Change of Plans

             So last Saturday we were supposed to go and see a botanical farm close to Havana that had all kinds of lions, elephants, basically a zoo, but they didn’t call it that.  But, in true Cuban fashion the van broke down and we couldn’t go.  I say in true Cuban fashion because our driver, Jefe, only says that the van breaks down when he is either too hung-over and doesn’t want to drive, or he has found a way to make more money than we would have paid him for the trip.  So needless to say, we didn’t go to the botanical farm.

            However, the day wasn’t wasted and we did go get to go and see the Marti Tower instead.  The Marti Tower is a monument, much like the Jefferson or Washington ones in D.C.  We avoided countless flights of stairs by all squeezing into a tiny elevator with a very chatty lady who asked us all kinds of questions.  I’m beginning to think that all Cubans have a never-ending supply of questions that they go through every time that they meet a new person. 

            Anyways, once we got to the top the view was incredible.  You could see the entire bay, Old Havana, Vedado where the University is, Miramar where we live, absolutely everything.  Apparently, there is another building in Havana that is taller than the Marti tower, but it is closer to the ocean and closer to sea level so the Tower has a higher altitude.  I’ve never been in the Space Needle in Seattle, but I doubt that the view is as good as this one was.  And the water, I’ve never seen an ocean so blue and so integrated into a big city.  I’ve of course seen the Great Lakes as I have flown into Chicago, but it was different seeing the ocean fighting for dominance and the city not giving an inch.

            In our conversation class today we actually got to talk about visiting it for a little while and I learned even more about the tower itself.  The Cubans like to call the tower either the Mirador, which roughly translated means the looking place, or La Raspadura.  Now, raspadura is actually a dessert created with the stem of the sugar cane and a caramelized glaze.  I’ve never had it before but I am definitely going to try to find some soon.  It was an interesting sensation learning about the pet names that the people of Havana call the monuments around town.   I felt like I was becoming a Habanera (girl from Havana).  I’ve never lived in a big city so it was one of the first times that I have felt a sense of knowing a place intimately.  More places to explore soon!