Today, I felt confident enough to venture out a bit further. Ivon showed me the best way to Habana Vieja, as she has advised me to stick to the big avenidas. I walked down San Lazaro, all the way to Habana Vieja.

The city is all you expect her to be, ugly and beautiful, une grande dame but friendly, steeped in history but falling apart at the seams. Nothing can prepare you for the smell, though. Like every big city, Habana is polluted, badly so, and the smells of petrol, dog shit and garbage all compete to attack your nostrils.

Crossing the big avenidas, or from the Malecon, the walkway by the sea, to any of the streets, is also a big adventure, as there are virtually no pedestrian crossings, and neither the antique cars, the Ladas or the cocotaxis brake for anyone.

And then there´s the cat calls and whistles. People honking their horns. People calling you lady, hey lady. People offering you taxis, food, love… After walking down San Lazaro, I had heard it all. But you soon learn to ignore them, and to not make eye contact, which seems to be enough of an invitation. Luckily, they soon leave you alone and I was forewarned this is a part of life here, so I wasn’t too bothered.

Saying that, I was quite glad to get to the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, where there were, finally, other tourists. I´ve never been so glad to see someone with a digital camera… It makes you feel that at least you are not alone in sticking out like a sore thumb.

I visited the Museo de la revolucion, which was very interesting as it describes the different phases of the revolution. The building was actually the presidential palace before Fidel took over and was designed by a Cuban and a Belgian architect called Paul Belau! When Fidel was arrested and defended himself, as he is a lawyer, he said la historia me absolvera, history will absolve me. I´m not sure if in the long term, that will be true…

They has huge caricatures of American presidents like Reagan and Bush, explaining in no uncertain terms what pigs and idiots they are…

In the back there were also a few planes and one truck. The note said that the peasants made an armoured truck out of tractors, to assist Che Guevara, but when it was finished, the revolution was already over… I thought that pretty much sums up the Cuban spirit.

I had a quick look at the Capitolio Nacional, but as we will be doing excursions with the students as well, I kept that for later and walked back via the Prado and Malecon. It was about 2 o´clock and very, very hot, so when I got back, I was as red as a tomato…

I think La Habana is slowly starting to grow on me. This morning, I was still a bit shaky, but I´m finding my feet. I´m looking forward to the Spanish lessons and to meeting the rest of the students, I admit I am hoping for one or two English speakers so I have a bit of a conversation…