The Malecón is near the top of my list of favorite places on Earth. It is a uniquely fantastic coordinate in space-time, and walking down it at dusk is like a gift from the universe.

This five-kilometer seawall runs across the top of the city and then continues down along the inlet into Havana Habor. You can go there any time of day and find Habaneros hanging out: couples relaxing on the seawall, fisherman casting their lines, kids swimming, musicians jamming. It’s a 24-hour party, and one of the city’s defining features.

Unfortunately, every time I encountered this beauty, I had only an iPhone. So my pictures of it are rather unimpressive. Also, it’s five kilometers long, and unless you are out in Havana Bay looking back toward the city, it’s hard to capture its magnificence.

But here are a few of the sights I did manage to capture—many of them taken on our free Sunday morning when I walked from the Hotel Nacional all the way down to the port. And with these pictures, I’ll now shut up.

Linda Michel-Cassidy crosses the Avenida de Maceo to reach the seawall

You see a lot of broken-down cars in Havana

The Hotel Nacional seen from the seawall

Fisherman are a permanent presence along the Malecón:

From the corner of the Malecón at the top of Habana Vieja, you get a nice view of the Morro Castle:

Some boats in the inlet and harbor:

A giant statue I came across while walking down the Malecón:

24-Hour party people

“You’ll only be happy once you learn to distinguish the permanent from the temporary.”