Bienvenidos A Miami (part 3)

Whew! It had been nonstop fun for the past two days and more was to come! My sister and I started the day with a food tour in Little Havana on Calle Ocho. (See I told you be patient.) Our guide, Bianca, was a native of Cuba and had only been in the US for about a year. Imagine that! We started off with a little dancing at The Ball and Chain.

They had live music and the owner danced with Bianca and a lovely bride to be who was a part of the group. Funny enough there were several people from the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) area.

We moved on down the street to El Cristo Restaurant where we learned about a mural that is painted on the side of the restaurant and a little bit of history about Cuba. It was fascinating to learn about the meaning behind the mural and about Cuban Jesus. Go on the tour to find out more! The group went inside, and we were able to enjoy a choice of meat or vegetable empanadas and Cuban coffee.

Now I know I told you I didn’t like the Cuban coffee the first time I tried it, but this time it was a little better. I still probably won’t drink it again, but it tasted better. The vegetable empanada I had was very tasty and I would eat that again. I should have noted what was inside of it, but I’m greedy and didn’t think about it Lol I didn’t eat breakfast because I wanted to save room for the food. I made a mental note to write down everything for my next location, but sometimes you just want to enjoy the moment.

Our next stop was the Cuba Tobacco Cigar Co. Cigar Factory. We were able to learn about the difference between the various cigars and actually watch a cigar being made. I am not a cigar smoker, but it was interesting to see the process and gain a better understanding. One thing I learned is that people don’t actually inhale the cigar smoke like you would a cigarette. As a previous cigarette smoker, I would have choked the hell out of myself if I had smoked a cigar because I did not know that Lol The more you know…

The next stop was Cubata Tapas y Vinos. There the rest of the group tried a Cuban sandwich while my sister and I had the sandwich vegano.  The Cuban sandwich consisted of ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, roast pork and mustard. The sandwich vegano consisted of red onion, tomato, arugula and avocado. I am not a huge fan of onions although I will eat them on occasion, so I took then off. The bread was a bit hard, maybe overtoasted but still edible. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

We stopped by Domino Park where the seniors hang out on our way to Party Cake Bakery. It was interesting to know how well the seniors are taken care of. The park shows a true community of how the seniors raised the next generation and then the next generation takes care of them. Everything is shared among the players and the elders are charged a reasonable amount to play and enjoy good company. The atmosphere was pleasant as I watched them laugh and joke with one another. Everyone was in high spirits and I’m sure there were life-long friends among the multiple tables of players.

At Party Cake Bakery, we tried a tart filled with raspberry. As we were finishing up with eating we went to the Bay of Pigs Memorial. Bianca explained how the Bay of Pigs was a huge upset for Cuba. She also explained how some of the people who were originally on the memorial were scratched out because they were considered to be traitors to Cuba. As a history enthusiast, I will definitely do my research on this topic for a better understanding.  

We took a stroll down to Los Pinarenos Fruteria as the breeze started to blow a bit and alleviate the thickness of the heat. This vegetable and fruit shop is owned by a sweet little old lady and her son. She made the group fresh mango juice and smiled with pride as she passed out little paper cups filled with her creation. It was a bit of a shock because I was expecting it to be very sweet, but it was surprisingly mellow. Not overly sweet. Just right. The shop itself is set up like a small indoor farmers market where fresh fruit and vegetables are laid out in boxes and wooden crates for sale. The shop owner is very old school and does not accept credit cards. Cash only if you decide to shop there.

Our next stop was Churro Mania. A churro is deep fried stick of dough topped with cinnamon and sugar. I’ve had these at Disney World, so it brought back memories of walking down Main Street and hearing the happy music play. The churro is not something I would eat every day, but it is a nice occasional treat.

Our last stop was the Havana Shirt Store. Here we learned about how you can tell if your shirt is an authentic Guayabera Shirt based on the number of pockets on the front and the design in the back of the shirt. Although an original Guayabera Shirt is white, they now come in various colors.

My sister and I thanked Bianca and made our way back to the hotel to prepare for the evening’s adventure and main event-a private yacht party!

I scheduled this yacht tour for my chapter sisters and I through my company’s employee rewards program. The only thing we paid for was $150 for gas and captain’s fee. Andy from Ocean Sunrise Boat Charters LLC contacted me earlier in the day to let me know the original yacht I booked was having some issues, so he upgraded us to the 37 ft sea ray and even sent pictures of what it looked like ahead of time as a courtesy. How lucky were we? My chapter sisters and I got all dressed up in our various colored dresses to party and fellowship. We crammed all 7 of us into the Lyft (I won't share the picture but it was funny as hell) and made our way to the DKR Marine. Our tour was scheduled for 7pm, but the captain was running a bit behind, so we just started the party early waiting for him. Lol

Once we got on the yacht, it was game over! We had music blasting, drinks flowing and great conversations going. For two hours, we partied like we were the rich and famous as we passed by our hotel and waved at those on shore. Jose, our captain, sailed us out near the celebrities mansions and we just danced and sang our favorite songs under the moonlight. The light breeze made it the perfect night and I am forever grateful to experience such a wonderful thing with my chapter sisters.

I can’t really tell you what happened the rest of the night Lol I just know we all made it back safely to our hotel. Man! What a night!

Disclaimer: I, Artilya Key, also known as A. Key (A Key To Adventure), am not affiliated with any of the links, places or sites mentioned in this blog nor did I receive any compensation for this post. Should you need more information, please refer to the linked information or contact the company or entities. Any copywritten information belongs to that entity and is not associated with A Key To Adventure.