Let me in! That’s what goes through my mind when I see a captivating door. I am drawn to doors. Especially when I travel in foreign countries. I find them interesting and I always wonder who lives behind that door? What has taken place behind that door? When the doors are attached to historic homes or buildings they could tell stories that I know I would be intrigued with. I want to hear those stories. I imagine stories of wealth, poverty, maybe conspiracy, families, artists, authors, musicians, financiers, housewives, children! Oh the lives who have lived or live behind those doors!
In Cuba it was no different. I found many beautiful doors. Some needed my imagination to see what they truly looked like fifty or more years ago. Often they don’t even close and aren’t able to be locked. They may offer entrance to a courtyard or a long hallway. I fell in love with Cuba and its people but I also photographed a few doors and door knockers. Windows often had children or animals propped up in them. At times there was a glimpse into the lives of the people living there. It was rare to see an empty doorway. Often there was a person sitting on the stoop, waiting to find a bit of a cool breeze, or for the daily bread delivery, or watching for a friend to visit with.
Doors provide character, color, sturdiness, safety and are the first things we see when we arrive at a home! I hope you will enjoy the doors of Cuba. There are a few that tell a story simply by looking at the photo. There are many that I remain curious about. How about you – are you inquisitive about doors and what can be discovered behind them?
The door below is at the Hotel Ambos Mundos in Havana. Do you know who stayed behind this door? Ernest Hemingway! The handle he touched so many times – Oh the greatness!
My Dad owned a barber shop. You know I had to photograph this door. Complete with a sign and the customary red, white and blue barber pole visible.
I think the beautiful, natural wood doors are my favorites but I am also drawn to painted doors. Basically it is my curiosity that draws me in but undoubtedly the personality of the door causes me to stop and snap a photo. In Cuba not only was I drawn to doors but windows offered a glimpse into life along the cobblestone streets. Cute kids and pets – well of course I stop for those!
I don’t recall seeing many door bell buttons in Cuba but knockers instead. Another object that provides a photo op. I can only imagine the barking that would ensue if I had a visitor bang a door knocker at my house! Ay yi yi!
There is a vast contrast between the cities of Havana, Trinidad and the Vinales Valley. The three areas I visited in Cuba. Havana, bustling with tourists, vintage vehicles, and the energy of salsa around every corner. Art culture abounds in Havana as do bohemian cafes and bars, paladars with tiny dining rooms and mama in the kitchen and of course Hotel Nacional de Cuba. A lengthy history of piracy, mobster rule and colonialism yet the Cubans have a survivalist spirit.
Trinidad, which I wrote about a few posts back, a UNESCO heritage site that left me with a yearning to return. Trinidad is host to the finest colonial mansions, plazas and churches. Funded by the enormous amounts of money that poured into the area from sugar cane plantations, one of the 56 mills produced just under a million kilos of the white stuff, the largest haul in the world. The area known as Sancti Spiritus is surrounded by the Escambray mountains to the north and the road south leads to the Caribbean Sea.
Red dirt and vast fields of crops define Valle de Vinales. Farmers driving a plow pulled by oxen, men on horseback, horses pulling carts offering newly harvested produce and many times a family in tow. While on a horseback ride through Valle de Vinales on a very muddy day I spotted these small homes, lining the red dirt trail the horses traveled on. My ride took me to visit a tobacco farmer and experience hand rolled cigars. It was a sweltering hot day but the horses seemed acclimated to the heat. Me? Not so much! Vinales Valle, years away from the hustle of Havana.
I leave you with a few of my other favorite door shots from Cuba. I have so much more to share with you about my trip to Cuba. Next up Havana, cigars and rum.
Don’t miss my post about the #1 Chef of Cuba
Spoiler alert – your mouth might water from all the deliciousness in that story!
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