Mateo & Dean: A Day in the Cuban Life

Hello parents, family, and friends: this is Dean and Mateo reporting in from La Havana, Cuba. So far our journey in Cuba has been rockin' and rolling. After about 35 hours without sleep, we finally got to sleep in our comfortable beds in the Habana Libre Hotel (government owned). The delectable Cuban breakfast really started us up, and we derived great Satisfaction from it. Afterwards our gracious tour guide Gretel picked us up on the party bus and we headed off to a neighborhood open air market. On the way there we passed by the venue of the Stones' concert; what a mess it was!! Everything went pretty well at the market, and we ended up buying some coconuts, guevas, papayas, and some government farmed bananas. Thanks Raul! After a bit though, when we moved to the clothing section of the market our fancy cameras and bourgeoise clothes (jk) gave us away and vendors began hawking goods at us. Mateo noticed that they immediately raised the prices by about 100%, so we didn't get anything except an authentic Cuban shopping experience. After tasting the fruits of the government's labor we saw the men that made it happen at the Plaza de la Revolucion. It was a real treat to be among other's like us (meaning it wasn't a local hang out), European and American tourists, all gawking at the monuments to Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. After experiencing a taste of Cuba's government, we ventured to a Soviet-era restaurant which was filled with all sorts of cool art/political commentary. We didn't understand what they said, but we Felt the nationalistic pride nonetheless.The food was good too. Following that we mounted the bus again and were taken to a musical performance by local rumba musicians. It was a real hub for both Canadians and locals. Following an exciting time, we were all tuckered out and took a quick 2 hour break at the hotel. After the r&r, we were greeted by a veritable fleet of 1950 era American cars, including a 58' Oldsmobile. We exchanged some friendly banter with our amiable drivers as we drove to a restaurant for dinner overlooking Havana. Coincidentally enough, we also passed by the house Che Guevara lived in during his time in Cuba. We rolled into the restaurant stone-faced with hunger, and were served tantalizing options including some fresh seafood, chicken, rabbit, and finally flan. Our last activity really capped off the night with a bang as we observed the ceremonial firing of the cannon at the Fortaleza Carlos de la Cabana. It was a real blast, and we saw Mr. Dwyer pulling a loose cannon move, leaning over the edge of the wall to take a risky picture of the waterfront. After such a hard day full of entertaining activities we drove back to the hotel in our bus and went to sleep. Except us because we're writing this blog post. Bye everybody- the teachers are taping us in now!