Top 5 Places in Cuba Following Hemingway
If you spend a couple of days in Havana you will surely meet things reminding to the world famous Nobel Prize awarded writer, Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899-1961). He was a big fan of Cuba and spent years of his life in this Caribbean country. In the first timed he stayed at Hotel Ambos Mundos and was frequent guest at the Bodeguita del Medio and Floridita Bars, close to the hotel. In 1940 he bought land next to Havana and he wrote parts of his most famous novels here, in Finca la Vigia. During the Second World War he built up an own anti spy unit and armed his fishing boat, Pilar with anti-tank missile and rocket launcher. He wrote his novel titles the Old Man and the Sea after the war for which he was awarded with Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and then he also got the Nobel in 1954. He spent his evenings in Cojimar telling stories to the locals while drinking rum and playing dominos with them. He left Cuba in 1958 when political situation went wrong during the leadership of Batista, but returned in 1959 when Castro and the revolution won. He died in Florida in 1961.
Nr. 1.: Cojimar
It is a small fishing village and also the scene of The Old Man and the Sea written by the Nobel Prize awarded writer. There is a square named after Hemingway with his statue in the middle of it. You can have a drink at the favourite local restaurant of him, called La Terazza. On the walls you will see photos of Hemingway. Cojimar is locates cca. 15 minuted drive from Havana.
Nr. 2.: Finca la Vigia
It was the house of Ernest Hemingway, now a museum that includes his furniture, his 8000 books or his typewriter. In the garden you can see the cat cemetery (he had 60 cats) and his boat, Pilar. It is located in San Francisco de Paula, 11 kilometres far from the centre of Havana. Easiest way to get there is to catch a taxi or get on the P1 or P2 bus line. Open between 9 am and 4 pm everyday except Tuesdays and Sundays.
Nr. 3.: Hotel Ambos Mundos
This four star, colonial stlye hotel is located in the pedestrian and shopping street of Havana, called Calle Obispo. It is in the near of Plaza de Armas. The Room 511 is still looks the same as Hemingway left it after his last stay. (Address: Calle Obispo No. 153 esq. a Mercaderes, Habana Vieja)
Nr. 4.: Playa Pilar
A breathtakingly beautiful beach at Cayo Guillermo, named after the boat of Hemingway. He was fishing here many times also.
Nr. 5.: La Bodeguita del Medio Bar
The small bar – formerly it was a small grocery – is always crowded with followers of the famous writer drinking his favourite daiquiri.
Miguel is a regular writer for Cubafiesta, a Cuba hotel booking website offering accommodation choices, customised trips and luxurious excursions in Cuba.
