Alive and well in Havana

We have been unable to blog much as internet is expensive, slow and unreliable. The power also drops off unexpectantly, a second before we hit the save or publish button, so we will wait until we have some broad band speed somewhere.
We are having an absolutely great time.
We are back in Havana after 2 weeks travelling east and now are heading west for a week.

Some of the locals dressed up. Tourists pay to be photographed with the ´locals´.

Picture is of a Coppelia, which is an icecream parlour. The locals queue for hours waiting to be served as the ice cream is only a few cents in local money.

It is much easier in Havana as we know our way around a little better and can spend more time at the markets or at the museums or just sitting and watching the passing parade. There are so many tourists here, mainly from Europe and Canada. Last year there were over one and a half million and this year all ready there have been 2 million. The effect of tourism is very obvious as many areas are being repaved and many buildings are being restored. The only trouble is that when we walk down some streets it is easy to forget we are in Cuba, as it feels as if we are walking down any European street in Italy or Spain or France.

And would you believe it. Oreilly´s Bar, but no Guinness

And the old cars are every where.

George is held in high esteem (just kidding)

This is a camello. It is a local bus that the Cubans cram into. It can carry up to 300 people. A bit of a squeeze. And imagine trying to get off at the bus stop

Some buildings need repair, some are restored. It is a photographer and artists heaven.