Retired Nomads - Part 2 : UBPC Vivero Organopónico & Hemingway House

Tuesday May 24, 2022 - Urban agriculture and Hemingway house

views from the car window on the drive to the farm

Our day started by visiting the UBPC Vivero Organopónico, 9 miles east of Havana. It’s an urban organic farm operated by an independent collective with over 400 members.

the office

It was a very well-run farm. I got to help put seeds in the starter boxes and we were shown the raised beds and how they supplement the soil.

seed starter boxes

me putting 3 seeds in each square

magoes

he picked me a sunflower

They do their own mulch with worms to help with the process.

the guide was amused that I touched the worms (as a kid I used to help dad collecting worms and night crawlers to sell for fish bait)

they burn the wood & use the charcoal in the mulch

They grow all types of vegetables and have a section for medicinal plants. The gentleman that showed us around was trying hard to get us to invest or even come down and help out on the farm. Since as a child we had about 5 or 6 acres of veggies that we sold locally, I was quite familiar with all the processes. They are trying to get as many around the country as they can.

eggplants

he picked a sunflower for Greg and 1 for Dario to give his girlfriend

working hard on the farm

After the farm we had lunch at Ajiaco paladar considered one of the best private eateries in the country. It was another family style lunch and was wonderful. The hearty soup would have been enough, but there was so much more to eat.

lunch - Ajiaco

Croquettes & empanadas

best soup ever

shrimp

sweet potato

salad

rice

chicken

pork

dessert

From there we then went to visit Ernest Hemingway’s Finca Vigía home. It was under renovations since the roof had leaked in an area, but we could see in well and the lady working inside took my camera and took photos of the entire house for me. Hemingway lived in the house from mid-1939 to 1960. Hemingway wrote much of For Whom the Bell Tolls here. Like the home in Key West, the home is now a museum.

Hemingway House

guest house

lady that took the photos of the house

views from the tower

pool

his boat

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and had another night on our own and we ate at a restaurant that we had walked past several times during our walks, and it was always busy. It was again very good food and lots of it. I can’t believe we almost ate it all. I had the Ropa Vieja and Greg had the smoked pork chops. Both were excellent.

the maid made art of the luggage protector & the towels

I didn't take photos, but she also made a huge flower from the sheers on the windows and left other nice touches. She didn't take the tip on the first day, so the next day Greg wrote a nice thank you in Spanish. So, she left us a nice note. He did the same the second day and she left another note. On our last night before leaving for Trinidad, I left her my sunflower with the nice note and Greg left a larger tip. She really did a nice job.