As the previous
night we experienced rather well the night life of Havana, on the next day it’s
very cloudy in our heads. While having a breakfast, the mischievous clouds from
our heads move one by one to the sky and hide the sun from our eyes. Seconds
later, they greet us with the show “Torrential Caribbean rain”, which according
to Osmel’s forecast will last 45 minutes max. Soon, it gets clear that the
downpour will be more like a full day event, that’s why our daily tour takes on
the following format – closed spaces, as in museums.
Driving around Havana,
we pass near Malekon or at least try to, since the promenade is blocked by two
soaked militiaman. The sea, similar to a small boy that is not very skillful at
the flirting yet, not just sprinkles Malekon, but floods it outright with its
naughty waves.
We go to El
Capitolio, where was situated the government of Cuba before the revolution of
1959, and now houses the Cuban Science Academy. The place is huge and grandiose
compared to the building of the current parliament, which is uncomely marble
mastodon. In the center of the floor under the main dome, was built in a 25
carat diamond, which is claimed to be owned by the Russian tzar Nicolay II.
After one successful theft and the mysterious return after two months, in the
floor was built in a copy. Unfortunately, we did not understand where the
original one is, nor they gave us its contacts. The diamond copy is being
closely watched by the 15 m Statue of the Republic, which supposedly is the
third largest indoor (under a dome) statue in the world after the Great Buddha
of Nara and Lincoln’s memorial in Washington.
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| El Capitolio’s dome |
