The historical visit of the U.S. President Barack Obama may have come to an end, but it could only be the beginning for better relations between the two states.

CCTV’s Sean Callebs has a story of another historical American, whose visit to Cuba has not been forgotten. 

The U.S. economic embargo has taken its toll on the Cuban people as well as the country’s effort to preserve its rich history. From 1939 until 1960, the small village of San Francisco de Paula, just outside of Havana, was home to Ernest Hemingway.

From 1980 until 1997, Gladys Rodriguez was the Director of the Hemingway Museum, which is the writer’s unrestored old house, off the beaten path, and exactly the way Hemingway left it in 1960. The American blockade has kept U.S. preservation specialists, and American money from coming to Cuba in an effort to make sure Hemingway’s memory is not washed away by time.

Hemingway wrote, “Islands in the Stream”, and perhaps most famously “The Old Man and the Sea” while living in Cuba.

He was inspired by stories from people in the fishing village of Cojimar.

Terrazas de Cojimar is one of Hemingway’s favorite haunts. Aside from writing, Hemingway loved to drink. Today, busloads of tourists like these French visitors crowd the narrow streets, to peek into Terrazas de Cojimar.

When Ernest Hemingway wanted a daiquiri, he would often come here, to the Floradita in the heart of Havana. Hemingway had a longtime love affair with this nation and bonded with this country’s citizens. As the U.S. eases economic sanctions, more visitors from the north are coming down and crowding into the Floradita.  Today, locals say it’s little more than a tourist trap. Something that would probably have Hemingway rolling over in his grave.

Hemingway’s history is being eaten away by time and the elements. And once gone, can never be replaced.