Cuba - Day 14- January 16th

Today is our day to join Fabio at the baseball game which is at 1 pm. So, we had a relatively unplanned morning - some time to work on my badly neglected blog but I'm still not up to date.

Bob's foot was quite sore this morning but as he was determined to get to the internet cafe and the CubanaTour place, we slowly walked the few blocks only to find both of them closed. So we went onto the Plaza de José Marti and sat on a bench in the shade and watched the tourists go by.

Here we were approached by a couple of women asking for money and one fellow tried to sell us a pair of shoes - one shoe in his hand for show and the mate in a plastic bag. This had been a frequently recurring phenomenon in Havana, some wanting to sell something (such as cheap cigars or Che nacional coins) or some, like the women mentioned above, just considering us to be wealthy North Americans, asked directly for money.


Having tired of that we did a quick check of the shops around the plaza (I keep thinking I will buy a Cuban straw hat but can't find one I like that fits) then headed home.

This shop is not at the plaza - it is off the boulevard, but I like this photo.

Just after noon Fabio came by the room ready to leave for the ball game. We originally intended to walk but Bob's foot was too uncomfortable to walk that far, so Fabio recruited one of his friends to take us in his "taxi" (I never did see a taxi with a meter) to the stadium which, as you can see in the photos, houses a very professional looking baseball field. I neglected to bring my camera, so the photos from the game are Bob's.

The "taxi" that took us to the stadium was likely an ancient Soviet Lada but as it has been so modified over time, it is not really clear what it was originally. There was no upholstery or covering of any kind on the inside of the doors and the driver had to reach the doors from his location behind the wheel in order to employ the required special maneuver that would ensure that the door was actually closed. The ride was fast and not as rough as the truck but the cab was permeated by gas and oil fumes and the creaking and grinding of aged and worn body and drive train parts led us to hope that the brakes were in better shape than the visible parts of the vehicle and whatever parts were creating the metal on metal grinding emanating from under the floor boards.  In a couple of instances sudden braking was required to successfully avoid rear enders, so the brakes worked, and, in the end, we arrived intact.

At the ticket window Fabio paid one peso nacional and we were required to pay one CUC peso each. I gave the ticket person a 5 CUC note and she instantly informed me that she had no change. In this instance we were able to cobble together the required amount, but in most situations you need to be sure that you have small bills or coins - preferably exact change - or it may cost you extra.

You may recall that the CUC's are about 25 times the value of a peso national. While the price of Fabio's ticket is extremely small compared the cost for us, I think it is very fair - especially when you think about it for a minute - the equivalent of $1 Canadian is certainly a bargain price for attending a professional level baseball game!

It's hard to compare Cuban baseball (Cuba's national sport) to the North American professional leagues, but my guess is that the level of play in these teams is similar at least to AA or AAA baseball. I did notice that the batting averages tend to be a bit high compared to the North American professional leagues, which may be due, in part, to differences in pitching.  For example, I don't recall, while watching one game on TV with Fabio, seeing a single pitch over 85 mph.

I heard but don't recall clearly the nature of the players' participation in baseball, but my understanding is that they are amateurs so work at other jobs and are given the time away from those jobs that is necessary for them to participate fully in baseball, which seems to be taken very seriously.  They apparently receive some compensation for their role as baseball players, but I think that compensation is quite small. If interested you can learn more about Cuban baseball at Cuban baseball.

We found seats in a very good location on the left field line close to home plate,  though on an extremely hard concrete bench!  There was lots of energy and enthusiasm in the crowd and the first 3 innings were very good baseball but, unfortunately, in the 4th inning the Cienfuegos team made a couple of very costly errors and the visitors began to hit. While the remainder of the game was very good baseball, in the end, much to Fabio's distress, Cienfuegos lost 7 - 2.  Later, Fabio was pleased to tell us that  Cienfuegos won the next 2 games handily!

If there was beer there, I didn't see it and no hot dogs either. The things I recall seeing for sale were peanuts in the small paper cones we saw in Havana, sandwiches of some sort, ice cream bars and something that looked like a very large potato chip sprinkled with sea salt. And no store selling paraphernalia like t shirts, caps or #1 foam hands! But there were police with guns and dogs. :-(

Something that we had noticed previously in public settings, which was more obvious at the game, is what appears to be genuine comradery and sense of solidarity generally, but especially among men, suggested by the enthusiasm of vocal greetings, hand slapping and clasping and hugging. For men greeting women acquaintances or women greeting women, almost always a kiss on the cheek plus or minus an embrace. One cannot know the extent to which these displays reflect the depth of the  relationships, but it is is a very positive feeling to see this public expression of warmth and friendship between individuals, and especially between men.

A different taxi on the way home, but the vehicle and the ride were essentially the same and, once again, we arrived intact.