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The Nobel prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway is a mass of contradictions. He was one of America's most beloved novelists, yet he spent much of his life as an expatriate in other countries. A macho hunter, boozer and lover of women, he also carried deep psychic wounds from the suicide of his father and a chosen estrangement from his mother.
Hemingway led a storied life so packed with drama that decade by decade his legend regularly recaptures attention. The current thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States and an influx of tourists from the U.S. has reignited interest in Hemingway's connection to Cuba, and in turn, his connections to Florida's Key West and Bimini, Bahamas. Take a tour of Hemingway's Caribbean haunts to see where he drew inspiration for some of his greatest works.
Hemingway's Havana

FILE - In this black and white file photo from the mid-1900's, released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, shows Ernest Hemingway, second from right, and Gianfranco Ivancich, right, dining with an unidentified woman, left, wife Mary Hemingway, second from left, and Juan "Sinsky" Dunabeitia, center, at Hemingway's villa Finca Vigia in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba. Cuba and a private U.S. foundation are working together to preserve more of the novelist's papers and belongings that have been kept at his home near Havana since he died in 1961. The digitization of 2,000 Hemingway papers and materials will be transferred to Boston's John F. Kennedy Library. (AP Photo/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, File) ORG XMIT: XLAT129 (Photo: AP, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)

While American travel to Cuba is still going through a sorting out phase, there are currently fewer restrictions for U.S. citizens in visiting the island. Hemingway fans touching down in Havana will find much to explore. Hemingway first visited Cuba in 1928 and eventually purchased an island home in 1940, which he dubbed Finca Vigia. The 12-acre estate is located nine miles outside Havana, in San Francisco de Paula and is easily the most important and rewarding stop on a Hemingway Cuba itinerary. The house presents an intimate portrait of the author, since it's filled with his most beloved memorabilia, books, paintings, and jazz and opera LPs. Hemingway's beloved 38-foot fishing boat, Pilar is also on view at the home.
Hemingway was fond of drink and there's a pair of Havana watering holes closely associated with the writer. Hemingway was a regular at Bodeguita del Medio and his portrait hangs on the wall behind the bar. The El Floridita is where Hemingway supposedly had a hand in creating the first daiquiris. A plaque in La Floridita contains Hemingway's signed quote: "My mojito in the Bodeguita del Medio and my daiquiri in the Floridita." In the corner of La Floridita, a life-size bronze statue of the writer leans an elbow on the bar, looking slightly bemused, waiting patiently for his bronze daiquiri.
Hemingway stayed several years in Havana's Hotel Ambos Mundo. The hotel had the foresight to keep Hemingway's room in the same state as when he lived there, and visitors can still peer in for a look.
Bohemia in Key West

Ernest Hemingway gets a hairrcut from his wife Pauline in the yard of his home in Key West. --- DATE TAKEN: rcd 7/99 No Byline Ernest Hemingway Collection/John F. Kennedy Library Key West l UNL - unlimited reuse ORG XMIT: PX592 (Photo: Ernest Hemingway Collection, John F. Kennedy Library)

Hemingway fans from the U.S. will find it much easier to travel to Florida to visit the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum. The house is one of the most visited attractions in Key West, and is included in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Hemingway arrived in Key West in 1928 and purchased the Spanish Colonial style home in 1931. Much like Finca Vigia in Havana, the Ernest Hemingway House provides a personal glimpse into the life of the writer, and fans will enjoy peering at the bookcases to see which books Hemingway favored, and view furnishings and hunting trophies gathered in the writer's travels. Hemingway loved cats, and descendants of his original six-toed tomcat still roam the grounds, distinguished by their own six-toed paws. Key West also has a still-standing tavern deeply associated with Hemingway, Captain Tony's Saloon, which during the time it was frequented by Hemingway was called Sloppy Joe's Bar. Travelers may find it all a bit confusing, since there's also a thriving Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West that trades on the Hemingway legend, mounting an annual Hemingway look-alike contest. But it's Captain Tony's where Hemingway in truth whiled away many an afternoon and evening.
Adrift in Bimini

Hemingway, an avid sportsman, was the first Vice President of the IGFA and did much to popularize the sport of game fishing. Here, Hemingway (right) is pictured with Michael Lerner, Founder of IGFA, holding aloft a giant blue marlin. The picture was taken in Bimini in the Bahamas, c.1936. (Photo: Business Wire)

While Hemingway lived in the Bahamas on North Bimini from 1935 to 1937, he never owned a house on the island, instead choosing to bunk down at the Compleat Angler Hotel. The arrangements suited Hemingway just fine, since he was primarily on Bimini to satisfy his desire for deep sea fishing aboard his boat Pilar. Years after "Papa" was long gone, enthusiasts would book a room in the hotel to access the Hemingway magic. The hotel, which displayed memorabilia associated with Hemingway, unfortunately burned to the ground in 2006.

Connecting with Hemingway's legacy in the Caribbean should encompass more than touring famous sites associated with the author. Hemingway was a man of big appetites, and to do honor to his memory it's advised to hoist a few mojitos or daiquiris; perhaps venture out on a deep sea fishing trip in quest of marlin; and of course, dip into one or more of his books. Islands in the Stream — set in Bimini — is quasi-autobiographical and gives an intimate, between the lines portrait of the author. Another choice would be the novella The Old Man and the Sea, which takes place in Cuba and contains lines from Hemingway that any true traveler can take to heart: "Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is."