Malecon

Mala Agua

You have to hand it to Diana Nyad, the 64 year old long distance swimmer who on Labor Day was the first person ever to complete a Cuba to US marathon swim without the protection of a shark cage.  Diana offers us all an object lesson in perseverance.  She first tried and failed in 1978, and finally succeeded on her fifth attempt thirty five years later.

A friend, speaking for Diana, said she wanted to send a message of peace, love, friendship, and happiness to the people of the US and Cuba.

Well said, Diana, I say, and congratulations too.

One of the worst hazards in the cross-straits swim is stinging from jellyfish.  They had stopped her before, but this time a partial face mask helped her to success.  Thinking about her feat, I was reminded of a little walk I took one day from my hotel in Havana,

I headed north on Avenida de los Presidentes, and in two blocks I was at the Malecon, Havana's seaside highway.  Built in the early twentieth century the Malecon is a wide coastal expressway separated from the sea by a four foot high splash wall.  Sometimes when the surf is up, the waves break against the wall and the large rocks below causing huge displays of spray that dwarf even large trucks on the street.  On rare occasions high surf closes the street.

In quieter weather, the top of the wall is a spot to sit, sun, read, talk to friends, cuddle with a lover, or fish.  In a way, the Malecon is a park for Havana's people.

I stood by the wall looking down at several fishermen, perched on the rocks working at fishing like the serious business it is.  They were after tonight's dinner for their families.  I noticed a number of filmy objects that looked like surgeon's gloves floating in the slightly choppy water.  They looked strange to me, and I yelled in my gringo accented Spanish to the men below to ask what they were.

"Agua mala," answered one man—that meant "bad water" in English—but it was apparently their way of saying jellyfish.  I understood right away those gelatinous blobs were something to avoid.  Certainly one would not want to swim when they are present.  There are so many of them at certain times of the year that even the Havana kids stay out of the water.

I was only a few miles east of Marina Hemingway where Diana Nyad started her record setting swim.  I was about 90 miles from where she finished it.

And I was a million miles from the home sweet home I'm used to.

Thanks, Diana, for helping us to see that our two countries aren't really so far apart.

Les Inglis