{"id":5530,"date":"2016-03-26T21:35:25","date_gmt":"2016-03-26T21:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=5530"},"modified":"2016-03-26T21:35:25","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T21:35:25","slug":"the-rolling-stones-play-havana-cuba-and-we-were-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=5530","title":{"rendered":"The Rolling Stones play Havana Cuba.\u00a0 And, we were there!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been said that \u201cevery time someone smokes a cigarette they lose a minute of their life and that minute is given to Keith Richards\u201d.\u00a0 Having seen him in action at last night\u2019s concert in Havana, I\u2019d say that is surely true.\u00a0 And, with all the cigarette smokers here in Cuba, I believe that he\u2019s sharing some of those minutes with Mick Jagger.<\/p>\n

Well, we did it\u2026 Brenda and I hopped on a bus (more to come on that in a bit) yesterday morning to Havana to attend the Rolling Stones concert.\u00a0 And what a \u201ctrip\u201d it was.<\/p>\n

To get this all organized, we hooked up with someone that our friend (Isn\u2019t that where all important connections are made, anyway?) Lars had met at the marina bar, a Norwegian guy that arranged a shared bus to head go to Havana and then return to Cienfuegos.\u00a0 It promised to be a very long, but fun, day and did not disappoint.<\/p>\n

I have been remiss in not posting a photo of our new friend Lars, without who\u2019s \u201cinfluence\u201d, I expect that we would not have made the trek.\u00a0\u00a0\"3-26-16a And, in the interest of full disclosure, after seeing so many vehicles loosely described as \u201cbuses\u201d, we were very curious about what we were getting ourselves into.\u00a0 It turned out fine as our \u201cride\u201d turned out to be a converted Ford armored truck circa 1952 with co-drivers that weren\u2019t even born when the truck came off of the assembly line in Detroit.\u00a0\"3-26-16aOur organizers for the trip were two hard drinking Norwegians and their \u201cgirlfriends\u201d, Cuban girls that could have easily passed for their daughters, and that is being generous, along with additional \u201ccompanionship\u201d provided by an ample supply of beer and Russian vodka.\u00a0\u00a0 To further complete the picture their definition of a \u201cNorwegan\u201d bloody Mary consisted of ice, vodka and a whole tomato plopped into a plastic cup.\u00a0 Very thrifty as the tomato could be used again and again and it was.\u00a0 And, all of this was in full swing, of course, shortly after 09:00.\u00a0\"3-26-16aEven Brenda put on a good game face and had a swig of beer to wash down her Pringle \u201cbrunch\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0\"3-26-16aA perfect way to start the day.\u00a0 Yum\u2026Lars came along for the ride but would not be with us at the concert as he was meeting up with friends in Havana.\u00a0 Sans Lars, here\u2019s a shot of our travel companions for the day.\"3-26-16aThe run to Havana took us about 5 hours with quite a few \u201cpotty breaks\u201d along the way.\u00a0\u00a0 No need for a formal rest-stop, any bush along the highway was good enough, even for the \u201cgirls\u201d, Brenda excluded, of course, \u00a0good little CT Girl that she is.<\/p>\n

The view along the \u201chighway\u201d such as it is, was quite interesting compared to the very mountainous landscape of Eastern Cuba with miles of flat grasslands and sugar cane plantations.\u00a0\u00a0 Oddly, this included a 50 kilometer stone wall built a few years ago of volcanic rock found in the nearby fields.\u00a0 To see this \u201cfence\u201d running alongside the road for mile after mile was something to see.\"OLYMPUSWe arrived in Havana around noon and went to a seaside hotel for lunch.\u00a0\u00a0 Our traveling companions, and the \u201cgirls\u201d in particular, were looking a bit wilted after a morning of heavy partying.\u00a0 As my dad used to say \u201cwhat goes down like honey comes up like lye\u201d.\u00a0 Yes, the beer was gone pretty quick (Editor: I did have a few beers before lunch but don\u2019t tell my mother) and then, present company excluded, a large \u00a0dent was put in the vodka supply which turned out to be the \u201clye\u201d for at least one of the girls. \u00a0\u00a0Not a pretty picture, let me tell you.<\/p>\n

The area where we ate, near the pool at the hotel, was very nice and well kept.\u00a0\"3-26-16aHowever, when I headed out to the ocean side, I got a look \u201cbehind the curtain\u201d at a part of the hotel that had been ravaged by a hurricane some years ago.\u00a0 What a contrast and a good example of how many of the buildings in Cuba look \u201cfrom the other side\u201d.\"3-26-16aAway from the most popular tourist areas the condition of the \u201cinfrastructure\u201d can be pretty alarming.\u00a0Along the way we passed \u201cembassy row\u201d with some magnificent buildings.\u00a0 Unfortunately, from inside our \u201cvault\u201d I couldn\u2019t get many photos.\u00a0 However, I did snap a shot of what I\u2019ll call the \u201cChe\u2019s Inn\u201d.\u00a0 Boy, do I hope that this post isn\u2019t seen by any \u201crevolutionaries\u201d.\u00a0\"OLYMPUSAbout an hour before the concert began we headed out to find a spot to watch the show.\u00a0\u00a0 The number of people streaming in as we arrived was just breathtaking.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even guess how many people were packed into the park by the time the show began but it could have easily been a million or more.\u00a0\u00a0 From where I stood, not far from the entrance to the park, I judged that several thousand streamed by every few minutes.<\/p>\n

The air was ripe with anticipation and the stage and surrounding speakers and video screens was awe inspiring.\u00a0\u00a0\"OLYMPUSGreat people watching including an intimate moment between mother and daughter. \u00a0\"OLYMPUSThere was also a good amount of heated \u201cdiscussion\u201d between young couples, perhaps made more testy by the hot still evening air.<\/p>\n

I was particularly struck by this Brit showing the \u201ccolors\u201d of mother Cuba.\u00a0 Perhaps a fitting metafore for what the future holds as they re-enter the world stage.\"OLYMPUSI\u00a0can\u2019t even imagine what it must have cost The Stones to bring in everything to put this show on.\u00a0 Keep in mind that this concert was free so all anyone had to do was to show up and show up they did.\u00a0 However, the Stones are no dummies so I am sure that they have found a way to make \u201cfree\u201d pay very well for themselves.\u00a0 Brenda and I really wanted to buy some t-shirts but we never even saw a concession stand of any sort.\u00a0 Perhaps we arrived too late or were just too far from the stage.<\/p>\n

One thing I am sure of is that the Stones don\u2019t do this \u201cjust for fun\u201d.\u00a0 Although, it sure seemed that The Stones were having a great time on the stage.\"OLYMPUSI don\u2019t know how old these guys are but they have got to be in their 70s and look even older but with the energy of a 40 year old.\u00a0 Make that the energy of a 40 year old after several cans of Red Bull.\u00a0 I wonder how they look this morning?\u00a0 Probably not too pretty.\"OLYMPUSWhile we were a long way from the stage, we had a great view and had no problem hearing the music and what great music it was.<\/p>\n

It was an amazing show, I have to say.\u00a0 Unfortunately, our \u201ctour organizers\u201d decided to leave early with the hope of getting out of town before the \u201crush\u201d and we made our way back to the \u201crendezvous\u201d spot only to find that the \u201cbus\u201d was nowhere to be found.\u00a0 We finally were able to connect with the driver but it took about two hours as the cell lines were totally overwhelmed by a million others trying to make calls as well.<\/p>\n

We finally connected with the bus around midnight and headed back to Cienfuegos.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that armored cars are designed to carry very heavy loads so the shocks are set up, to be kind, very \u201cfirm\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 So rough, in fact, that Brenda\u2019s pedometer was registering every bump in the road, 37,000 of them before we even arrived in Havana.\u00a0 That\u2019s a L-O-O-O-O-O-OT of bumps.<\/p>\n

By the time we made it back to the marina it was about 03:30 and we were TOTALLY ready to hit the rack but not before I took a quick and very bracing cold shower to rinse off the grime of the day.<\/p>\n

All and all, what a \u201ctrip\u201d it was for a couple of \u201c60 somethings\u201d and, for sure, one that will be tough to beat. \u00a0\u00a0When we were planning our trip to Cuba I can tell you that Brenda and I NEVER imagined that we\u2019d be seeing the Rolling Stones LIVE along the way and just one more example of how almost nothing is as we expected here in Cuba.<\/p>\n

Yes, Cuba is changing and we are very lucky to be here to experience it first hand, if only in a small way, as it unfolds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been said that \u201cevery time someone smokes a cigarette they lose a minute of their life and that minute is given to Keith Richards\u201d.\u00a0 Having seen him in action at last night\u2019s concert in Havana, I\u2019d say that is surely true.\u00a0 And, with all the cigarette smokers here in Cuba, I believe that he\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_s2mail":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5530"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5550,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5530\/revisions\/5550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}