Losing a part of me

Category: Cuba

  • Day 803

    I got back to my apartment at 2:00am and decided it was better to start packing before I went to sleep, rather than rushing it and trying to do everything in the morning. It was not at all surprising that although I came down with two suitcases that weighed 60 lbs. each and two carry-ons that weighed 25 lbs. each my two suitcases (which included my larger and heavier carry-on) weighed less than 60 lbs. combined, and my knapsack that I am carrying on weighs probably 20 lbs. From the beginning it was my intention to leave a ton of stuff (much of which I collected from my generous friends in Canada) with my buddy in Havana who is a Mason; some of it was for him and his family, most of it will be distributed by his lodge. It feels incredible to be able to help the poor Cuban people who need it; it feels wonderful to be traveling home with a much lighter load than I came with.

    Yesterday was another good day, both with regards to walking and with food intake. Late in the evening I was hungry and thought about enjoying a protein bar, but instead I opted to go to sleep with a slightly empty stomach. According to my phone (which I know is not as accurate at my fitness watch) I walked nearly 18,000 steps and climbed sixteen flights. There is nothing wrong with that!

    As I write this journal entry I am sitting in the airport in Havana. After passing through all of the checkpoints I purchased a bottle of booze at Duty Free, as well as some crackers and wafers. I gave my buddy the last of my US Dollars this morning, after putting aside enough to get to the airport and $5 extra for a cheese sandwich (which I am slowly savouring as I write). I was hoping that my Canadian credit card would work at Duty Free, but it did not, and I was relieved to have Canadian Dollars. The exchange rate is lousy, but the bottle that I purchased is not available in Canada, and as long as the US does not confiscate it from me, I should not have a problem. I have an hour and a bit before my flight boards, and while I will not be connecting to the Internet (which means it will not publish until I land in Houston), I am happy to have a relaxing time to sit and put down some thoughts.

    I love helping the Cuban people, and am happy to have the ability to do so. What sometimes jades me is how blatantly the people in the street size you up and try to separate tourists from their money. Last night as I was walking home a lady (in the loosest sense of the word) accosted me in a vain attempt to get me into bed (and for her to get into my wallet). This was not the first time that has happened to me, and I was not in the mood to even stop walking. As I kept telling her no, she asked why. I eventually told her that she was not my type. She asked what was my type, because she has a friend. I told her that I only like boys. This shocked and offended her… but after a snide comment it also got her to leave me alone. (For those who are wondering, it was as blatant a lie as I have ever told, as I clearly am quite straight!)

    This morning a guy saw me walking with a couple of bags that I was taking for my buddy. He said ‘Is that for me?’ I told him that it was not. He then started playing upset that I help others and not him, and that he says hello to me every time I pass by ‘his corner.’ I looked at him straight and told him that am happy to say hello to everyone, but with 400 people saying hello to me in Old Havana every day, I do not have the wherewithal nor the desire to help every single one. I say hello because it is the nice thing to do, but if he is doing it solely to get something from me then he should not say hello to me anymore. He got pissed off… but he pissed off.

    I may be exaggerating with the number 400, but not by much. There seems to be an entire brigade of people trying to get you a taxi, sell you cigars, give you a tour in a classic car (or walking), or sex with their sister mother daughter aunt or grandmother. Every single person wants to change your dollars, or wants you to help the me to buy medicines or bread for their children or grandmother. Everyone has a sob story, and every one of them is well trained in sizing up tourists and figuring out an angle. While I joke about it from time to time, it really does get boring in a hurry. When I give something to someone in the street I do not know where it will end up. When I give it to the Freemasons I know that it will be distributed to people who really need it, and not to people whose job it is to con tourists.

    That is not to say that I do not give money to some people in the street. Sunday evening I was sitting at a café when a man walked by wearing a kippa and wearing a Star of David. I stopped him and spoke with him, and gave him some money. Saturday evening I was waiting for a friend outside a restaurant when a man approached me on crutches; he had one leg, and his one foot was obviously in trouble. I gave him some money (and spent time talking with him), but what he wanted I could not give him. He wanted hard currency… dollars and Euros. He said he needs it to buy his medicine. Whether or not that is true, I did not have sufficient money in my pocket… and when he told me I should go back to my apartment to get it for him, I told him that I could not. I feel terrible for him and for all of the Cuban people, but there is only so much I can do. If I gave every person in the streets that needed money for (fill in the blank) only one dollar, I would not have money to eat… let alone take care of my friends who also have their sad stories.

    I feel terrible that I get jaded, but the incessant onslaught of people obviously trying to scam me gets old fast. I feel terrible that I cannot help everyone… but I do not have that kind of money. I try to find a balance between not making eye contact with all of them and not letting my heart harden to their plight. I am reminded of my visit to Mumbai, how sad it was seeing the dichotomy between the opulence of the palatial hotel I would spend my evenings in and the modern and secure office complex in which I spent my days, and the throngs of people living in lean-to hovels along the road who had nothing. It was hard to see that. It’s hard to see the plight of the Cuban people as well… but while none of them live well, I know that none of them are going to starve to death, and they all have somewhere to live. Knowing that the tourist areas are well-manned by these hawkers and such, I have to decide each time I come whether my love for the city is enough to keep me renting the cheap apartment off the beaten path, or if I am better off at a hotel. So far the apartment and the real Havana keeps winning out.

    My plane leaves in an hour, and I am going to make my way upstairs to my gate. I was disappointed to learn that I will need to collect my luggage in Houston, but that’s life in the fast lane. I only wish I did not have the overnight layover. I miss my dog and I miss my bed. The hotel bed tonight will be much more luxuriant than the one I have been sleeping in this trip, but Princess Sophie will not be in it. I look forward to seeing her tomorrow afternoon when I finally do get home.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 800

    I had a great day yesterday but for whatever reason I did not sit down to write. Oops.

    I continue to sleep very little but am not at all tired throughout the day. That might have something to do with how much coffee I drink when I am here… or it might just be because of the air. Either way, I am relaxed and happy on four or five hours per night.

    My fitness watch battery is at 5% and I will be happy if it makes it through one more day. If not, then I will have a couple of days without measurements in the app… but I will still be walking and aiming for 15,000 steps per day. I will continue to eat smartly. I am still hoping to be very happy with my weight when I step onto the bathroom scale Wednesday morning. As it is, the Hawaiian shirt that I could not wear Monday seems to be a bit more comfortable today. I promised someone I would send them a picture of myself in it, which I was able to do this morning, so I see that as an indicator that I’m doing well. The scale will tell the numbers, but more importantly the way my shirts and sports jackets fit is more important.

    I am meeting my steps goal every day without a problem. As was the case on my last visit here, the only vehicles I have been in are taxis to and from the Hotel Nacional with friends. To be honest, I did take a cab back alone that night, but it was late and I wanted to see a friend before their shift ended. I made up for it by walking another few thousand steps before turning in.

    It is amazing how many Jews I have met on this trip, which is to say that I have met at least six of them… including one native Cubans who is with the local Chabad house. I confess it never occurred to me that there would be one! Last night at dinner the guys at the next table were from Tel Aviv and we had a great conversation. They asked me why I wear my kippa here instead of a hat. I told them that had I been wearing a hat then I would never have met most of the Jews that I have met. Havana is a very safe city and Cuba is very accepting of all religions (while not condoning any one of them), but if someone does not like the fact that I am Jewish (and Israeli) then I like knowing… and if they confront me then I’ll happily handle that situation. In the meantime, I was able to light my Shabbat candles in my apartment last night. I was alone, but as I lit them I know that I was with all of the people I pray for, and with the whole Jewish nation. There is n irony to being able to do this freely in a country that is so poor and the people are oppressed… just like we have been so many times.

    It is another gorgeous day and I am enjoying my second day cup of coffee at my buddy‘s bistro. In a little while I will head out for my day. I have to stop by my apartment because I took my laptop bag to bring him some things, and do not want to have to carry it all day. I will then set out to enjoy the rest of my day. It is the Sabbath, and I will take it easy… but if that were the only definition of the day then this entire week has been Sabbath!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 798

    It is going to rain soon so I am sitting comfortably in the upstairs lounge of Johnny’s bistro. In a little while I’ll head out to go replenish my cigar stock, and then will go hunting vittels for lunch. I have a phone call to make around 2:15 so I will make my way to my friend Gloria’s hotel (even though she is not working until later) because it is traditionally the place with the most reliable Internet.

    I was disappointed to realize that I did not bring a charging cable for my fitness watch, which means that either today or possibly tomorrow will be my last day tracking steps until I am back home. Oh well… I will still do a lot of walking!

    I slept slightly more last night than the previous two… but not by much. I find that I can go longer here than I usually do in Canada… despite the walking. That might have something to do with how much coffee I drink here!

    Johnny and I will have lunch and then another friend and I are hopefully going to have dinner this evening. We have missed each other twice, and if it does not work out then it will just not happen this trip because of work schedules. What can you do?

    I am feeling good about my food intake and choices this week, and hope that when I finally step onto the bathroom scale next Wednesday I should be pleased with the number.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 797

    What a shock… the Internet is not working today. Why not? Cuba. I am only very slight pit off by the inconvenience, and will not lose one minute’s enjoyment for that. I will have e to try to tether at some point to speak to someone, but other than that I have no real need to be connected while I’m here.

    Yesterday was a typical day for me insofar as a lot of things did not happen as planned, and I had a lovely day nonetheless. The only issue that I had was the disrespect shown to me by two groups of people… sometimes it happens from Cubans, but tourists seem to take the concept of Cuban Standard Time a little too quickly. A couple that I met on the airplane were supposed to meet me in the morning but they did not show up. I was not bothered one bit by that because the plans were very fluid… I knew when we discussed it that either we would connect or we would not. They reached me by phone at 2:30pm and asked to meet for lunch – they would meet me in 30 minutes. They showed up 75 minutes later, which only slightly irked me in that I was not hungry, but I did not want to eat lunch at 4:30pm knowing that I had dinner plans (which fell through because of someone else disrespecting my time).

    I want to be clear that the couple did not intentionally disrespect me. They were in Cuba for their first visit, and thinking that their credit cards would work, they brought almost no cash. This was a huge and disastrous mistake for an American tourist to make when coming to Cuba. Fortunately I was able to bail them out before they went hungry – they transferred money to my US account and I got Cuban cash here. Again, I am only happy to help. What inconvenienced me was that they told me we were probably going to have dinner (my other plans fell through). At 9:15 they promised they would confirm or cancel within 15 minutes. They decided to eat in their hotel which was not a problem for me; the problem was that they did not call to tell me, so I waited over an hour before cutting bait and going to eat. I do not ever like to eat at 11:00pm.

    With the exception of the times I ate reasonably yesterday. I hate that I ate late at night, but other than that I did fine. I also walked a lot – I believe I did over 15,000 steps before midnight, and I know I walked 5,000 steps before calling it a night. I am not worried about my weight but I know I am not gaining this week (so far).

    I could write more but I’m just trying to enjoy my day. It is sunny and hot and I am loving it.

    Have a great day!

  • Day 796

    Yesterday was a wonderful day from beginning to end. IY”H every day should be as good.

    After the ridiculously long, stressful, and expensive two-day span that was Saturday into Sunday, I landed in Cuba only one hour later than I had originally planned for, and was at my apartment by 4:30pm. I did not unpack, but I did go into my suitcase to find a pair of shorts and my sandals (I had changed into a short-sleeve shirt on the plane from Toronto to Houston) and I went out to meet my buddy only a few minutes later than expected. He and I spent the evening together, enjoying a coffee and then dinner… followed by another snack a little later. I was back in my apartment by 11:00pm, and while I was quickly running out of juice, I had to unpack and organize my kit before turning in. I turned on the water heater so that I would be able to shower before getting into bed, which I was finally able to do by 12:30am. I slept like the dead.

    I seldom eat well on travel days, and what with all of the stress and anxiety of the entire ordeal Sunday was no exception. After everything, I should have turned it off… but as we sat in the cafe-bar toward the end of the evening, as Johnny devoured his desert I compounded it by indulging in a plate of French fries. I knew it was wrong… and I did not and do not and will not feel bad or apologize for it. My step count for the day was 14,000, and my stress count was through the roof. I deserved every morsel and every calorie that I ate Sunday.

    Yesterday would have to be better… and it was. I did not eat breakfast, partially because the restaurant I had planned to eat at was not open yet, but also because I met a few guys from Kentucky at my buddy’s cafe and nibbled on a piece of their toast. For lunch I had a plate of pasta (which in Cuba is a reasonable size, and not what one might get in a restaurant in North America). Dinner was a plate of fried plantains and a chicken dish that likely had the nutritional value (or lack thereof) of an order of General Tao’s chicken… but again it was a reasonable size. I walked 17,000 steps throughout the day, enjoyed many cigars and cups of coffee, and the company of a few friends I always see when I’m here. In the balance, yesterday was a weight-plan success.

    After dinner I went back to Johnny’s bistro for another cigar and a video call, and I ran into the guys from Kentucky who joined me for a cigar… and pulled out a bottle of very fine bourbon. I relaxed until closing and then walked with Johnny as far as my apartment, where I picked up another cigar and then went to see my friend Gloria at her work. She and I chatted until nearly 3:00am, at which point I headed back to my place and had a very good (if short) sleep.

    This morning I ordered a plate of fried eggs and toast, and a couple of cups of coffee. Depending on whether or not people I met show up or not, I will either be leading a tour today, or I will just do my own thing in Habana Viella. While it would be great if they do show up, my day will likely be no better or worse if they do or not… it will just be different.

    My goal is to register 15,000 steps or more every day in Havana. That should not be a difficult goal to achieve, and will likely do much more than that some days. The only thing I need to be aware of is the state of my feet, remembering the problems I had with them on my last trip. Those problems started with a lot of steps in a pair of sandals that were probably well past their expected lifespan (measured in steps, not in age). I gave that pair away, and am wearing another pair that I had… which are older, but not nearly as well worn. After a day and a half in them (and over 30,000 steps) my feet seem fine, so I am optimistic. I brought running shoes just in case, but so far so good. If I need to then I will switch out for runners, but if I can manage it then my other goal is to return to Canada without having worn a single pair of socks the whole trip. We’ll see…

    If the group does not show up then I am planning to have a pizza for either lunch or dinner. The other meal will likely be fish or pasta. We’ll see. I did not feel the need to snack yesterday and while I was peckish by about 12:30am, I did nothing about it and went to bed a little hungry. I would have had to be much hungrier to decide to eat after 11pm. If I can make it through today without snacking then it will absolutely be another good food day.

    It has been some time since I wrote about my bowel movements, but this morning was so good that I feel I should mention that my system is working well, and I suspect that it was ridding my body of all the garbage I ate Sunday. As I walked toward my buddy’s bistro for breakfast I felt five pounds lighter.

    On the negative side, I was extremely disappointed with myself yesterday morning when I put on one of my new shirts and it was tight. I could have gotten away with it, but decided against it and changed into something looser. Hopefully within a few days I will try it on again with better results. While I am well aware that hope is not a strategy, I am truly hoping I can make that happen.

    It is now approaching 10:00am and my group is not here. As I said, either they will show up… or they will not. Either way…

    …have a great day!

  • Day 769

    After yesterday’s horrible 2.4 lbs. gain, it was a relief to drop most of a pound this morning. I understand that I am not as active this week as I would like – what with the class that I am teaching, but also with my recovering from a terrible head cold (in addition to nearly a week of diarrhea), I have not been in the right headspace (or I suppose body space) to work out. I am still not feeling great, and do not expect to be back on the treadmill before the weekend.

    I made a pretty spontaneous decision yesterday… I booked another trip to Havana for the last week of March. Yes, that is scarcely a month after I got back from my last trip… but it might also be my last opportunity to go away for a few months, as I am starting a teaching contract April 1 that will have me teaching three evenings per week until the end of July. That is good news for my ability to earn a living and pay my bills but does not bode quite so well for my ability to go away… at least not to destinations where reliable Internet is a myth.

    I am skipping dinner tonight… sort of. I have a couple of errands I need to run, and then I am going to Hamilton to pick out a couple of new shirts to have tailored for me. Yes, it is that time again… the Hong Kong tailor is here for a couple of days, and while I have been in the dumps lately, I am going to get a couple of new shirts, and maybe a new sports jacket. I don’t know… something new to brighten my wardrobe for the summer. We’ll see. In any event, I know that I will be out of the house from 5:30 until 9:15 or so, and I am not going to eat that late; I will take a protein bar with me in case I get hungry though… and maybe I’ll pick up some peanuts.

    By the way, when I do get home from all of those errands, I will have a meeting with my diet buddy. We have not spoken since before I left for Cuba… it will be great to chat with her again!

    Tomorrow morning, I have to go to get a document notarized. I would give anything to change that… but that’s life. Not all of life is pleasant, and not all of it is in our control. We can only control ourselves, and sometimes the whims, perceptions, and mental issues of others can crash down on us. The best that we can do is survive and try to recover. That is what I will do.

    I’ll see you tomorrow.

  • Day 764

    I am still sick today, and I am going to take it easy. Princess Sophie and I stayed in bed until after 9:15am (which for me is nearly unheard of), and then after my morning ritual, we went for our walk.

    I have been asked to define what I mean by ‘sick.’ I have a head cold and have been sneezing and my nose has been running unabated since Wednesday. Owing to that, my nostrils are chapped and a bit painful, but I bought a ChapStick (not the brand, but similar) to ease that. I have also had… soft stool (a very polite way to say it) these last couple of days. For me to sit down in the airplane washroom on a three-hour flight is unheard of unless I am having issues. I do not think that these issues are related to anything that I ate or drank (although I suppose that is possible) but because of a bug of some sort. I will live. As I said, I will take it easy today and tomorrow, and I’ll be fine for my class next week.

    I was on the fence a couple of times during the trip, especially when I was eating a lot of pasta and on the days when I was drinking somewhat heavily (there were two such days). I also know that my 36-hour travel ordeal was not going to help. With that said, I was quite pleased to discover this morning that I weigh five pounds less today than I did the morning I flew out. I guess all of that walking really paid off!

    I ate a very late breakfast today, so I do not intend to eat my next meal until 3:00pm or so, as such, I likely will not be having dinner, although I might pick up challah rolls to ring in the Sabbath. We’ll see.

    You may have noticed these last few days that I am back to signing off with ‘Have a great day!’ which I had dropped since the problems began in early November. I am not going to discuss them in any detail, but one of the reasons for my trip to Cuba was to reset. I think I did that successfully and even though I wish things had gone differently, sometimes there is nothing one can do to fix someone else’s problems. I wish her health and happiness but am getting ready to move on with my life. For everyone who has told me that there are plenty of fish in the sea… I am not ready for anything real and will start with catch-and-release for the foreseeable future. With that said, at least I have come back from Cuba with a slightly clearer head than I had two weeks ago. (Not to mention five pounds lighter!)

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 762

    My bags are mostly packed and I went out for breakfast. I was supposed to meet a friend but he was a no-show… very irregular for him, and I am a little worried. With that said, I know he had a meeting last night where he had to make a speech, and he might have been out very late. I know I will hear from him when he wakes up and he will be extremely sorry. In any event, I had my last breakfast, and have one more meeting with another friend from 11-1, at which point I will grab a taxi to the airport. As much as I hate leaving Havana, I am looking forward to being home for a little while.

    I missed my steps goal yesterday by 500 steps, but only because I ended up walking home after midnight. I was at about 2000 steps by the time I went to bed, so I still hit it. I also had way too much to drink (thanks to my buddy the restaurateur who kept pouring, and then the person who wanted to meet with me to learn about cigars who kept ordering) so I was not really concerned by the steps by 11pm. If I have not lost weight this trip it is because of those two days of alcohol, the pasta I’ve been eating (most meals here involve pork or seafood, and my religious beliefs supersede my weight loss), and the little chocolates that most cafes serve with a cup of coffee. Having said that, I am not worried. If I need to redouble my efforts when I get home then I will.

    Have a great day folks… I’ll see you tomorrow in Canada!

  • Day 761

    After missing the mark (only by one measure) the previous day, I shot through my fitness watch’s steps goal yesterday, surpassing 20,000 steps for the second time in a week, and for the third time since I got to Cuba. With that said, the soles of my feet are feeling it a bit today. It is nothing like it was a week ago, but I am still going to take care to not overdo it too badly today. The goal on the watch is 17,420; I will not force myself, but expect if I do not surpass that, I will still come close.

    I have not been eating entirely smart, but I still expect that I will not have gained weight during this trip. I know the pair of shorts that I am wearing today felt much tighter last Sunday when I first put them on, but that could be all in my mind. In 48-hours I will know for sure when I step onto the scale Thursday morning.

    As I had planned, I did my cigar shopping yesterday. While the selection is abysmal, I still found a couple of very good boxes of cigars to take home with me. I am not disappointed! What did disappoint me was that the Partagas store (behind the Capitolo) was closed. I am told that it is going to be reopened and that they are simply rebuilding it. The store certainly did look like a construction site when I walked by, so that is certainly plausible. In the meantime, for my second trip in a row I ended up at the La Casa del Habanos in Plaza De Armas. L found two boxes with a lot of age on them which is rare and difficult. A good cigar gets better with age which is why I have a few boxes in my humidor at home that have been there for a couple of years. The two boxes that I am bringing back are from 2017 and 2018 respectively, meaning they are absolutely ready to smoke right now. I am excited to crack them open, although I will not be doing that to smoke them in the winter… they will either wait until spring, or else for a day when I am invited to a friend’s indoor lounge.

    What else did I do yesterday? I took my laundry in to be washed, lest I find myself out of socks and underwear. I took them in early in the day hoping they would be ready in the afternoon, but because of a misunderstanding (on my part) they needed to dry overnight. I am never inflexible in Cuba, but I did need to take one pair of socks which I took home straight away and hung from my fan so that I could wear them today. Owing to the damage I did to my feet on my first day, this is my first Cuba trip ever that I have run out of socks. My sandals have stayed in the room the entire time! In a bizarre twist, it is also my first Cuba trip that when I packed my suitcase, I only packed the socks that I thought I would need for working out, hence the need to do laundry. It is not the worst thing – I will have much fewer clothes to wash when I get back to Canada. I spent some time talking with the tourist friends I met who were going home yesterday, exchanging contact information so we can stay in touch. I had dinner with a friend who reminded me of the truth of what I call Cuban Standard Time, which is to say that she was ninety minutes late. No matter, that gave me ninety minutes to people-watch in Parque Central.

    We had old clothes for dinner! Okay, that needs some clarification: One of the most popular Cuban meals is called ropa viella, which is really shredded beef. It was delicious! We ate at a restaurant a minute or two from the Capitolo called Paladar Kilometro Zero – all of Cuba is measured in distance from the capital, and that is where it starts. The food was amazing and the musicians were fabulous, playing instrumental Cubanized versions of many American and European standards. I always appreciate a good saxophone, and this guy could play!

    After I dropped her off, I met a couple in the bar across the street from her who were speaking English. They are a married couple, he from New York and she is local. She is a tour guide, and we had a great conversation. As has happened several times this trip, I offered them a cigar and they insisted on buying me a drink. I eventually walked back to my buddy’s cafe and ended the evening there.

    My plans for today are very simple and uncluttered. I have two oligations: I have to collect my laundry, and I am having lunch with Johnny. After that…? I dunno. Until then? I dunno. I am going to walk back to my apartment to drop my computer off, and then I will likely walk around the old city for a few hours. Oh, and I am sure that throughout the day I will drop in on a couple of friends where they work to say hello.

    I am both pleased and shocked by how advanced my Spanish has been. Five years ago (or even two!) I was breaking my teeth to understand and to be understood… and I would avoid being alone for any length of time with people who did not understand English. This past week I have spent many hours with several individuals and groups who did not speak any English, or if they did, I did not trouble them with it. Yes, functioning entirely in Spanish is a bit tiring for me, but I did not realize until the past couple of days how it (my Spanish) has advanced. I am really happy about that, and will continue to work on it.

    As for food… I will continue to be mostly good, without restricting myself. I will continue to eat and drink moderately, and I will get a lot of steps in (without overdoing it). If my weight on Thursday is exactly what it was the morning I left Canada then I will be extremely happy, but I am prepared to be as much as 3-4 pounds heavier without getting too down about it. Whether or not that happens, I will be back on the treadmill by the weekend.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 760

    After a wet and rainy day yesterday, this morning is sunny (for now) but windy. I am told that it is going to rain later, but so far there is no sign of that, nor is it expressed in my phone’s weather app. We will see.

    Yesterday was the first day since I arrived that I did not hit my steps goal according to my fitness watch’s bar. To be fair, it raises the bar higher when I keep hitting it, and yesterday’s goal was 17,250, and I was short by about 1,300 steps. A combination of the rain and a friend insisting we take a bicycle taxi somewhere – and my deciding to not push for it at 11:30pm (I could have, but decided to relax) meant that yesterday was my first day since I got to Cuba that I did not take 16,000 steps… only 15,880. I am not upset.

    My feet are not in pain but looking at them after the wet day yesterday you can see that they are blistered and calloused. I am also wearing my last pair of clean socks, and it is a good thing that I took my dirty clothes to be laundered this morning. I will have them back in time for me to ‘dress up’ for dinner with my friend. It is the first time that I can think of that I am planning to wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt in Cuba. Even though my clothes supply will be replenished, I am still planning to wear the shirt that I saved for the occasion. I want to look good tonight! No, I am not going into detail… but the shirt is my black guayabera.

    Today is the day I am actually going to start my cigar shopping. Yes, I have bought plenty of cigars to smoke here… I mean for what I plan to take home. I have to be economical about it because I only have so much cash on me… but also there are limits to how many I am allowed to bring back to Canada. Oh well! I will visit a couple of shops to see what is available, and I will make my decisions based on that.

    I am not meeting my friend until dinner time, and my only obligation between now and then is collecting my laundry. I will also try to remember to go back to my casa after lunch to turn on the gas so that I can have hot water to shower before dinner. Other than that, I will be on my own, free to saunter from shop to shop to see what cigars are available. It would be nice if I could hit today’s posted goal of 17,110, but I will not push myself too hard. My breakfast was just served to me, and I’ll have a reasonable lunch. 17,000? If yes then yes and if not then whatever.

    Have a great day!