I
was up early and collected by my taxi and taken to a main road where I was
taken to another car with a few locals and we were shortly underway when the
car was full. We headed towards Havana and I had my nose stuck in a book the
whole way. We stopped for refreshments but I just sat in the car waiting to get
moving again.

The
driver dropped me at Rolando’s where I started chatting to some of the guests
and we took a walk to grab some food. After grabbing a sarmie we headed to the
pool of the Parque Central Hotel. As we walked in we immediately made our way
to the elevator where the security asked us if we were staying to which we
responded yes. We headed to the roof where we found a table (all the loungers
were occupied) and I got a beer to enjoy the views of the plaza and iconic
buildings below.

We
then took a swim before making our way back down and taking a walk through the
old town. We stopped at a little restaurant for some drinks before continuing
our walk. In one of the side streets we noticed a mass of people chanting and
shouting. We managed to chat to one of the protesters who explained that there
were 4 people who locked themselves on a balcony and chanting against Fidel and
the public below were chanting pro Fidel slogans and the police were there to
arrest the guys on the balcony. In the conversation we were all surprised at
how racist the people we had spoken to about what was happening were.

We
made our way back to the hostel for some more drinks and met some more guests.
After a while Lis arrived and it was great to see her and catch up with her. We
met in Quito a month or so before and it was so good to see her again.

We
had some more drinks with the fellow guests before making our way to the carnival
which was a few blocks away. While at the carnival we got some drinks (rum in a
juice box and coke which we mixed in the can). We took a walk to the main area
where they had the floats and all the people dancing and playing music.

After
some more drinks the area where we were got very crowded and I got pushed off
balance. I immediately checked my pocket and noticed that my wallet was
missing. It’s the first time on this trip that anything of mine had been stolen
or that I had even felt slightly at risk. Fortunately I had started travelling
with a different wallet that only contained the money I needed for the day and
no cards.

We
decided to call it a night and continue catching up in the morning.