Havana Day 2

Day 2
Today I slept until 8:30. We were supposed to have breakfast at that time, but when I went downstairs no one else was awake. We finally figured out that the people who live in the house have a son, and his wife is who picked us up at the airport. At 10:30 our cab driver Jose and guide Nelson picked us up. First we went to Hemingway mariana. There we saw several large boats and had explained to us that the government had taken ownership of the condos within for a new medical deal with Venezuela for patient accommodations. 
Next up was a quick stop on a bridge that overlooked a canal with homes and boats, truly a great photo stop. We next drove by Castros compound and I was struck by the lack of apparent security His house is several km past the entrance. From there we went to get fuel and travel to Hemingway's home. We had a tour guide that explained the contents of the home and it's history. The home was built by a French couple and includes a nice pool. Pilar, his boat, is here at the house and is being restored. We had lunch at Dana Carmella's. A house that takes boarders and has a kitchen. The food was wonderful but a bit expensive. The fort in Havana harbor was our final destination of the day. We spent 2 hours walking the grounds and taking photos. Dinner was at Los Amigos a cheap eat and great food. I had steak uruguayan. Slices of ham with cheese in between, battered and fried. Everyone had black beans and rice as a side that was the best I've had.
From there we went to Havana vieja (Old town). The ride to old town was one to remember, a friend of Scott's (Mauricio Upmann) had joined us for dinner and we needed 2 taxis. Our drivers raced through traffic along the harbor road (Malecon), our Russian Ladas filling the cab with so much exhaust that it looked like a concert. Mike has a great photo of what it looked like from behind our smokescreen. Mauricio had never been in any of the tourist bars and was set for a bit of adventure. He commented at one point that Scott knew more about his country than he himself. We cruised several bars with bands playing and ended at La Floridita, another Hemingway hang out and the place where the Daiquiri was invented.