Page 85 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2017

We were chauffeured about in a modern, air-conditioned tour bus past people riding in horse-drawn buggies. The restaurants where we ate formerly served as residences, but the food was excellent.
As expected, a classic car fleet of freshly re-painted 1940- 50s cars could be seen everywhere, and men hawked rides at $50 per hour. “Coming to Havana is like going back in a time machine,” my daughter, Brittany, remarked. But those in our group who had visited the previous year were surprised at the rapid change since their last visit.
“See that fleet of bright new taxis?” David Gross said, pointing to a group of cars at the airport. “They weren’t here last year.”
He said the same was true for the large construction cranes which have arisen along the waterfront.
As a part of our cultural exchange, we attended one of the neighborhood Committees for the Defense of Revolution meetings. They’ve been described as the “eyes and ears of the Revolution.” The original intent was to serve as a sort of secret police organization to keep tabs on the people.
We joined the CDR president and a group of citizens in the darkened street where we asked each other questions through an interpreter. After the business was finished, they cranked up a boom box, brought out a bottle of cheap rum, and began dancing. As we danced along with them, it became clear that people are people, no matter where they live.
I had always wanted to see Hemingway’s house and his boat, Pilar, so I opted out of the walking tour and set out
in a 1954 Ford convertible. Hemingway’s modest house is situated on magnificent grounds, where his boat still sits beneath an open shed as if awaiting his return. Most notable was the small size of the boat which he fished from Cuba, to Key West, and on to Bimini.
After a six-hour bus ride, we boarded the 110-foot Jardines Aggressor for a four-hour cruise to ‘Gardens of the Queen’ located 60 miles off Cuba’s southern coast. Christopher Columbus named this chain of 250 islands in honor of Spain’s Queen Isabel.
Casey Coy with the Florida Aquarium in Tampa said, “I’ve dived throughout the Caribbean and the reefs here are the healthiest I’ve seen.”
We dove with a saltwater croc named Nino, a number of 8-10 foot-long Caribbean reef and silky sharks, moray eels, lobsters, and nearly every species of tropical fish in the Caribbean. I left planning my next trip back and maybe I’ll dance again in the streets of Havana.
Frank Wilem is the Executive Producer/Co-Host of Gulf South Outdoors which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on WXXV Fox 25 and Hook It & Cook It which airs Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. on WXXV NBC. Visit www.GulfSouthOutdoors.com for more information.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
FRANK WILEM standing in front of Hemingway’s boat, Pilar, that sits beneath an open shed on his property.
CRUISIN’ in a 1954 Ford convertible.
July 2017 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 85
DIVING WITH NINO, a saltwater croc in the Caribbean.