Heart of Havana – Part 3: Universidad and Plaza de la Revolucion
Universidad de Havana
Not too far down the road, we passed by Universidad de Habana. Tall pillars of stone supported its grand colonial buildings.
As I was taking photos of classic cars passing by, I noticed a familiar car.
It’s Omar!
Omar gave us an update of our plan to go to Cienfuegos. He told us in Spanish (he can’t speak English) that “no es posible” for tickets to Cienfuegos. He said everything’s full! It was hard to understand what he was saying, but I figured he was advising us to go to the station and check for collectivos.
He said we can arrange for pick-up at our casa particulares instead of meeting the collectivo at the station. Mr Cowboy and I thought it’s a good idea, we’ll head there after checking out Plaza de la Revolucion.
Thank f**k I speak and understand a little bit of Spanish. It’s been a struggle and would probably have been almost impossible getting around otherwise!
Plaza de la Revolucion
I underestimated how far the place was for real versus what’s on the map. It was quite a walk!
We finally made it and Mr Cowboy sounded disappointed by saying “This is it? Just a cemented square?” in front of the tall structure and sculpture.
Plaza de la Revolucion
“It’s pretty much what I expected,” I responded. He thought it would be like Plaza Vieja with colonial buildings around.
Well, it’s a memorial to the revolution, what else would it be but post-50s infrastructure and architecture?!? The museum was closed including access to the tower. It’s a shame, that would have given us a 360-degree full view of Havana.
Plaza de la Revolucion – Fidel Castro
Since we were already near the Necropolis, just a few blocks away (on the map), we decided to check it out. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong side and missed out the grand entrance. Found out about it on the way back to San Rafael while in our taxi.
Ah, the things you don’t know about if you don’t have a local tour guide. It’s all trial and error!
Sigh… this is real travel!
