Photo Tour of Old Havana, Cuba

Published January 14, 2016 | By Elizabeth Weintraub

Elizabeth Weintraub and Adam Weintraub at La Guarida Restaurant first floor, Havana, Cuba.

In my imagination, being stranded on a deserted island sounds like a lot of fun, but the images that formed in my head as we rounded the corner of island Cayo Blanco near Trinidad in Cuba — carefully balancing our trek across bleached coral, ankles stressed, soaking wet from head-to-toe in direct sun, covered in mosquito bites, blood dripping down scratched legs from my abandoned short-cut, sunburned and suffering from heat exhaustion — were not the pleasant type of pictures I would normally associate with this particular vision. Wiping sweat off my forehead, I glanced up and saw our boat was no longer docked. It had left without us. In fact, it was almost halfway across the horizon.

I began to picture ourselves curled up on the floor of an open air hut where we earlier had enjoyed lunch, huddled together in terror of the creepy clattering crabs crawling about in their stolen shells, eyes wide open searching for lizards, armed with nothing but a palm frond to keep us warm at night, hungry as all get-out. Maybe they would not send a rescue boat until morning. Of course, I still had my camera, which we could use to attack any wild pigs that stumbled across our path.

When we reached the beach hut, a Cuban ran out to tell us the boat was turning around. Apparently it had not abandoned us but was circling the island, searching for its lost passengers. Cold beer, shelter from the sun awaited. Eureka! We were saved. I was so elated and relieved. This excursion cost us a bigger tip than usual. Further, it wasn’t the worst thing to have happened to us in Cuba. We still had another week in Havana, Cuba, to enjoy.

Our room at Hotel Capri in Havana, Cuba, was a suite, after fixing once again the screwed-up reservation. A duplex, with a large living room on the first floor, and a bedroom loft ensuite on the second. The drapes did not open on the second floor, which made the room feel like a cave, but at least it was carpeted. It proved to be the perfect place to spend 3 days in bed, sicker than a dog. I played rotating positions on the toilet. When it comes to dysentery, I’m like a canary in a coal mine. I always get it first. We were so careful not to drink any water, to brush our teeth using bottled water, to eat only hotel foods. I felt like a colonoscopy patient. I always thought the burning sensation came from the horrible stuff they make you drink beforehand but now I know better.

My husband was not as ill but he suffered his share of difficulties. He searched all of Havana for Imodium AD and there was none. We always pack it but forgot this time. The best the doctors or hospital could offer us was a bottle of Pepto Bismol, which I immediately consumed in its entirety. My appetite vanished. Bland foods from there on out. Most of the food they serve tourists in Havana, Cuba, is either red snapper, roasted chicken, lamb or beef, and none of it was especially good. I could no longer consume rice or beans because much of it had been suddenly deposited into the bathroom sink.

When we met our guide Sergio in the lobby on the third day, he seemed elated to see us. Asked how I was feeling. It’s amazing how great you can feel after vomiting all night, I exclaimed, and gave him a big hug. We went on to tour Old Havana, Cuba.

A highlight of the Old Havana, Cuba, tour was lunch at La Guarida Restaurant. The Oscar-nominated Cuban movie Fresa y Chocolate was filmed there. The exterior is deceiving, a dilapidated building, appears abandoned, crumbling concrete walls inside, chunks of marble missing from the steps, and the second floor looks like a laundry filled with sheets drying and flapping in the breeze on clotheslines. On the third floor is an elegant restaurant. Due to my slow recovery, I requested pasta, which was not on the “approved prepaid list of meals,” and yet they accommodated me. This was my favorite restaurant.

Below are photos from Old Havana, Cuba.