Ernest Hemingway in Cuba’s tropical paradise
A must-see historic site, even for non-Hemingway fans, is his hilltop house in Cuba. During our trip to the island in 2013 with Friendly Planet Tours, the weather was perfect for a peek around the property. In the late 1920s, Hemingway stopped at this tropical, alligator-shaped island, and later bought the house, lovely with flowers and trees, nine miles outside of Havana. From 1939 to 1960, the famed writer made Cuba home. You can visit and look through the doorways and windows to see much of what is inside: books, clothes, and personal items he left when fleeing Castro’s takeover…hundreds of volumes are all over—even in the bathroom. That’s a reader/writer!
Hemingway apparently did much of his writing in a “tower” behind the house. Gorgeous view of lush greenery. A desk and typewriter (we hope and believe they were his) are on display.
Cubans loved him. Upon winning the Nobel Prize, he gave the award to the Cuban people with whom he shared his life and work. In the nearby tiny seaside village of Cojimar, where he fished and made friends, stands a bronze monument to honor him.
But I worry. The house is in the open air (like most everywhere else in Cuba) and eventually, humidity + paper = mildew, despite caretakers good efforts.
One item on my list of HOPES for CUBA is air conditioning. What’s on your list? Now that the U.S. is opening up to Cuba, let’s trust relations improve and more people interested in this writer’s life can visit his hilltop house–and the Cuban people gain more access to goods and services and “the outside.”
More updates on our trip to Cuba are in “the writing chute.” Stay tuned. Remember to register your email in the “Subscribe to Updates” box at the top of this page. See you next time!
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
~ Ernest Hemingway
