Thankfully, the Nacional included a free buffet breakfast, since we were short on cash.  As we were walking to breakfast a friendly Aussie asked us if we knew where breakfast was being served.  We told him to follow us and as simple as that a new friendship was formed.  I have previously mentioned in my blog how deeply important the people that I meet while traveling are to me.  And this was definitely no exception!  M., an Australian nomad, was by himself on the end of a round-the-world trip.  Looking for some fellow travel companions he decided to join us after breakfast on our excursion to the beach.


Not the actual taxi we took to the beach, but an example of one of the fabulous cars that can be
found in mass in Cuba.

Sadly, the beaches in Cuba are divided between tourists and locals.  Tourists are discouraged from going to the local's side.  Locals, however, are not even allowed to go over to the tourist's side.  There are police watching to make sure that this never occurs.

In the next 2 pictures guess which side is the tourist's side and which is the local's side?

otherwise).  There we found a man that would bring us anything we wanted for only a couple of CUC$’s…ahhh, que bueno! 

"Our spot" for the day.

I left M. and Kristin to their sunbathing and went to float in the ocean.  While there, I encountered 2 very drunk Cubans whom kept insisting that I marry them.  M. eventually joined me in the water and kindly pretended to be my husband to get them to leave me alone (poor Kristin became their next target).

M. then tried to take their picture, but they started to get very anxious and talk so rapidly that I could barely understand them.  The problem was that they knew they were on the tourist's side and if the police somehow saw the pictures they could get in a lot of trouble.  It was not just the ocean; hotels, restaurants, and shops that admitted tourists were not allowed to let Cubans enter either.  That type of segregation was really unsettling and continued to bother me throughout the rest of the trip whenever we encountered it, which was more often than not.


The 2 crazy Cubans; 1 caught in the act of professing his love to me.

We laid out for several hours under the hot Cuban sun and when M. and I would need breaks we would cool down in the ocean and engage in talk of politics, current events, world affairs, our travels, etc.  I felt like I had really met my intellectual match with him!  One of the question’s he asked me was, “What is your greatest vice in life?”  My response, of course, was chocolate.  I would pleasantly discover soon why he had asked me that question.

Later in the day it started to rain and we took it as a sign that it was time to find some lunch.  However, finding something vegetarian for me and non-seafood for M. and Kristin was proving to be quite a challenge.  Finally, we happened upon an ice cream stand, which made all 3 of us very happy.  Unbeknownst to us, that also happened to be where our 2 Cuban friends had found refuge as well.  They insisted on buying us ice cream and asking for Kristin and I's hand in marriage one last time (despite thinking that M. was my husband).  The sun started to come out again and we thanked them for their "generosity" and left them with broken hearts.

About an hour later, having had enough sun for one day, we returned to the hotel.  We decided the plan for the evening would include: mojitos at one of the Nacional’s bars, dinner at the nicest restaurant in town, and then dancing at a salsa club.  We left M. to get freshened up and to check our e-mail.  In case you want to get online while in Cuba head to the Nacional.  It is one of the only places you can find adjacent connection and you do not have to be a guest to use their computers.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip.  It was taken on our ride back to the hotel.

After donning my little black dress for the occasion, Kristin and I went to meet M.  We found him with a huge smile on his face and a bag of my vice (chocolate).  He said, “Everyone deserves a present on their Birthday.”  I was so touched!  Chocolate is a luxury in Cuba and he had spent quite a while walking around trying to find some for me.  The 3 of us then sat to watch the sun set on El Malecon and to drink our mojitos and eat my chocolate.  El Malecon is an 8KM street in La Habana that runs along the water and offers stunning views.  At night mostly lovers meet there for romantic rendezvous’ and to listen to make shift bands that play until dawn.

Sunset over El Malecon.  One of the most memorable sunset's of my life to date.

My Birthday mojito being made,  Talk about being in heaven!

Me attempting to do the salsa.

M., me, and Kristin toasting to meeting and to my Birthday.

Next, we went to La Guarida.  This restaurant is famous for having the Cuban movie “Tresa y Chocolate” (fitting, huh?) filmed inside it.  If you choose to eat there, which you absolutely should, make sure to make a reservation in advance.

Of course we had to make yet another mojito Birthday toast!

Unfortunately, Kristin started to feel bad towards the end of dinner, so we decided to nix the salsa club and take her back to the hotel.  M. and I did not want to end the evening just yet, thus we decided to have a few more drinks in another Nacional bar.  We continued our intriguing conversation from earlier in the day.  I was enchanted by his round-the-world trip, as I had always dreamed of doing one myself.  He offered to show me his pictures and I agreed instantly.  After looking at his pictures, M. came up with the idea of going for a midnight dip in the hotel’s pool.  Now I was going to be in a forbidden pool in a forbidden country.  Oh dios mio!


This was the pool (in the daylight) we snuck into at 2AM.

All in all, it was the perfect Birthday.  Muchas, muchas gracias Kristin and M. for a day I will never, ever forget!