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trees with high trunks, broader in the middle and thinner on top... ‘, these are
Schliemann’s words as he approaches the Cuban coast in the winter of 1865. He
was astonished by his first acquaintance with the tropical Cuban exuberant nature,
especially with the palm trees and the coconut palms, which he described as very
different and more beautiful from the ones he already knew.
As a common sightseer he walked through the city and points out: ´... all the streets
are narrow with less than 16 or 20 feet of width, some are covered with cloth for
protection from the heat, they are being taken down now...´ He talked to different
people, took notes, visited and described the Cathedral baroque style, attended the
religious ceremony, listened to the priest’s words and admired the ladies. There
was a temperature of 86° in the temple and he just left. Later he took a bath in the
so- called San Lazaro Baths, which do not exist anymore, only some rest of it.
He complains: ‘... I have caught a cold and cannot hear well from my right ear...’
Before departing to Mexico, he admires the gardens of the Plaza de Armas and
visits the Columbus Chapel and the painting of the first mass celebrated there.
Schliemann not only enjoys the climate and the city, but also cigars, food and es-
pecially tropical fruits: ‘... the day before my trip to Mexico I bought three pineap-
ples for 40 cents, which I eat with delight on board. These pineapples are of higher
quality than the ones from Singapur, more delicious, with more juice and they melt
in the tongue...’ This first stay was very short, but he had meetings with all the im-
portant owners of the Railroad, found out about benefits and disadvanges, possible
prices, costs and investments. He was always an active ‘business’ man at work.
II
A couple of weeks later he returns to Havana and then takes a reservation in the
Inglaterra Hotel, one of the best places at that time, and after eating and taking a
bath in the sea, he goes to the Great Tacon Theater (fig. 1): ‘I bought a ticket with
seat number 27, on the third floor and paid for it $1.50. It is a beautiful place with
capacity for 3000 persons. There was a party next door and since all the windows
were opened I could not hear very well. It was very crowded and everybody wear-
ing summer cloths, the ladies were very elegant...’
Next day he keeps looking around: ‘I took a carriage to the Alameda de Paula, a
beautiful sight with many trees which I enjoyed all the time..., he continues : ‘the
carriages here are different from the ones in Europe with only two wheels, and
only one horse .They are driven by a black coacher with high shoes and dressed
in red or blue, embroidered with gold and silver and a hight hat. The young ladies
are very attractive ...’