A Week in Cuba - We Visit Hemingway Marina

It's less than a mile from Fusterlandia to the Hemingway Marina.  We were very pleased that we had stopped by the artists' village, since there is not much to take in at the marina.

 

The Hemingway Marina's claim to fame is that it is the home of the Hemingway International Nautical Club which hosts the annual Hemingway BillFishing Tournament.  This tournament, established by Ernest Hemingway in 1950 draws worldwide entries.   The 67th edition of the contest drew 450 participants on 50 teams from 13 countries.

Ernest Hemingway knew these waters well and won the first three contests.  His granddaughter, Mina, (daughter of Patrick) has won it twice.  And of course, in a newsworthy story, Fidel Castro won the title in 1960.

 

There are numerous photos of Hemingway and Castro together at the trophy presentation that year.  This is the only occasion when they were known to have spoken together.  Google "castro and hemingway jpg"  to see other examples.  Hemingway would leave Cuba for the last time shortly after this.  It would be just one year until he committed suicide in Idaho; a year of depression and treatment described in painful detail in A. E. Hotchner's, Papa Hemingway.

Pulling into the entrance, we noticed that the hotel at the end of the road is named "The Old Man and The Sea."

  

The marina offered a nice shelter from the waves breaking at the outer edge.

We paused for a photo.

There was a very nice collection of yachts tied up at the various slips.

I don't suppose that these belong to "average Cubans."  The few Cubans that are lucky enough to even own one of those lovely old cars are waiting in lines for gasoline.

The marina has a dive center but it didn't seem to be in operation on this day.

Fidel Castro was apparently seldom at a loss for words.  As we left the Marina, his 1963 message to the Cuban youth was posted on a wall.

 

Looking for a source to verify my automated translation, I discovered that the University of Texas has a database of Castro speeches extending from 1959 through 1996.  The quotation on the wall represents a very minor part of his June 18, 1963 speech to the workers at the Cardenas shipyard celebrating the launch of 17 new fishing boats.  In all, he goes on for over 6000 words. 

That concluded our visit to Marina Hemingway.

We had a pleasant ride back to our B&B and as we passed by Plaza de San Francisco were pleased to see that the tall sailing ship that we saw in the morning had pulled in at the dock and was drawing a crowd of observers.

This is the Cuauhtémoc school ship, of the Mexican Navy, in port from April 18th through the 22nd.

 

 

 

A Week in Cuba - We Visit Fusterlandia

After touring Hemingway's Finca Vigia home and the Hemingway monument at Cojimar, Abel, our guide, asked us if we wanted to see more Hemingway sights.  "Yes, of course, I replied."  Then it would be off to the Hemingway Marina the next day.

Billy was lucky enough to have sufficient gasoline for another twenty mile run out to the west end of Havana this time.  Would we also be interested in seeing some Cuban art and artists?  Linda had the enthusiastic response this time.  And so began our journey to the magical mosaic world created by José Fuster.

Once again, Abel and Billy arrived at 10:00 a.m. in Billy's 1950 Chevrolet Deluxe convertible.  This time, we drove with the top up to hold back the Caribbean sun.

  

Our route would take us north along the harbor again, onto the Malécon, and about a dozen miles to the west.

 

We passed the now-familiar landmarks along the waterfront, and as we turned onto the Malécon, Linda spotted a tall sailing ship approaching the harbor entrance.

  

Trying to get just one more picture of the ship from the Chevy window, my view was blocked by a pillar.  But sometimes, just plain luck works out.  I ended up with a picture of the plaque commemorating U.S. General Leonard Wood, commander of the Rough Riders during the Spanish American war - and creator of the Malécon.

The view of New Havana was particularly clear this morning.

 

The Hotel National and Focsa building (see earlier post) stood out along the shoreline.

 

A bit farther along, in Miramar, we passed the Karl Marx Theater, largest in Havana and notable (at least to me) for an appearance in 1956 by Liberace on his first international tour.  Of course it had a different name at that time, Teatro Blanquita.

 

The stretch of coastline extending from Miramar to the west is probably as beautiful as on any of the Caribbean islands.

 

The first sign that we were approaching a "special place" along the Havana shoreline was this colorful mosaic bus stop titled "Tribute to Gaudi" with a large spider peering over the wall!  Not being much of an art-history buff, I would have to look up Gaudi at a later date to discover the whimsical nature of his brand of art and architecture as developed in Catalonia, Spain.

 

Although Fusterlandia was developed by José Fuster, numerous other artists have moved into the area.  We paused at one to visit a rescue facility for dogs and cats, and took a look at one of the artists studios.  This one seemed to employ many of the same inspirational beverages as Hemingway was known to use.

  

 

But the resulting prints (all for sale, of course) seemed quite good and reasonable in price.   Let's just enjoy a few of the artists work without commentary.

  

As Abel and I proceeded down the road, Linda took a few photos including an iconic "mosaic photo" of the opening round of Cuba's 1950's revolution.  

 It turns out that Hemingway's Pilar is not the most recognizable boat in Cuba.  This 60-foot cabin-cruiser, the Granma, also produced by the Wheeler Shipyard of Brooklyn, with its four square portholes takes that honor.  In 1956, it transported 82 revolutionaries from Mexico City to Cuba to begin the fight to overthrow the existing government.  Full story here and here.  

We shortly arrived at Fuster Land.  Admission, one U.S. dollar.  Once again, just enjoy the pictures.  Words are inadequate!

  

  

  

  

After touring Fuster Land proper, we crossed the street to visit "Princesa Diana" where we met a couple of artists in residence.  

  

Then we were off to the Hemingway Marina, our original destination.

Are there more pictures available?  Of course.  Just click on this link to go to our Fusterlandia Album on Flickr.