Manolo

I hope I'm spelling his name correctly, but this is Manolo. He has been our cab driver twice now in Havana and I can't say enough great things about this man. And the funny thing to me is that I've understood about 3% of his spoken word.

Even with that being the case, Manolo has been a gracious and warm driver for us and bent over backwards to make sure we are comfortable. The search for white rice and black beans yesterday was epic. Let me know if you'd like to hear that story and I'll tell you sometime.

He has shared his thoughts on culture, history and family. Thankfully Chap has been there to translate so I can understand.

Manolo is an extremely engaging human. I can't help but say, even though I can't truly understand him, he is a wonderfully gracious man. He seems to be thankful for all that he has and that comes out in how he acts and serves.

Yes, he's getting paid to be our driver but he is one of the few people I've encountered that doesn't seem concerned with the money. During the time he spent with us yesterday hunting black beans and rice, he could have picked up several customers, but he didn't care.

Manolo is my guy. I'm so thankful to have met and interacted with him. I have a feeling we might see him again before this trip is over.

And oh yeah. He drives a 1950s(?) Plymouth and yes, that's a Nissan steering wheel. It's been neat to see how they keep these old vehicles running with mismatched parts.

Manolo!