One of the most beautiful places in Havana is the Malecon embankment. And although many houses are in a dilapidated state, a walk along the Atlantic Ocean is quite enjoyable. Especially in the evenings.
It begins in Old Havana at the fortress of San Salvador de La Punta.
In principle, you don’t have to go anywhere, but just stand and look at the rarities “floating” by and already get a lot of pleasure.
However, the embankment stretches from here for almost 8 km, and consists entirely of multi-colored, multi-caliber architecture that decorates the coastline of Havana.
We'll go there now and try to figure out what's going on there.
Many of the buildings are in a sorry state, but restoration work is visible in some places, so this may soon be a completely different, sparkling Avenida de Malecon.
The dam and the spacious street on it were planned here in the middle of the 19th century. But the idea was realized only at the beginning of the 20th century under the Americans.
It was then, in 1902, that the first 500 meters of the magnificent embankment were built, which immediately won the sympathy of the townspeople, who loved to stroll along it, look at others and show themselves... )
Yes, Havana today looks a little shabby, but no less attractive for that. Moreover, in recent years, the old districts have been actively restored.
As I mentioned, the Malecon is essentially a dam built to protect the city from ocean waves. However, even when the waves are relatively calm, the spray often spills over it and floods the roadway. It is hard to imagine what happens here during a storm.
There are never any traffic jams here! It seems there aren't even any traffic lights – you can cross the road wherever you want… )
Beautiful wrought-iron lanterns were installed several years ago for the Pope's visit. On the horizon, the Capitol dome is visible, covered in scaffolding. And nearby, a monument to the mulatto general Antonio Maceo, a hero of the 1895 war of independence, is visible.
As I move along the embankment, I approach the border of the Vedado district, built up with high-rise hotels and representative buildings of various companies and banks.
This area is noticeably different from Old Havana, you only have to look around to notice it.
Although not without a pleasant Soviet ambience.)
Perhaps the main historical landmark of the area is the legendary Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Before the revolution, all the world celebrities who came to Cuba stayed here. These were Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, and Walt Disney. Al Capone himself spent quite a lot of time in this hotel.
So it is quite a nice place, where they have managed to preserve the interior from the 1930s (as well as the exterior) to this day.
We'll stop by the hotel later, but for now we'll continue our walk along the Malecon embankment.
The first thing that catches the eye in this part is a monument to the dead sailors from the American cruiser "Maine", which exploded and sank in the Havana roadstead in 1898. A murky story, after which the Spanish-American War began. More than 260 people died in the explosion of the ship...
The building on the left is Edifico Focsa, a 39-story residential building, the tallest building in Cuba (121 m). In addition to residential apartments, there are also public spaces, restaurants, shops, a theater, etc. A real high-rise Havana!
This small square has a loud name: This is the Anti-Imperialist Tribune of Jose Marti and the Square of Flags. Wow!) The funniest thing is that it is located right opposite the former US Embassy, and symbolizes something like the unbending will of the Cuban people, who defended their independence with weapons in hand. The US Embassy has long been officially closed in Cuba, but unofficially operates (of course) on the territory of the Swiss Embassy, as the "US Interests Section in Cuba". )
It's certainly cozy here, and everything looks quite modern for Havana.
And the embankment goes somewhere further and further, right up to the mouth of the Almendares River. This part was built later, between 1948 and 1952, and I found it less interesting.
So, after wandering around and looking at the local fishermen,
yes, onto the menacing surface of the ocean,
I decide to go deeper into the city's embankment area for a while.
Moreover, there are such pleasing to the eye Soviet landmarks here...)
Parking near a residential building. )
On the street,
The funniest and most amazing thing is that all these rarities are running! One of the local taxi drivers, with whom I managed to talk, told me that all these old cars run on Soviet VAZ engines... )
Here a local taxi pulled up to a beautiful Spanish palace and at the same time a residential building, from which about five passengers got out,
and it seems that there are still the same number of passengers left inside... ) Cuba, however!
The main entrance to the Hotel National de Cuba. You can calmly enter inside, walk around the public areas, looking at the interiors;
Or go out into the vast expanses of the luxurious garden that surrounds the hotel on all sides.
By the way, you can hear Russian speech everywhere here... )
But for me the main thing is, of course, the view of the ocean and the beautiful Malecon embankment.
It only remains to mention that closer to night the embankment turns into a noisy street filled with Cubans and tourists having fun and celebrating something of their own! And here is the whole bouquet of entertainment! Therefore, be careful and cautious!)
Source: travel.ru
