Thursday 13th June
Our holiday began with a 6am train to Gatwick, for a 10:15 am flight. We first flew to Madrid and then had to rush to get the connection because we got lost (Madrid Airport airport was so confusing). In the end the plane didn't board for ages so we were fine...but this made me slightly apprehensive about the airline (Air Cubana). And I was right to be. The plane was not what you look forward to on a long haul flight: no private TVs and no leg room! We were able to move to the front where there was more leg room thanks to Tom complaining, and there were communal TVs so the panic subsided a bit. So eventually, after an initial panic and after we had eventually stopped playing musical chairs, the 9.5 hour flight went quite quickly.
Our holiday began with a 6am train to Gatwick, for a 10:15 am flight. We first flew to Madrid and then had to rush to get the connection because we got lost (Madrid Airport airport was so confusing). In the end the plane didn't board for ages so we were fine...but this made me slightly apprehensive about the airline (Air Cubana). And I was right to be. The plane was not what you look forward to on a long haul flight: no private TVs and no leg room! We were able to move to the front where there was more leg room thanks to Tom complaining, and there were communal TVs so the panic subsided a bit. So eventually, after an initial panic and after we had eventually stopped playing musical chairs, the 9.5 hour flight went quite quickly.
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| Waiting in Madrid airport for the delayed connection |
We were met at the airport and driven in a Chevrolet to our 'Casa Particular' (guest houses run by Cuban families) where we were met warmly by Elsa and showed our room. It was about 9pm in Cuba but 2am in the UK. We had a beer on the sofa then went for a wander down the Main Street and, exhausted and already hit by the humidity, we munched some Oreos for dinner and then bed!
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| Our Taxi! |
Friday 14th June
The morning was a bit of a rude awakening. For some reason I had set my alarm for 4am in the faff with changing the time and neither of us realised. We went back to sleep, and went to breakfast around 8am. The little dining room was just outside our room, and had one big communal table which was piled with an array of fly infested and slightly mysterious food. In keeping with the general feel of Cuba it felt a bit like the food may have had its place in history too. I managed some fruit and very liquid yoghurt, and a bit of omelette and bread and industrial strength coffee.
We ran around Havana trying to find a cash machine that dispensed money, with numerous trips back to the hostel to ask where another machine was each time we failed! We gave Elsa's husband money to book an overnight bus to Santiago de Cuba. He reassured us profusely that it would be booked. With a spring in our step (and about 3 hours later) we set out to explore old Havana.
The city feels like it has been frozen in time. The buildings are beautifully colonial and majestic, but are crumbling - lived in ruins. The streets are tiny and narrow just as you would find in rustic Italy and there is no sign of commercialism or capitalism. Not a proper established shop or bank in sight, and obvious restaurants are few and far between. There are no McDonald's or Starbucks' either!!
We wandered and it was HOT. I was very very sweaty and began to feel quite faint. We explored the sea front and gazed at the old fort (which the Spanish had built to keep the British out) and everywhere Chevrolets cruised the roads - majestic in their timeless elegance. We stopped for a drink in a little bar which was like some old mans' watering hole that you would find in Barcelona. We manfully carried on exploring and walking and drinking in the ramshackle elegance of the city. It was bustling with locals, and bizarrely got busier as it got hotter! We couldn't work out what people do for a living.
When lunchtime came, people started buying pizzas and folding them and munching them in the street. We found a restaurant with decent prices and I had a remarkably tasty piece of succulent pan fried fish with pumpkin and vegetables and, bizarrely, parsnips. The waiter tipped toms rice down me which was annoying! There were lots of flies...and the live music was rather loud, and included a contribution by by an expressionless old man who could hardly stand. when the bill came we got slightly overcharged (as it warned in the guidebook) but sorted it. Then we went to the revolutionary museum which was terrible! I learnt more from the rough guide, and actually it probably undid my understanding. There was no order, the translation was poor and the only interesting thing was the blood stained clothes occasionally dotted around. For some reason they thought spoons and glasses had significance but to us it seemed they were clutching at anything to make a display.
After the museum, we carried on wandering and sat in a courtyard cafe and Tom got a piña colada in a whole pineapple without alcohol...and I demolished the pineapple. I was craving fruit and was so thirsty. For about 10 mins I was oblivious to the world around me, sucked into a pineapply bliss and not caring what I looked like or the mess I was making. I had a very sore throat at the end, was very sticky and felt slightly sheepish when I emerged!!!
We went back to the hostel and asked about the progress of our coach ticket.:.it hadn't been bought. We had to radically change our plans as it was clear that all the coaches were full, and got rather upset with Elsa who was only trying to help. She explained the bus went to many places so was full until 2 days time. It made a lot of sense but I don't know why she didn't tell us before when she appeared so knowledgeable. She tried to convince us to go to Viñales, but I really didn't want to go further inland to a rural area where the trip to the Beach had to be done through an organised tour. To add insult to injury, we were moved to her next door neighbours house (because she had no rooms but had failed to tell us this). After Tom had showered and we had ranted at each other, we resolved we'd go straight to Trinidad if possible. We got a beer from a supermarket we had stumbled across and drank it on the balcony, then went to talk to Elsa and sorted out the plan. She rang a friend in Trinidad who has a casa particular and booked us a room (this is how its done in Cuba, you just have to tap into a network of friends and family).
We went out for a cocktail on a roof bar and my frozen daiquiri was yum. The view was amazing. Some tourists sat behind us and we overheard that they were here to listen to the cannon being fired at 9pm. When we'd finished, we headed down to the sea opposite the fort to hear said cannon with accompanying strobe lights. I think it's a tradition to show the city is closed for the night. We tried to go to a restaurant in the guide but it had an hours wait, so we found a random restaurant where we were served the yummiest prawn, fish and lobster tomato stew with rice and beans, salad and fried plantain. Then I hobbled back ( my feet were wrecked from my flip flops!) and crawled into bed after showering all the sweat and grime off me.
The morning was a bit of a rude awakening. For some reason I had set my alarm for 4am in the faff with changing the time and neither of us realised. We went back to sleep, and went to breakfast around 8am. The little dining room was just outside our room, and had one big communal table which was piled with an array of fly infested and slightly mysterious food. In keeping with the general feel of Cuba it felt a bit like the food may have had its place in history too. I managed some fruit and very liquid yoghurt, and a bit of omelette and bread and industrial strength coffee.
We ran around Havana trying to find a cash machine that dispensed money, with numerous trips back to the hostel to ask where another machine was each time we failed! We gave Elsa's husband money to book an overnight bus to Santiago de Cuba. He reassured us profusely that it would be booked. With a spring in our step (and about 3 hours later) we set out to explore old Havana.
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| The balcony of the hostel! |
We wandered and it was HOT. I was very very sweaty and began to feel quite faint. We explored the sea front and gazed at the old fort (which the Spanish had built to keep the British out) and everywhere Chevrolets cruised the roads - majestic in their timeless elegance. We stopped for a drink in a little bar which was like some old mans' watering hole that you would find in Barcelona. We manfully carried on exploring and walking and drinking in the ramshackle elegance of the city. It was bustling with locals, and bizarrely got busier as it got hotter! We couldn't work out what people do for a living.
When lunchtime came, people started buying pizzas and folding them and munching them in the street. We found a restaurant with decent prices and I had a remarkably tasty piece of succulent pan fried fish with pumpkin and vegetables and, bizarrely, parsnips. The waiter tipped toms rice down me which was annoying! There were lots of flies...and the live music was rather loud, and included a contribution by by an expressionless old man who could hardly stand. when the bill came we got slightly overcharged (as it warned in the guidebook) but sorted it. Then we went to the revolutionary museum which was terrible! I learnt more from the rough guide, and actually it probably undid my understanding. There was no order, the translation was poor and the only interesting thing was the blood stained clothes occasionally dotted around. For some reason they thought spoons and glasses had significance but to us it seemed they were clutching at anything to make a display.
After the museum, we carried on wandering and sat in a courtyard cafe and Tom got a piña colada in a whole pineapple without alcohol...and I demolished the pineapple. I was craving fruit and was so thirsty. For about 10 mins I was oblivious to the world around me, sucked into a pineapply bliss and not caring what I looked like or the mess I was making. I had a very sore throat at the end, was very sticky and felt slightly sheepish when I emerged!!!
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| Pine-apply bliss! |
We went out for a cocktail on a roof bar and my frozen daiquiri was yum. The view was amazing. Some tourists sat behind us and we overheard that they were here to listen to the cannon being fired at 9pm. When we'd finished, we headed down to the sea opposite the fort to hear said cannon with accompanying strobe lights. I think it's a tradition to show the city is closed for the night. We tried to go to a restaurant in the guide but it had an hours wait, so we found a random restaurant where we were served the yummiest prawn, fish and lobster tomato stew with rice and beans, salad and fried plantain. Then I hobbled back ( my feet were wrecked from my flip flops!) and crawled into bed after showering all the sweat and grime off me.
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| Drinking our cocktails |
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| The seafront opposite the fort |
Saturday 15th June
We got an 8am bus to Trinidad. We got our ticket from the bus station on the morning, although given the earlier problems we had with buses being full we were both nervous this bus would be full too. The bus station had a bag check in, and the bus was air conditioned and fairly comfy (there is only one state bus company - ViaAzul). The journey was 6 hours with one stop at a smart service stop with wooden rocking chairs!! The countryside was quite samey; low concrete houses, people wandering around with nothing much to do, random shops and drinking places. We arrived in Trinidad around 2pm and were met again. The casa is owned by Estelle, and was really cute with a courtyard and the room was nice - ornate and eclectic (as per usual!) I had a huge fruit platter of pineapple, mango and mini bananas for lunch and tom had a sandwich. Suddenly I found I was having to use my Spanish a lot more than in Havana as the owners of this casa particular spoke no English.
We went for a wander - the city is tiny and has cobbled streets and the same derelict colonial architecture as Havana. It's surrounded by green hills and the coast is quite close. It was baking hot. We went into a museum which was an old colonial house and climbed up a tower with awesome views. Looking down it reminded me of rural Italy with a Caribbean twist. I broke an ornament in the shop and had to pay $1 but kept it thinking I could fix it back in the UK. We used the Internet cafe and hard a cornetto to ice cream as the 'gelateria' had no proper ice cream. We then hiked up to a radio tower with stunning views and got shown around it by the guard there whom we tipped. On the way up a boy gave us a beautiful grasshopper and bird made out of palm leaves.
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| At the radio tower with our impromptu guide |
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| At the top of the museum |
Sunday 16th June
We breakfasted at 9 and I got my feast of fruit - so much juicy yummy mango and a whole pineapple sliced in its skin.
I felt like I was looking after Tom, saying in Spanish that he wanted fruit juice, and yes he would like an omelette. They seem to love us especially Estelle's mother. We got a taxi for $4 to the beach - I bargained it down from $5 and did my trick of walking away until he chased after us! Tom was sceptical but it worked and the driver said he'd return and take us back for the same price. The beach was amazing - like in a picture book. It stretched on for miles and curved round out of sight and was lined with palm trees and dried palm sun umbrellas. The sea was so clear and it was virtually empty. There were two hotels but they didn't intrude much, although one spoiled the skyline a little. We got some sunbeds and got into the sea ASAP. Before we'd been in even one minute I got stung by a jellyfish! It felt like I had been sharply bitten and then like I'd walked through a nettle bush. I was quite panicked as I didn't know what had happened and my leg just looked red and when I touched my face that started tingling. Then lines appeared across my leg. We asked a man working in the beach and he said it was 'mala agua' which initially I thought was an anemone but then we worked out it was a jellyfish. I got ice from the beach bar and Tom rubbed it in my leg and it calmed down.
We swam and read our books alternately (we wanted to guard our bags), and Tom got a folded pizza from a beach seller which was yum and got a triple decker sandwich at lunch which was also quite tasty. We had a beer also at the cafe. Tom also got stung in a place I wont mention !! It wasn't as bad as mine though but was hilarious. We got a whole coconut with coconut water and rum in from a man who kept badgering us. I had to drink some of the water so he could put the rum in and it was tasty (I thought I didn't like it) but with the rum it wasn't nice at all! We poured away the water and broke into the coconut which was soft, nutty and quite rich.
We had told our taxi to come at 6pm but he didn't so we shared a taxi with two Germans and got in just as the heavens opened! Thunder had been rumbling all afternoon. It was a downpour and our driver couldn't see a thing - it was quite hairy. But the rain stopped after about 10 minutes and the streets were left looking like mini rivers. The roads and infrastructure are not built for such torrents - as Tom said it would be hard to build anything that would, but they could do a little better!! We paid $2 each for the taxi.
Supper was interesting...there was a power cut which happened when we were having a drink on a balcony just off the main square. My frozen mojito was horrible (I got it even though the waiter warned me not to!) so I swapped it.
Despite the power cut, dinner was still cooked, but there was no bruschetta. Still we had bread, bean soup, fruit salad, salad platter, fish and lobster. They were quite plain but tasty. We tried flan for pudding but it wasnt that great. The power came on when we got the main course but until then it was candlelight which kept getting blown and dimmed by the wind (and dripped into our bread!) After dinner we read our books in the rocking chairs.
We breakfasted at 9 and I got my feast of fruit - so much juicy yummy mango and a whole pineapple sliced in its skin.
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| A fruit feast |
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| The jellyfish sting |
We had told our taxi to come at 6pm but he didn't so we shared a taxi with two Germans and got in just as the heavens opened! Thunder had been rumbling all afternoon. It was a downpour and our driver couldn't see a thing - it was quite hairy. But the rain stopped after about 10 minutes and the streets were left looking like mini rivers. The roads and infrastructure are not built for such torrents - as Tom said it would be hard to build anything that would, but they could do a little better!! We paid $2 each for the taxi.
Supper was interesting...there was a power cut which happened when we were having a drink on a balcony just off the main square. My frozen mojito was horrible (I got it even though the waiter warned me not to!) so I swapped it.
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| The square in Trinidad |
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| A mojito |
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| Dinner back at out casa by candlelight |
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| Trinidad beach - Tom breaking the coconut |
Monday 17th June
We had breakfast at 8am and Tom was feeling sick. I ate a fruit platter again! We went to the train station (we rushed there as we thought we were late) and were told that 15 more people had to arrive before the train could leave. At 9:30 (when the train was supposed to leave) there were only about 6 people! Still, the train driver and conductor were there, all uniformed up, and there was much debating and discussion. It was clear it wouldn't go, and so I negotiated a taxi for us and two other French tourists for $25 in total. Tom and I were allowed to use the loo on the train so we did at least get to see it. It was from 1940 and a proper steam train. There were several there, from even earlier - it was like something out of Thomas the Tank Engine. The loo went straight onto the tracks! It turns out that the train had stopped running way back in December, as there are never 15 people at this time of year! There are two explanations for this bizarre, apparently daily, event. Firstly, they have nothing else to do and posses that (particularly Cuban) puzzling endless hope that if they keep waiting, another day may bring a revolution in their expectations. Much like at the cash machine in Havana; the Cubans tried their cards again and again in the hope that after the 6th time money may suddenly appear, whereas Tom and I gave up after the second time. It's either an English impatience or an awareness of reality. I know which one I think it is. the second explanation is that it's an elaborate ploy to give taxi drivers some business, as everyone there was provided with a taxi as an alternative way to see the sugar plantations.
We were driven to a viewpoint and then to an old sugar plantation where they are restoring the old slave masters house and slaves quarters into a museum. There was a tower where the master climbed to keep watch. There is no sugar now, but you got a sense of the conditions and atmosphere. We then went to Mazaca Isca where we climbed up the bell tower which was really high and I wrote our names on the wall.
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| At the top of the bell tower |
You could see the train line, and really got a sense of the scale of the sugar plantations and the hierarchy between master and slaves. We held a two-month old falcon, and Tom gave the man non convertible money accidentally and he caught us on the way back from the tower. We then went and tried sugar juice and Tom tried out the machine which ground the sugar cane. It looked hard work and you needed four adults pushing. Either the slaves carried out backbreaking work, or animals towed the logs. The sugar juice was tasty - sweet but actually very refreshing and not too cloying.
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| Driving the sugar cane press |
We then went to Guantabana - an old colonial hacienda (farm) in which a family now live and own banana plantations. It is the only sugar plantation left. We had a drink and then I saw horses! I persuaded the French to come and without toms consent we negotiated a 1 hour horseback ride through the plantations at $7 each. It was so cool - we leisurely trotted through banana plantations and our guide gave us random fruit and there were mango trees and guava trees. It was baking hot, and when everyone's horses (but not mine) were drinking from the river, Tom came up in a rash. We went through sugar plantations too - they just looked like long grass. When we got back to the farm house we still had 20 minutes left but Tom got off because of the baking sun (it was about 1pm now) and his allergy. I carried on with the others but wish the French people hadn't been so insistent we had the full hour as I got so hot. I felt quite sick in the taxi on the way back.
I had a shower back at our casa and drank lots and felt better. Tom and I shared a sandwich and had some mini bananas, then we got a taxi to the beach after going to the bus station to ask at the Viazul ticket office about buses to Moron. We had problems (ironically) finding a taxi to the beach when we actually wanted one, and I was loathe to go and ask for one as our bargaining position would be compromised. We found an old man and agreed $10 there and back as he said he'd have to wait until we came back because of petrol. Given our other driver didn't turn up last time we thought this was safer. It was quite cloudy ad had rained, but soon cleared up and the sea was so warm. At 6pm I got too hot and had to go in the sea! Tom got two cans of beer and we drank it whilst attempting to watch sunset but it sort of happened uneventfully and we were deep in conversation about the British empire anyway! There were so many orange crabs on the beach and one tried to carry off a straw into his hole. Two sheltered under Toms rucksack thinking it was a cave. And one surprised me by being in my towel! The ground was crawling by 8pm. They were the same colour as the leaves so well camouflaged.
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| A crab |
Back in Trinidad, our taxi driver dropped off at the cash machine, and he seemed very happy with his $10. I now know why, as that's more than a months wages for some people and he may not have earned anything. We had dinner at the hostel again- the same fodder but we got Bruschetta this time and had prawns and chicken. The chicken was a bit grizzly but the prawns were amazingly succulent. We had some weird sugared papaya in syrup for pudding. We also saw a cute 8 month old who I think was Estelles grandson but I'm not sure. Tom got him to give high five and fascinated him by hiding behind me. We read in the rocking chairs then went to bed.
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| Riding through the plantations on horseback |
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| Eating mango straight from the tree :) |
We left Trinidad at 8am on the coach and bought tickets at the bus station at the Viazul office 20 minutes before. It cost $9 to Ciego de Avila and took 2.5 hours. Then we got a taxi to moron for $20 and it took no time at all. The driver took us to the address we were given, but it turns out the casa in Trinidad hadn't rung ahead, so when I introduced myself she was a bit baffled and asked who'd recommended her! Whilst I explained, sorted it and worked out this was the right one Tom stood there looking annoyed which didn't help! It's $20 a night and has a balcony, so good value. We went for an explore and the town is along one Main Street it seems. It's quite unremarkable and nothing like Trinidad and we were both at a bit of a loss as to what to do and a bit disappointed; but had to remind ourselves that this was a means to get to the Cays tomorrow (amazing beaches). The train station was impressive but the train to Santa Clara (our next planned destination) was broken! So we negotiated a taxi to Remedios instead, and also to Cayo Guillermo tomorrow for $90 all in. Win.
We then went for lunch - Tom had a cheeseburger and chips and there was a weird man who wasn't all there who kept trying to talk to us and coming up with gems like 'David Cameron - wanker.' We then tried to get a rickshaw to a lake called Lago de la Leche. It was hard - no one really hassles or haggles here. We got it for $9 and the man was old and i think maybe lighter than me! He stopped to get a beer on the way, and we both agreed wed give him $10 as we felt bad him cycling in the heat with two people bigger than him. At some points we could have walked faster!! It got a bit tedious, and was further than expected and the man kept pointing out restaurants near the lagoon which was annoying. It was hot. We got a drink of beer in a cafe overlooking the lagoon and it was surrounded by mountains in the distance and forest which looked untouched.
The lake was huge, and quite rough because of the wind. I don't see why it is equated with milk though. We went for a walk and went over a little bridge to get another beer at a cafe. Tom stubbed his toe and shouted swear words and was hobbling around with one flip flop. An old man came up looking puzzled and Tom just said 'beer beer' whilst still hopping in circles and he must've thought we were drunks! We found a different bar which looked out into the lagoon and our rickshaw man came and asked us for his money so he could buy a beer. We didn't want to give it in case he left or got drunk so give him $1 but he hung around and was really annoying and quite creepy. On the way back Tom had a go at peddling an so did I. I found it fine and went quite along way, but then we got attacked by Mosquitos!
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| The bridge just before Tom stubbed his toe |
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| Peddling the rickshaw |
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| After being attacked by mosquitoes :( |
We shared a beer on the balcony back in our room and showered (I had lots of grease on my leg from the bike which was hard to get off and my bites had sprung up). Then we headed out to find somewhere to eat. Easier said than done...we couldn't find the place we wanted in the rough guide and the restaurant we did fancy wasn't open till 9pm and when we returned it was so noisy and more like a bar. There didn't seem anywhere else except an Italian place purporting to sell pasta but it looked more like a seedy bar. We came across another Italian sounding place and although our initial impressions - a one page scrawled menu with things I didn't have a clue about and prices in national money - we were converted when we realised one dish was a local plant and there was fish.
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| The weird but yummy local plant! |
Wednesday 19th June
We had breakfast in the courtyard of the hostel and it was good as usual- pineapple and mango and mini bananas and nice (ish) bread and biscuits like shortbread. We finally managed to flush the loo after it got blocked. The taxi we negotiated yesterday to take us to the Cays turned up at 9:30am. It took 1.5 hrs to get to Playa Pilar (our chosen beach). I felt weird and jelly like in the way in the car but felt ok when we got there. For 20km we drove along a road which connected the mainland and Cayo Guillermo and was surrounded by sea and mangroves either side. Once there, we walked along a wooden walkway and then saw a glimpse of the most amazing paradisical beach - pure white sand, turquoise clear sea, the beach dotted with palm umbrellas and not a hotel in sight - just one bar tucked away behind the dunes.
We got a sunbeds at the end of the beach and it cost $2 each. It was awesome and I felt quite speechless that it was real! Tom was so happy ad couldn't believe it either. There was a nice breeze and the water was cool but not too cold and a bit choppy because of the wind. In the sun it was baking. I was careful not to expose my top half in the sun when out of the sea, just my legs. I read more of the book i was engossed in - Enders Game - and we went to the cafe around 12:30 to get a drink. Then more swimming and reading and then we went to the cafe and Tom got pork, rice and chips and I had a bit but didn't want a main meal in the heat. It took ages to come hut was worth it (especially when the waiter brought us ketchup after tom spied it and I convinced the waiter they did in fact have it!) We shared an ice cream after. Then more reading and swimming and then we went for a walk via the bar to get a beer and walked to the other end of the beach drinking it. As we got further to the end it was deserted and beautiful. We took the opportunity to try skinny dipping! we left the beach around 6pm and got our taxi back to Moron.
We had breakfast in the courtyard of the hostel and it was good as usual- pineapple and mango and mini bananas and nice (ish) bread and biscuits like shortbread. We finally managed to flush the loo after it got blocked. The taxi we negotiated yesterday to take us to the Cays turned up at 9:30am. It took 1.5 hrs to get to Playa Pilar (our chosen beach). I felt weird and jelly like in the way in the car but felt ok when we got there. For 20km we drove along a road which connected the mainland and Cayo Guillermo and was surrounded by sea and mangroves either side. Once there, we walked along a wooden walkway and then saw a glimpse of the most amazing paradisical beach - pure white sand, turquoise clear sea, the beach dotted with palm umbrellas and not a hotel in sight - just one bar tucked away behind the dunes.
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| The walkway to paradise |
We got a sunbeds at the end of the beach and it cost $2 each. It was awesome and I felt quite speechless that it was real! Tom was so happy ad couldn't believe it either. There was a nice breeze and the water was cool but not too cold and a bit choppy because of the wind. In the sun it was baking. I was careful not to expose my top half in the sun when out of the sea, just my legs. I read more of the book i was engossed in - Enders Game - and we went to the cafe around 12:30 to get a drink. Then more swimming and reading and then we went to the cafe and Tom got pork, rice and chips and I had a bit but didn't want a main meal in the heat. It took ages to come hut was worth it (especially when the waiter brought us ketchup after tom spied it and I convinced the waiter they did in fact have it!) We shared an ice cream after. Then more reading and swimming and then we went for a walk via the bar to get a beer and walked to the other end of the beach drinking it. As we got further to the end it was deserted and beautiful. We took the opportunity to try skinny dipping! we left the beach around 6pm and got our taxi back to Moron.
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| The water was crystal clear |
Thursday 20th June
We left Moron quite late at 11 because I thought Claire's results came out and wanted to check the Internet. Tom wanted to back up our photos too - it was all very confusing and bureaucratic in the Internet cafe and in the end I just used 30 minutes to write a long email. I got money out with my card in the bank but toms didn't work. As we were late back the taxi driver had been and left, but he returned. It took two hours to get to Remedios. We went to a hostel on the list had been given by Elsa in Havana, but was also in the rough guide. It was really nice - a lot more established and efficient than the others with a little presentation on the computer, a price list, dinner times, and the other rooms were all occupied. There was a two storey terrace too.
We ordered crab and lobster for dinner and then went for an explore and stopped in a cafe for lunch (the casa didn't have any bread so we had to go out) and Tom had a cheese and ham toasted roll and the chips were good. We tried to get a taxi for tomorrow but couldn't find any, and Tom managed to get his card to work in a bank - again very official and bureaucratic with controlled entry at the door. We then looked around the church and the man showed is around and told us that the statue of pregnant Mary is one of two in the world.
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| Inside the church |
We also went to the museum of the R. Festival which is what Remedios is famous for. In this festival, two sides of the town compete and spend all year constructing floats based on a chosen theme. They work on the floats outside the town so the other side can't see what they are doing. It seems very important and elaborately planned out and I think goes on all night and there are fireworks and dancing. This Saturday there was a demonstration for outsiders and important people to watch and Remedios was declared a national heritage sight and granted special cultural status. The woman talking in Spanish was impossible to understand though and it was hot and she went on!!
We went and got ice-cream from an ice-cream parlour and it was yum - quite syrupy and vey soft - but when we said we only had convertibles they were disgruntled. We have them $1 and they still didn't seem happy even though it was more than $8 in national money. But they were generally rude anyway. We went back to the casa after and read a bit as it was just so hot. We went out for a bit of a wander when it was cooler and stopped for a drink in the cafe on the square for a beer. A local guy started chatting to us after we saw some fireworks (just flashes and bangs really) in broad daylight which made me jump out of my seat and seemed rather dangerous!! He bought Tom and I another beer and we chatted in pigeon English and he showed us a programme for the demonstration of the festival starting tomorrow.
We headed back for dinner (I felt quite drunk!) and we had he most amazing supper - I wasn't such a fan of the minestrone soup served in a big bowl to help yourself, but we had the fried sweet plantain which I like and Tom tried for the first time and really liked, and the crab was amazing - three huge claws each that were meaty inside and in a really rich tasty brown sauce. I found them quite frustrating though as there was so much inside but it was hard to get it and so messy! We hardly spoke to each other, just attacked out plates and I cracked the shell open with my teeth - I felt quite animalistic next to the Spanish couple next to us who were very civilised and quiet and had a pristine white tablecloth!! The lobster was good - a lot easier to eat!! There was also rice and salad, but the pudding was disappointing - he described it as marmalade and cheese and it actually was!!
Friday 21st June
We had breakfast at 9 am. It wasn't the best but there was more variety of fruit and the bread was really good. We went out to get water before the taxi came at 10am. In the night I had really bad diarrhea but I took Immodium and it got better. The taxi wasn't air conditioned but it was ok as the windows were open and there was a good breeze. The driver was very friendly, and first took us to a sugar museum housed in an old factory that stopped working in 1999. We tried sugar juice (made with mechanised machinery this time!) but it was far too sweet. We then watched a video of how the industry has been modernised, And looked around the museum which showed how it had changed from primitive to mechanised. Theist spoke Spanish slowly so it was quite easy to I understand. We got to ride on a platform on rails which you moved with a pump system and it was used to transport workers .
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| Having a ride on the man-powered transport |
Also, a man came up to us with a live crab on a piece of string which I thought was plastic and first a then it moved!! Apparently at this time of year they come out of their caves to go to the see a d it's common to see them in the roads. There were Mosquitos which panicked us! We saw a steam train in action and there were many more - they are starting a collection and have 34.
On the way to the cays our driver stopped so we could get a sandwich and fruit (two whole pineapples for 50 cents!) a d also chatted to us about Cuba. He was a teacher of philosophy for over 30 years to pre university students but said there is no money In it (200 CUC a month!). He told us basically how most Cubans want Cuba to stay socialist but don't like the way the economy is. They're the great education and healthcare and safety but not the poor economy. His daughter is 28 and studied economics but now works in a petrol station. He said two years ago everyone went to university (all six year courses) but now because of tourism less are good and instead studying for the necessary qualifications for tourism. He told us how the government gives subsidised housing, and 5kg rice plus oils and beans and chicken and other basics to each person at a very subsidised price, almost nothing. Tom said that this explains why we see people not being particularly productive, but when I translated this to the man he said it was the fact that if people work, they don't earn enough to make it worth or and also because the state is so controlling if they produce two instead of six whatever's, they will still be paid the same.
He then went in to say what Cubans hate is American capitalism - and he said it leads to fighting and bloodshed and mafias. But he said they wanted to be like England and France and Spain - he said these countries have 'perfect socialism.' Not like America. Cubans accept hey are subordinate to these countries but not America. He expired socialism is a theory and ideology and is hard to put into practice, but it seems like Cubans equate 'socialism'with what thy perforce to be fair and just and equal. What they don't realise is that the countries they think have succeeded in his are capitalist! They didn't seem to see socialism as having distinct features that don't equate with the UK and Europe American is the reason they Cubas economy is as poor as it is. We got to the beach and it is truly like we have found a desert island Caribbean beach! There are no cafes or hotels on playa las salinas and he palm umbrellas were fairly decrepit. So we have come far along the Bach and are sitting under a tree and have hung our wet costumes and towels on the branches (and my bag when we to swimming with valuables in) and looking left and right a I can see it turquoise see, a sliver of white sand and a line of low scrubby forest. It is very quiet and feels quite eery and lonely, I am glad we have come here but I think I like having one little cafe and Sun loungers like at Playa Pilar.
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| The collection of steam trains |
He then went in to say what Cubans hate is American capitalism - and he said it leads to fighting and bloodshed and mafias. But he said they wanted to be like England and France and Spain - he said these countries have 'perfect socialism.' Not like America. Cubans accept hey are subordinate to these countries but not America. He expired socialism is a theory and ideology and is hard to put into practice, but it seems like Cubans equate 'socialism'with what thy perforce to be fair and just and equal. What they don't realise is that the countries they think have succeeded in his are capitalist! They didn't seem to see socialism as having distinct features that don't equate with the UK and Europe American is the reason they Cubas economy is as poor as it is. We got to the beach and it is truly like we have found a desert island Caribbean beach! There are no cafes or hotels on playa las salinas and he palm umbrellas were fairly decrepit. So we have come far along the Bach and are sitting under a tree and have hung our wet costumes and towels on the branches (and my bag when we to swimming with valuables in) and looking left and right a I can see it turquoise see, a sliver of white sand and a line of low scrubby forest. It is very quiet and feels quite eery and lonely, I am glad we have come here but I think I like having one little cafe and Sun loungers like at Playa Pilar.
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| A totally deserted beach |
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| Our own desert island |
Saturday 22nd June
We set off for Santa Clara at 11 - Tom got us a taxi as he wasn't feeling good still. It took around 2 hours in a non air conditioned car but the windows were open so it was ok when we were going fast, except I stuck to he leather seats a bit and we got stuck behind a v polluted bus. When we arrived, the hostel we wanted to go to didn't have space so they have us to a different one. At first I was annoyed as the old man seemed grumpy and I thought it would just be a random house, and the other hostel seemed like it would be so nice. But actually the old couple turned out to be really caring and like grandparents. The room was huge with weird steps in and I think you could self cater there as there was a table etc. we went out into the city and I was feeling a bit out of sorts and it sees like we would run out of things to do quickly. We wandered around the square and went to a church and Tom got a folded pizza thing and we walked to the Che Guevara mausoleum. We went via some wall art which depicts Cuban- American relations humorously.
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| Anti American graffiti |
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| The Che memorial |
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| Poor goat! |
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| An outdoor disco for under 18' |
Sunday 23rd June
Tom wasn't very well during the night apparently - I didn't notice as I was knocked out by a drowsy hay fever tablet to stop my bites itching!! We had breakfast- the bread was warm and squishy -and then walked to a hill which overlooked the city and then back via the detailed train. The museum was closed but we saw the main feature which was the train, and given the quality of our previous museum experiences we weren't too bothered!
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| The view of Santa Clara |
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| The train which Che derailed |
The taxi drive to Matanzas was hot and took three hours. It cooled down a lot in the last hour and we arrived around 7pm. The casa had an awesome roof terrace with views across the city and the dining room had a very colonial feel with wide doors and a balcony looking down onto the street. We had a beer on the rooftop and then dinner - my prawns were amazing in a sort of curried tomato sauce. We didn't get as much food as we have had with some plantain crisps for stater and just a main and salad, and they offered us jam and cheese for desert again!! I asked for fruit and they brought us some on the terrace. We then went for a wander down the street but there wasn't much to see in the dark.
Monday 24th June
Had breakfast at 8:30 - wasn't as good as some places but still better than Havana with more fruit. We set off and walked to see the Hershey train which was built to transport workers to the Hershey factory. They call Matanzas the city of bridges, and we went over a footbridge with beautiful views downriver. We saw the train - it wasn't that impressive but cool to see it and decided there would be no point riding on it as it goes no more than 20km an hour and would be hot and didn't look very exciting. Just seeing it sufficed!!
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| The city of bridges |
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| The Hershey Train |
We then went for a wander - Matanzas is really big, and is on the coast so there is a huge sweeping sea front. It is obviously mainly industrial as you can see a huge factory and port from the coastal road. The main city centre where we were staying is quite pretty with old colonial buildings like Havana. It was really hot despite being near the coast. We got a weird papadum thing to share which was nice and wandered past churches and over the bridges. We stopped for a drink in a cafe on the sea front. We went back to our hostel around 1pm as it was so hot, to read. We then went back to the cafe and got pizza and chips (poor service again as the chips came ages after!!) and a tub of strawberry icecream which we shared (and they didn't charge us for!). We then walked along the sea front to a beach called Playa Teni which was OK for a city beach, and we took it in turns to swim whilst the other watched the stuff. The water felt a bit grimy and swimming so near a road bridge freaked me a little!! We then walked back and bought water and beers from a shop and had showers in the hostel and a beer not he roof terrace. We ordered lobster and prawns for dinner.
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| A tribute to Che under one of the bridges |
Tuesday 25th - Friday 28th June
We set off for Varadero at 10:30 from Matanzas and a taxi came to our hostel and took us all the way there. We arrived at around 11:30 and the hotel was all i imagined and more. The lobby had a big pool in the centre and ivy dripping down from the walls, and our room was nice and hotel like with crisp sheets a nice bathroom and a balcony looking out over the sea.
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| The Lobby |
The first day we went straight to the pool and I tried out the pool stools with a diet coke, and we went on the beach and played pool volleyball which our team won, and I got the hang of it in the end but tried to chicken out!! The games and activities weren't massively well organised but it was fun. We had paella at the paella restaurant outside for lunch, and went to the buffet after for some fruit and ice cream (and a few more prawns and chips!) there was a cafe which was open all the time (lunch ended everywhere at 3) and you could get drinks, tea and coffee, a selection of cakes and food like baguettes and pizza and chips. Later in the afternoon I got a fruit platter and Tom got a plate of chips. There was a piano bar where you could get drinks an we did that before dinner. We went to the buffet as we tried to book a la carte restaurants but they were full. We are so much and left so much!! Fish and veg and roasted veg and chips and pasta and aperitifs and cakes and icecream and fruit.
For the next three days we got up at 8 had breaks fat in the buffet at 8 ish, then went to the beach and cot pedalo and a sailing trip on wed (the sailing was OK but we weren't allowed to do anything and he was grumpy but it was free!!) and went to the pool and played pool volley together and then had lunch at the cafe Trinidad by the sea on wed. It reminded me of Kefalonia but the calmari was so good and we had fish for main. Went to the buffet after for fruit and ice-cream. We also played ping pong and swam. Went to the European restaurant for supper at 7:30 and had a drink before - the food wasnt good at all. There was a good string quartet though. I ended up walking out as Tom and I had a major argument but we sorted it out in the end outside and went to the buffet after!!
On Thursday we did similar things but I had reflexology at 10 thanks to Tom (it was more of a foot massage and shorter than 30 mins but still good) and we had lunch in the Trinidad restaurant (calamari) were the service was awful and we were ignored, and the paella restaurant. In the afternoon we did volley and ping pong and played tennis at 5 (it was hot!) we had sex in the balcony and hen realised it look out over the pool area! At 7 we went to the steak restaurant (which didn't do steak - the closest was kebab) and they set whiskey alight and poured it over the kebabs. It was ok but a but meaty. We had another drink and wander in the grounds and then went to he buffet! We also went for a late night swim in the dark which was scary as we didn't want to be caught by the security guard. But fun.
On our last morning we did the usual but got kayaks which were fun. We also did aqua aerobics in the pool which was cringey but Fun. We did it yesterday in the sea too but joined late and massaging people was a bit odd (although I had Tom doing me, he had to do a very unnatractive woman which was amusing) and it wasn't very well organised. We had lunch at the buffet and asked about the buses. We left at 2pm from outside the hotel and it took around 2 hours to get to Havana, hotel park central. We weren't able to stay in the main Hostel Peregrino (surprise surprise) and were in a neighbours house which was a bit annoying but there was a balcony and it was only 25. We went for a wander along the malecon and to the hotel capital for a drink and then walked back. We tried our cigar at the hotel with our drinks but both weren't fans and didn't get through much of it! We had showers and then went for a wander down Obispo (the street with the restaurant where we had lunch the first day) and found a restaurant with a courtyard where they gave us lobster and two cocktails for $10.
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| The pool bar |
Saturday 29th June
Had breakfast in the main hostel and chatted to some Americans - surprising. Then we walked to Vedado and saw the hotel Havana libre which used to be the Hilton where the mafia were based. We looked around a little market and had some pizza in Dinosaur pizza at 11:30 - our tummys were used to Varadero!! We got a coco taxi back after wandering to the university which was closed but impressive - like Athens. We were dropped at the rum museum which was OK but wed learned everything from going to Trinidad and the sugar plantations. The model factory was good though, but the rum tasting wasn't great -straight rum eughhhhhh. We then went for lunch at the cafe we went to on the first day and I had fish and veg and it was cheap but good although the service was shite as per. We then went to an indoors market which Tom spied In the lonely planet which was huge and we got most of our souvenirs from there. It was good because people hardly hassled you and mostly left you alone after you said 'no gracias' to them. It started to rain when we were in there so we killed time and got some mango and beer.
We went back to the hostel for showers and had planned to get an open top car but the weather wasn't good. So we went for cocktails in a cafe and I had a daiquiri and mojito. We walked to a restaurant that was in the top things to do in our guides and was in the film Fresa y Chocolate apparently. It took us ages to get there through windy streets in the dark and it was drizzling but we got there in the end - it was disconcerting as you had to go up a spiral stone staircase in he middle of what looked like a building sight. But once inside it was cute and full of pictures and statues of Jesus! I had tuna in sugarcane and honey sauce and we had fried sweet potato and salad, and they have us these yummy fried potatoey ball things on the house. Tom had fish coated with plantain chips and also had fufu which was like mash and some mayo stuff. The food was SO bloody good - we devoured it in heavenly silence!! I think it was really good but also we hadn't had such good food for such a long time so I cant be sure our standards hadn't lowered. For pudding we had a 'chocolate 3 leches' which was chocolate cake covered in a cold milky chocolatey sauce which was so good and with dollops of chocolate fondant. I had a glass of wine which was good too. As we booked the table for 9 we didn't get back till 11.
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| A coco taxi |
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| A Chevrolet which Beyonce and J-Z rode in! |
