Hemingway in Cuba

One of my all time favorite authors is Ernest Hemingway, so it was a special treat to visit Finca Vigia, his retreat in Cuba.  Located outside Havana, Hemingway purchased the property in 1940 and lived there for the next 20 years, staying longer than many Americans when relations between the U.S. and Cuba began deteriorating.

The house only could be viewed through large open windows, and the first thing that struck me was how many books were there.  I overheard a guide say there were 7,000 volumes on the shelves.

I so wished to be close enough to read the titles in order to see what authors or subjects interested him.

As I looked through the window into his study, I imagined Hemingway sitting at his desk surrounded by favorite things and writing The Old Man and the Sea.   His Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner was influenced by the local fishermen with whom he became friends. How I would have loved to hear the stories and fishing adventures they shared!

In every room were trophies from his hunting excursions,

and on the bathroom wall over the scale he scrawled his weight.  Such personal touches made Hemingway seem so real, and my mind was reeling as I recalled snippets of his life and from his books.

Look closely on the shelf and you will see a rather large lizard preserved as a testament to the bravery of one of his cats of which there were said to be many.  The lizard was a little creepy, but Hemingway obviously had no aversion to being in the company of formerly living creatures.

You may remember Hemingway was friends with Picasso and the white piece barely seen clearly here is the artist’s interpretation of a bull’s head, perhaps similar to the one hanging next to the disc.

Every room was open and airy, giving space to a man known to live life to the fullest.  It is said that Ernest Hemingway was well liked in Cuba and to this day there is a marlin fishing tournament in his honor.

Finca Vigia is one of several places Hemingway spent time that I have visited, and this was my favorite because so much of him seemed to be there.  While I didn’t breathe his air, it was a treat to walk in his space.

i so appreciate your visit and the comments you leave behind

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