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.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment