OK, this morning I'll catch you up on the day I skipped - Wed., our last day in Havana. At breakfast, Will had suggested going out to Marina Hemingway just to see it and maybe stopping at the Nacional Hotel which is one of the grand hotels from the 40's. My cruising guide said there was a shuttle that ran back and forth between the marina and the Palacio de Artisania with an outbound run @ 12:30 so we agreed to meet then and there. Before that, Deb & I went to the museum of the Revolution. The guide books had warned us that it was 'exhaustive' in its coverage and that was true. It did not, however, present a very good chronology. There were millions of artifacts - "This is the shirt that Che wore in the invasion of ...." "This was a coin that was in his pocket." etc. A lot of it was interesting and it was very enlightening to see the different interpretation of the history from the one we had heard in the US. Deb was disappointed because the life size diorama depicting Che and Cienfuegos emerging from the jungle had featured the original horses (sacrificed and stuffed) but the horses were no longer there. It was an interesting and informative experience, but our 1 1/2 hr. time frame was way too short to see everything and just about right for not getting overload. At ~12:30 we met at the Palacio de Artisania, but there was no shuttle bus. We asked a taxi driver what schedule it ran on, but he replied, "No mas." It no longer ran. His taxi, however, was a Willys Jeepster - just like Will's first car. And we negotiated a round trip to the marina with a stop at the Nacional Hotel for $30.00cuc - less than the shuttle would have cost us for 4 of us. The Jeepster had the top down and the driver put on 50's music as we drove along the Malecon - it was perfect! The marina was nearly empty - very few boats - but we wandered around looking at what boats were there (mostly sport fishermen) and in the gift shops. We tried to get a bite to eat at the all inclusive resort that is part of the marina, but everything was "for guests only." As we started back, I pointed out the dark storm clouds to the East (the direction we were heading). Sure enough, it let loose. By the time the driver could find a side street to pull off on and then get the top up, we were soaked through. And with the top up, we were nearly exphyxiated by gas fumes. Fortunately the rain didn't last long. We stopped at the Nacional Hotel to wander around and try to dry off. We went through the bar that displayed the names and faces of all the celebrities who had been there - divided by decades. It was a who's who of movies actors and actresses, business tycoons, and mobsters. We considered stopping for a drink or a bite to eat, but the prices fit the setting - expensive. So we got back in the Jeepster (top back down now) and drove along the Malecon back the Palacio. There were many shops in the Palacio - some with truly artisan quality works, some with tourist stuff. We were hungry still so we sent to a little place Will & Sandy knew and shared a pizza and some beer. After that, they took us to the 'biker bar' (big Harley Davidson over the bar and drinks 'V-rod') where they had been several times. The waitress greeted them both with hugs and kisses. It doesn't take long to become 'one of the family' here. The drinks were good, but after that it was time for a nap, so we returned to our casa. By 7:00 we were ready to go again. This time we went to La Vitrola - the bar Deb & I had found that had the best mojitos and great music. Neither disappointed and they had a wide selection of appetizers that were the perfect choice given our late lunch. The band was great and the female singer could project her voice incredibly (no mics or amps) When we finished there, we walked across the Plaza Vieja and down to "Mason de la Flota." a Spanish tapas bar that featured live flamenco music and dance. Unfortunately we were too full to sample the tapas, though they looked good. We DID enjoy the music and dance. One guy and two gals were incredible. They stamped, and swirled and posed to the beat in a great display of this traditional art form. I didn't buy the CD this time as the experience is far more visual and aural. A great way to end our time in Havana.