an amazing view of Havana which looks surreal, and I enjoy a rose to help me deal with immigration and my money woes. I also need a map, or some sort of WiFi to work out where I’m going. I have no tour booked, so I’m free as a bird.

I order potato skins, and the burger again.

I get out and through immigration, then try to sort out the money situation. I speak to the port staff and they tell me one booth accepts credit cards, phew. Except the signal is terrible and I’m there ages, we have all sorts of issues, as my bank card name doesn’t match my passport as I got married. With a handy driving license and a lot of finger pointing at my ring I manage to explain I got married and eventually I have cash, phew.
I also buy an hours WiFi card, but I can’t get it to actually load anything onto my phone at all, eeek.




So I set off, in a straight line hoping for the best. I pass a couple of busy bars and I ask about WiFi, no no they say, and keep just saying go to the park. Eventually i stop in one and one waitress has excellent English, and directs me to La Floridita, apparently an old Hemingway drinking hole. That works well as it was on my list. I buy a mojito from them for their trouble, and lovely it is too.


Her directions were spot on, and the WiFi card I had bought worked here. I manage to load my map and text home. I order a daiquiri and listen to the live music, it’s very busy and touristy but worth a stop and recoup.

I was getting a bit anxious about getting totally lost and never finding the ship again. I look up the locations of another couple of places on my phone before I set off again, feeling much happier.
Havana is crackers, but in a very good way, completely different to yesterday, although I’m not saying I wouldn’t have been glad to have found a Starbucks today with free high speed WiFi when I first docked.
There are classic cars and horse and carriages everywhere, alongside pedalo type things, modern cars/taxis then tuk tuk tupe things.
I spy the parliament building, then my next destination is the cigar factory.


The museum bit is closed, but a man tells me they are very expensive but his cousin has a better shop around the corner, I decide to follow him as it’s very busy and populated, but then when he stops at an entrance way to a block of flats I decline to go further, he takes it well though and doesn’t follow me. I go back round the corner to the cigar factory, and he’s right, they are very expensive, they were cheaper at the port, so I wander back out again.
I decide to walk in the direction of the other equally famous bar, La Bodeguita, but it’s clear I’m not going in here, people are queuing out of the door, and drinking and dancing in the street.

I walk in the direction of the coast and come across a square with a beautiful church where a bride and her Dad are just about to walk down the aisle, and a bar/restaurant with singers/dancers.

I order a mojito for a fiver and rest my weary feet.
It’s gone 4 now so I make a slow walk back to the cruise terminal which to be fair is about 30 mins as I’ve walked miles.

I need a shower as it’s hot, but I decide to buy the cigars first so I know it’s done. I get a box of 3 for about £15 as they are in tubes within a box so I know I won’t squish them.
Back on board I put my cossie on, go straight to deck 9, order a strongbow then jump in the pool, it’s cool, but not too bad.
I sneakily then pop my cider up next to the jacuzzi and spend a very pleasant half an hour people watching with my drink.
Back down I go, shower dressed and make up.
I thought long and hard about going out in Havana tonight, but decided against it, people on board are really chatty and it got dark really early. There is no WiFi on the whole and I’m worried about getting lost. We have all day in Havana tomorrow and my feet are sore. I know it doesn’t sound like I did much, but I was out walking for 5 hours, and I’ll do the same tomorrow.
I haven’t yet tried the tapas/pizza/sharing boards in the glass house. I go up there at about 6.30. I really fancy a sharing board, but they are meant for 2, the waiter talks me into trying it anyway and 3 tapas, I ordered the meatballs, chicken and chorizo. I’m going to be so stuffed. I really fancied the pizza but knew I wouldn’t manage it with the sharing board.


This restaurant I would have absolutely loved with my hubby, as it feels very date like next to the indoor pool.
The service is excellent though, they made a real fuss of me; which would normally have been embarrassing but they did it in such a nice way.
Think this was my best meal of the week so far. And all included, amazing.
The show tonight is a family friendly one, described as a ‘tongue in cheek unique look into 80’s TV’. Hmmm, they are also bringing the kids clubs, so I think maybe not.
There is however the Downton Abbey film showing on deck at 9.30pm. I know it sounds feeble, but that is late for me; I have some health conditions that mean that I operate best in a routine, so I have been trying to get to bed by about 10.30; and getting up of a morning, but I did love the film so I’m contemplating trying to push it.
There is a quiz on first though, again though; my 2 quiz friends from the other day aren’t there sadly, so I’m solo again. I do ok though, I got the first 5 right; but then the next 5 wrong, but then 4/5 in the last round, best effort yet.
I get a cocktail and my guitar man is back and looking much better, so I sit in the atrium and watch his set.
I run back to my cabin, change into my long leggings and hoodie; then go up to the pool deck. I pick up some snacks even though food is really the last thing I need. I get a drink too and settle in on a sunbed to watch the film. I figure I’ll see how I get on.
It’s lovely and mild, because we aren’t moving there is no real wind, and it’s very comfortable.
My eyes get very heavy half way through, but I’m really enjoying it, so I persevere.
As soon as it finishes, I trot down the stairs, straight to bed, straight to sleep. A really good day.

Edited at 07:26 PM.
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Old 27 Jan 20, 09:37 PM  
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Sparksy72
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What an amazing day, that mojito looks delicious! You did loads, fantastic sightseeing, a swim, delicious dinner and even a movie! A perfect holiday day
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