alexandriacardinals

December 19

Last Day in Cuba

[We were tendering in for a return trip to the Bay of Pigs.  Had we realized we were going to spend as much time there as we did the previous day, we may have opted for a tour of Cienfuegos.  Nevertheless . . . ]

[Back to the docks, lining up our bus and tour guide . . . ]

[And this is why this was still a good option.  When we returned from Playa Giron the previous night, traversing this road in the dark was quite exciting – creatures of all sizes and shapes would meander out on to the road, usually cows or cattle, and there were spots of extreme potholes – we may have averaged 25 mph in the night.  In the daylight, we now had a better look at what we were up against . . . ]

[Our tour guide was Luis, as knowledgeable and affable as he looks . . . ]

[Potholes, carriages, farm equipment, autos . . . it ran the gamut . . . ]

[Henry Reeve (April 4, 1850 — August 4, 1876) was a brigidier general in Cuba’s ‘Ejército Libertador’ (Army of Liberation) – more commonly known as the ‘Ejercito Mambi’ – during the First Cuban War of Independence (Ten Years’ War) (1868-1878). In his early years, he was a drummer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  (Wikipedia)]

[I can’t remember?]

[I’m glad I had a front row seat for this trip . . . ]

[Fidel . . . ]

[And we had heard about this the previous day.  Now we got to watch the live performance – local farmers bring their rice to the highway where they spread it out for drying . . . ]

[Uh-huh, for miles and miles . . . ]

[And chickens apparently have a taste for rice . . . ]

[Coming into Playa Giron . . . ]

[And more rice . . . ]

[Back at the Playa Giron Hotel and the Bay of Pigs . . . ]

[A breakwater . . . ]

[Luis explains the set-up . . . ]

[And a wave does break on the breakwater . . . ]

[Another beautiful day in paradise (well, if you like hot and sticky) . . . ]

[Almost La(ke) Victoria . . . ]

[Back to the museum . . . ]

[As seen from the Cuban side . . . ]

[Luis explains what happened . . . ]

[And this is this the history from the Cuban perspective . . . ]

[Heading back to Cienfuegos, the rice is now being spread over half the road.  Yes, cars drive on it, animals walk over it, apparently all just adding to the flavor . . . ]

[Back through town, where stuff is happening . . . ]

[Back in Cienfuegos, the big city . . . ]

[The charisma of Che is such that I think you see more of him than of Fidel?  He was an Argentine doctor who apparently was the only true Communist among the revolutionaries.]

[Tendering away from Cienfuegos back to the Viking Sun . . . ]

[Adios, Cuba!]

[A night as a table for two.  We always wanted to be part of a group, but I think they misunderstood us this night.  Cheers!]

[As I recall, the Super ordered sea bass . . . ]

[And though I’m not a fan, I ordered coucous because it sounded like it had lots of good things with it . . . ]

[I was wrong – it still had the taste and texture of cardboard!  The Super wasn’t really happy with her bass, so we switched plates.  It turned out to be a double winner!]

[After dinner with the Viking Classicial Trio . . . ]

[And the gingerbread Christmas village, then it was off to bed.]

Old and young, we are all on our last cruise.  ~  Robert Louis Stevenson

Up Next:  Jamaica?

January 18

It just keeps happening over and over and over again.  Next year’s seniors weren’t even born yet when I began “covering” Cardinal sports . . .

[Congratulations to the 2018 seniors, bringing joy and excitement to older people who deign to wander out of their homes in the middle of winter . . . ]

[Sure, they all look innocent enough . . . ]

[But if you tangle with them over a puck in the corner, you’ll find they’re tougher than Boolean algebra . . . ]

[The meeting of the captains.  We’re hosting River Lakes, who beat us earlier in the year.  Revenge always provides good incentive . . . ]

[The seniors are introduced with the parents, beginning with Allison . . . ]

[Talia . . . ]

[Taylor . . . ]

[Calley . . . ]

[Kristin . . . ]

[Josie . . . ]

[2018 SENIORS]

[And they are introduced first . . . ]

[Followed by their teammates . . . ]

[Roger Riley, as always, sings the Anthem.  We have quite a record when he does . . . ]

[He is joined by scoreboard operator, Donnacha O’Connor, better known as the superintendent of the Alexandria Golf Club . . . ]

[LET’S PLAY HOCKEY!!!]

[5 of the 6 seniors started; we couldn’t do 6 for 6 because we don’t have a senior goalie.]

[Blueliners Mayson Toft (14) and Talia (27) . . . ]

[McKenna Ellingson (24) on the doorstep, a scene that was repeated often this game.  McKenna achieved a natural hat trick against Detroit Lakes earlier in the week – amazingly in less than 2 minutes she scored even strength, on a power play, and shorthanded . . . ]

[But not this time . . . ]

[Kaci Trosvig (25) gives it a shot.  We had good legs from the beginning . . . ]

[Where’d it go?]

[Alexis Heckert (20) this time . . . ]

[McKenna, again . . . ]

[And again . . . ]

[And the shot . . . ]

[Save by the goalie . . . ]

[The boys in the VIP zone keeping an eye on things . . . ]

[She was followed on this rush by Marki Oberg (10) . . . ]

[Appears to be a face-off, but where’s the Cards’ center?]

[Alexis finally appears on the downhill side . . . ]

[If there’s one area where the Cards have improved mightily, it’s on face-offs.  Here Alexis shows the proper technique for the best leverage – nose on the ice!]

[Coaches appear satisfied so far . . . ]

[The Trosvig sisters are in together with Allison . . . ]

[McKenna and Anna Doherty (7) move into the offensive zone . . . ]

[And then, we scored!  Kristin from Josie, tying the game at 1 (the Stars had scored a couple minutes earlier on a shot from the blue line that found a corner of the net).]

[And after you finally score following continuous pressure, you generally score again.  So we did – 20 seconds later, Calley from Alexis and Kaci.]

[And then we had the idea that we now had the game in hand.]

[The puck’s in the photo, but no Cards?]

[Oh, here comes Calley . . . ]

[Kristin in with Calley . . . ]

[Calley tries to jam it in as both Trovigs ready for a rebound . . . ]

[Maybe not . . . ]

[Looking good after 2 . . . ]

[It was senior night, so the event was festooned with the band and – cheerleaders . . . ]

[Meanwhile, back at the hockey game, the puck exits stage right . . . ]

[Kristin pirouettes to chase after it . . . ]

[McKenna, again and again and again . . . ]

[And I could see this one coming, so I just did a continuous photo run . . . ]

[The poor goalie must be seeing No. 24 in her sleep . . . ]

[McKenna found the 5-hole for our final goal . . . ]

[Though we tried for more – here Kaci and Calley . . . ]

[Taylor has an upclose and personal meeting with a Star . . . ]

[Well played, Cards.  We are on an 8-game winning streak and are ranked No. 4 in state class A.  I looked back at the game where we lost to the Stars in OT – we outshot them in that game 44 – 24.  It happens.  In this game, the shot differential was minimized by the 5 penalties we took v. none for them.  In a season in which the schedule has been tougher than Boolean algebra (oh, did I use that metaphor already?), our last three regular season games are off the charts – at Grand Rapids, at St. Cloud, and hosting Breck.  Uffda!]

Kill them with success and bury them with a smile.  ~  Usain Bolt

Up Next:  Yup, Panama

December 18

Havana

[We have finished lunch and now it’s time for a walk around Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982 . . . ]

[San Francisco de Asis Square . . . ]

[Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis (or Havana Plaza de la Catedral) . . . ]

[The Basilica . . . ]

[Buildings in and around the plaza . . . ]

[The Basilica (or Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception, you may have noticed that’s the 3rd different name I’ve seen for the church?) . . . ]

[The Super on a photo op . . . ]

[Antonio Gades, a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer, in the plaza.  We had a lovely visit . . . ]

[Large cloth murals hanging in the plaza . . . ]

[I’m not sure . . . ]

[Must be a saxophone player?]

[The Super thinks so – and across the plaza one can see the cloth murals . . . ]

[JAWA?  Is that from a Star Wars movie?]

[Ernest Hemingway lived here for 7 years in the 30’s, and made famous Room 511 where he began writing For Whom the Bell Tolls . . . ]

[If you stand in front of this sign to read it, you can look to your right a couple of blocks to find Hemingway’s favorite watering hole . . . ]

[Legs (yes, I did pass this by at first but went back for the artsy shot) . . . ]

[“The Father of the Nation,” initiated the rebellion against Spanish rule in 1868 . . . ]

[Plaza de Armas El Templete . . . ]

[It says so on this sign . . . ]

[And a closer upper view . . . ]

[Plaza de Armas Habana Vieja (appears to have been a military installation) . . . ]

[Where we were . . . ]

[The Vieja, just across the Bay of Havana from Morro Castle . . . ]

[And here’s the proof . . . ]

[Looking back into the plaza to Carlos Manuel de Cespedes . . . ]

[Or Mosque Abdallah . . . ]

[St. Francis de Assis . . . ]

[Dee introduces our group to a street singer . . . ]

[And asked her to perform for us (the Super grabbed the shot from the opposite side) . . . ]

[La Conversación]

[The Super sits for a chat with Frederic Chopin, the culmination of the celebrations in Cuba for the bicentenary of the birth of the Polish artist . . . ]

[Lonja del Comercio (former Stock Market) . . . ]

[Guess who?]

[Artists were handing me these on the plaza?]

[Fray Junipero Serra and Indian boy . . . ]

[Pull my finger!  The Super with El Caballero de Paris . . . ]

[Bus 7, that’s us!]

 

[Hey, our outdoor fine dining again!]

[Museum of the Revolution looking down the boulevard . . . ]

[Street scene with a Swedish flag?]

[We’ve crossed under the bay to Morro Castle . . . ]

[And the view back toward the city . . . ]

[With the Capitol and construction cranes . . . ]

[It’s time for . . . tourists!]

[With crafts people and their wares . . . ]

[So the Super has to check it out . . . ]

[And our last views of the city . . . ]

[From here, we would be saying good-bye to Havana . . . ]

[Estadio Latinoamericano . . . ]

[Primarily a baseball field, capacity 55,000 . . . ]

[Looks pretty modern for a place built in 1946 and upgraded in 1971 . . . ]

[Hitchhiking is a major form of transportation in Cuba . . . ]

[On the road to the Bay of Pigs – take a right to Australia (yep) and then on to Playa Giron . . . ]

[The sun is setting . . . ]

[The bus pulled off on the side of the road so we could get our first look at the Bay of Pigs . . . ]

[Appears to be an unsuccessful restaurant?]

[Now leaving, Bus No. 7 . . . ]

[I’m not sure if this is Australia or the outskirts of Playa Giron?]

[We have arrived at the Bay of Pigs museum . . . ]

[Or Museo Giron . . . ]

[Some of us would be back here the next day, so this was just a quickie . . . ]

[Entry to the seashore . . . ]

[You gotta have a place for tourists . . . ]

[Because, among other things, we were all hustling down to the beach for sunset photos.]

[And sunset by smartphone . . . ]

[Think I got enough?]

[The Super getting ready to pack it in.]

[The hotel pool, obviously . . . ]

[This is not the end – we will be back here again tomorrow.  Now for the ride “home” in the dark . . . ]

[After a long day, back to the boat (OK, this was a neighboring one).]

No one could have imagined a place like Havana, Cuba. It is absurdly contradictory, always arguing with itself over whether it is audacious or meek, heroic or stupid, beautiful or abhorrent.  ~  Ed Kirwan, The Three Ravens

Up Next:  More Panama

December 18

Havana

[A really BIG day.  I took so many pictures I have to break it up into two parts – pre-lunch and post-lunch.  We begin with wake up and breakfast at the Melia Habana hotel . . . ]

[Such a view!!]

[The neighborhood . . . ]

[I’m a travelin’ man, made a lot of stops, all over the world . . . ]

[And our digs for the one overnight, the only night off the ship for the entire cruise . . . ]

[‘Twas a nice place . . . ]

[Che and Fidel are everywhere . . . ]

[As I recall, this was recent hurricane damage . . . ]

[Public transportation, for the public, no less . . . ]

[Yasser Arafat?]

[Yah, sure, you betcha!]

[Stop!  (Not yield)]

[We were driving around in search of “The Laundry.”  As indicated by the name, it was an old laundry since converted to an artist studio.  We’d stop at intersections where our driver would call out to pedestrians for directions to the place.  It was a lot of fun, though tree limbs on the residential streets threatened to tear the roof off the bus.  We saw embassies and other places where we likely shouldn’t have gone – even our guide Dee thought it was funny and hoped we hadn’t done anything illegal. We were eventually greeted by a legendary land shark, with headlights and a grill?]

[Tourists rush to the studio entrance to avoid being “grilled” by the shark!]

[Our host, with Dee interpreting in the background . . . ]

[If you just ran across this guy on the street, you’d think – artist!]

[Another grill shark – I think the whole idea of this place is, “art as metaphor” . . . ]

[Let’s just take a stroll around the place . . . ]

[All cool stuff, indeed!]

[Then it was time to go as the Super takes a final photo . . . ]

[The main library of the country named in honor of national hero, Jose Marti . . . ]

[The requisite stop for Cuban cigars and coffee.  Yes, our guide Dee helped out behind the counter . . . ]

[I haven’t tried one yet . . . ]

[The municipal hospital – Cuba is known for the quality of its health care and often sends its doctors around the world to aid in emergency siutations . . . ]

[The Capitol looms in the right background . . . ]

[The Cuban Telephone Company buiding with the tower . . . ]

[The capitol . . . ]

[With its dome undergoing renovation . . . ]

[As the sign says, Parque de la India . . . ]

[With the phone company in the background . . . ]

[And now up close and personal with the capitol . . . ]

[Gran Teatro de la Habana (Opera House) . . . ]

[As are the following four photos . . . ]

[Did someone mention vintage cars?]

[New hotel construction . . . ]

[Fort San Salvador and statue of Miranda just across the water from Morro Castle . . . ]

[Street scene . . . ]

[Self explanatory?]

[Walking through Old Havana . . . ]

[ISO fine dining . . . ]

[Where we were . . . ]

[The full explanation . . . ]

[Our destination has been sighted . . . ]

[This must be the place!]

[La Bodeguita del Medio is a typical restaurant-bar of Havana.  It is a famous tourist destination because of the personalities which have patronized it: Salvador Allende, the poet Pablo Neruda, the artist Josignacio and many others. La Bodeguita lays claim to being the birthplace of the Mojito cocktail, prepared in the bar since its opening in 1942, although this is disputed. The rooms are full of curious objects, frames, photos, as well as the walls covered by signatures of famous or unknown customers, recounting the island’s past.  (Wikipedia)]

[This is a privately-owned restaurant, and though it caters to large masses as ourselves we found it to be quite tasty and well served . . . ]

[As often happens on such trips, we’ve already forgotten the names of the folks dining with us here.  As I recall, he is a retired professor from Michigan, and the Super generally referred to him as “Rudy” because she thought he looked like Giuliani . . . ]

[The Supers says . . . ]

[Mmmmm, good!]

Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.  ~  Ernest Hemingway

Up Next:  Continuing the rest of this day