That's me on the front steps of Hemingway's house, Finca Viga. This house is the reason I came to Cuba. Years (and years) ago, I visited Hemingway's house in Key West, Florida. They mentioned he had a house in Cuba too, and that planted the seed for this trip.
Hemingway first visited Cuba in the early 1930s. He rented this house for a year, and then, in 1939, he bought the 40 acre place, with the incredible view for about $12,000. The money was from the advance on "For Whom the Bell Tolls." He wrote "Islands in the Stream," "The Old Man and the Sea" and To Have and Have Not" here. The house is about 20 minutes from downtown Havana.
He lived here for 20 years.
Hemingway left in 1960, some say at the urging of the US government, and he committed suicide in 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho, at 60 years old. His widow, Mary, came to the house once, after he died, to collect some personal stuff. Then she 'bequeathed' the house and its contents to the Cuban government. They and the Finca Vigia Foundation have worked to restore it and catalog his 9,000 books and letters and unfinished writings.
Hemingway only met Fidel Castro one time, at a fishing tournament in 1959 in Cuba.
The house is simply gorgeous. Below, is the bathroom wall, where he wrote his weight and the date every day! and his closet, with his shirts and shoes.
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| Hemingway is revered in Cuba. This from an outdoor book store in Havana |
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Above is our hotel lobby, at the Central Parque Hotel in Havana Vieja. And husb, buying his first Cuban cigar!
Here we are at El Foridita, one of the bars that Hemingway frequented.
Husb is very happy with a Cuban cigar & Daiquiri, just like Hemingway drank.
Our meals, in Cuba were all delicious, with fresh ingredients. However, we ate an inordinate about of black beans, rice, pork and chicken! It's a very limited menu. I had my first, second, third and fourth Mojito's while in Cuba. I'm now officially tired of them. Rum is the official beverage of Cuba and everywhere we went, we were greeted with a welcome cocktail of a Mojito or a Cuba Libre.
Tomorrow's post a tobacco farm in the beautiful Vinales Valley, Cuba
See yesterday's post on Interiors and cars of Havana.
I would so love to visit Cuba and Hemingway home with you. Looks like you had a great time. I loved his home in Key West. So many great vibes.
ReplyDeleteThere was a beautiful bar in Bimini that had many photos of Hemingway with huge fish and of him sitting there drinking. It was one of my favorite wild places, but it burned down a couple years ago. The Compleat Angler. Was it difficult to get visas to Cuba?
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed this visit to Cuba via your posts. Amazingly beautiful even through all the decay. You can really feel the presence of Hemingway in viewing these photos. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFascinating Jane! I loved seeing Hemingway's home through your eyes - so happy to know that the Cuban government has preserved it.
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Jan, we went through a travel agency on a cultural tour and they handled all the visas etc.
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS! What a great insight to Cuba that many of us will never experience first hand. THANK YOU sooo much for this "blog tour"! I'm loving each entry!
ReplyDeleteJane! What a coincidence! I just returned from Cuba too! Loved your photos and can't wait to go back!
ReplyDeleteI have loved your Cuba stories and pictures! Fabulous. I love Hemingway, too, and would love to see the house in Cuba. He was a distant cousin of my mother-in-law (who never met him, to her regret).
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Your posts from Cuba have been fascinating! Hemingway's home is beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed your posts about your trip to Cuba. So fascinating and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAm loving seeing all this images. When we lived in the Bahamas l always wanted to visit BUT as we still visited USA foe work and pleasure...was not advisable to have Cuba on your passport!!xLynda
ReplyDeleteThere is zero chance I could go on a trip with you next summer, but if I could I'd love to go to Cuba and see the Hemingway everything. My dad's first wife was from a Cuban family that left in the 20s for Costa Rica, where he met her. She was a stunning beauty in her youth, and tho she divorced him in the early 1950s (when such a thing was never done! especially among Catholics--he was a piece of work back then) he always still loved her, even though he also loved Mama. I would love to go and see Cuba some day!
ReplyDeleteJane, I am so enjoying these posts. I had to laugh a little at the Rum and Coke. Did you see the thing a while back on FB where people were posting the song that was #1 the week they were born? I did not post mine, but I looked it up. It was "Rum and Cocacola" by the Andrews Sisters. (Definitely not my drink of choice.)
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