BY GABRIEL MOLINA

                   AFTER former President James Carter toured Old Havana for about
                   an hour accompanied by City Historian Eusebio Leal, in charge of the
                   zone’s restoration, the latter told Granma International that Carter
                   impressed him as a calm, serene, good-humored man.

                   On his first official activity after the reception given him by President
                   Fidel Castro at Havana’s international airport, Carter got out of one
                   of the black cars transporting his group at 2:30 p.m., and entered
                   Cathedral Square, built in 1787. He was awaited by a cloud of
                   journalists, photographers, cameramen, tourists and Cuban and
                   foreign passersby. He was accompanied by his wife, with whom he
                   walked hand in hand almost the whole time, and the visiting
                   delegation from The Carter Center.

                   Dressed in a white shirt with small pleats and a discreet
                   blue-and-white monogram, beige pants and white sneakers, the
                   former president went on a walking tour with his wife on one side
                   and Leal on the other, giving explanations. As they passed, residents,
                   shoppers and workers greeted him cordially, and Carter responded
                   with a wave of his arm, also smiling.

                   The visitors viewed the Cathedral inside and out, were received by
                   Father Ihosvani Carvajal, and exited on Mercaderes Street toward
                   Obispo Street, where they entered the Ambos Mundos Hotel. This
                   was of great interest to the former president, given that U.S. writer
                   Ernest Hemingway lived there for several years after he returned
                   from the Spanish Civil War; indeed, Hemingway wrote For Whom
                   the Bell Tolls in one of the hotel’s rooms. At the Ambos Mundos,
                   Glenn George, visiting from California, caught the attention of the
                   group by yelling, "Former president, I love you!"

                   After that, Carter moved on to the scale model of Old Havana; the
                   House of Colonial Aromas, across from Plaza Bolívar; and the Conde
                   de Villanueva cigar shop, where he was presented with cigars that
                   had been rolled there.

                   In the Plaza Vieja, at the end of Mercaderes Street, the delegation
                   listened to the notes of a danzón, just as it had previously listened
                   to the performance of "Guantanamera" in Cathedral Square.

                   Then they took Teniente Rey Street and entered the Marqués de
                   Duquerne bar, facing the aquarium. Turning the corner toward Oficios
                   Street, they reached the impressive San Francisco de Asís Convent
                   and Plaza and the Lonja de Comercio office building (previously the
                   stock exchange). The tour ended in Plaza de Armas, at the Palace of
                   the Captains-General, whose construction began the same year that
                   the United States was born: 1776. Carter and his companions
                   crossed the lovely square to the Santa Isabel Hotel, which they
                   themselves chose to stay during their trip.

                   Jimmy Carter came to Havana almost 50 years ago, when he was
                   not yet a politician. Given the fact that this is the first visit to the
                   island by a former president, the U.S. media has described it as
                   historic.

                   Carter took interest in the cultural and social efforts made in the
                   restored area, and in the source of income based on ethical values.
                   For his part, Leal pointed out that the mutual search for peace is the
                   common tie between Cuba and the distinguished visitor.