Cuban Cigars and Mojitós

It seems that if you go to Cuba folks back home expect that you will come home with Cuban cigars and rum. We were able to easily find some Havana Club rum both aged and white at a shop in the cruise terminal, one bottle of each and we were at our limit for US Customs unless we care to pay duty taxes. The limit on Cubans cigars is much higher. We had no need to come home with a hundred cigars. Other friends in our group were in a similar situation. It seems that cigars are sold in boxes of twenty-five or more and most of us wanted just a few. Our quest this morning was to find a way to do just that. It was a group effort. Steve had some knowledge of usual prices for Cuban cigars, Karl knew a little about how to evaluate a cigar, and Deb could speak enough Spanish to translate while the bargaining went on. One enterprising entrepreneur was determined to get our business and ultimately gave us a good price on a box of twenty-five cigars and threw in an equal number of individual cedar humidors as well as an 8 ounce bag of Cuban coffee. At the end of the transaction we were met with the challenge of a downpour. Instead of heading straight back to the ship we opted instead to dodge the raindrops and head as a group to Armadores Santender for a cup of coffee followed by a delicious Piña Colada and … the best Mojitó yet here in the birthplace of that lovely rum, lime, and mint concoction. With enough Cuban adventure under our belts, we returned to our floating home for the week and decided that we’re glad we’ve come to Cuba though we probably will not return.