✈

Camaguëy

#Day 13 Departure at 8 am from the Viazul station. There are two stops before arriving in Camaguëy. The bus driver almost honked at everyone on the road. Either it is cars or cyclists that are in the way, or friends & colleagues. The landscape is flat all around. The province is the richest in Cuba and is self sufficient. There is cattle in the fields in the middle, and rice in the South. In the North, where are the Cayo, the tourism is being developed by the state. There is an ongoing project to build 50 000 rooms on beaches currently virgin with only white sand and transparent water. At the bus station, a woman hearing speaking French asked *Montréal*, upon replying *Paris*, she said *you are nice for a Parisian*. The casa is located in the inner centre of the city. The landlord says Camaguëy is the most interesting in Cuba. It is its 3rd largest city and is home to the largest park inside a city in Cuba. The city has changed locations twice before settling here. The streets are complicated by design. In the old times, it was used to complicate the penetration of pirates in the city. It also has many dead-ends for the same reason. The inner centre looks very European. There are many churches in the city, however, they are closed when it is not time for the mass. There are many more things to do in he city than being indicated in the guides. The city does not see as many tourists as the other major cities in Cuba. At the casa, they receive the television from Venezuela. They say the information is better there. Lots of people in Cuba get the TV from another country. It is black market, expensive and it is a subscription to the person who installed the service. The government only checks from time to time. As I was told, *they [the government] cut the cables of the device* when they find out. It looks like lots of people are doing the same thing (almost all the casas I've been to) but not all are saying it. #Day 14 Another tour in the city before taking the bus at 1.20 pm. The journey to Santiago is the longest of the trip. It is also the only one that will have a night part. At the Gran Hotel, there is a mirador which gives a very nice view on the city. It is almost as top of the towers of the churches. The tiles are red and made of local clay. At the Viazul station, it is possible to book the ticket just before boarding. This is working fine when leaving from Camaguëy as it is not a common stop. It is the same bus as yesterday, the one that left Trinidad in the morning. For some journeys, it is best to book as soon as arriving in the city. While Cubanacan is a transfer service offered in hotels, Viazul is a regular service, stopping at the different *estación de ómnibus* on the way. 5 to 10 minutes stop. Bathrooms are 1 CUC! There is also EON, the standard line for Cubans since it is less expensive. The buses are older and most likely not air-conditioned. Talking about air conditioning, it is really cold in the busses, and it is better to get a blanket. Talking at a casa about it, I was told that they couldn't tune it. What's the point of going to a warm country during winter if it is to be dressed like over there? It can happen that the driver stops in the middle of the road to pick a few people. All of them seem to work for the government though. There are other people who are shaking bills on the side of the ride with the hope someone will pick them for a ride. Before the sunset, which happened soon after leaving Las Tunas, the landscape is still the same. It will change later on when entering the area of Santiago de Cuba, where there is another mountain range. Two more stops in Holguin and Bayamo before arriving in Santiago two hours and a half late. The highway A-1 to Santiago has only the inbound part being built on almost half of its length. The remaining part has both sides, but the road condition is not at its best and it is hard to tell that it is a highway! The casa is huge compared to all others! It has a nice terrace on the rooftop which gives a view on the city.

Trinidad

#Day 8 At 9.15 am, a *coche particular* comes for the journey to Trinidad. The driver is angry/upset. When given directions to the casa, he proposes something elsewhere. When declined, he says *ok fine, you decide*. Hence, 6 CUC and no tip. There is a lot of tourists in Trinidad. The sky is patchy and it is warm outside. Trinidad is filled with tourists, but just like the other places in Cuba (except Havana), but there is nobody two streets behind the inner centre. Despite the tourists, there are not many questions as before. From 3 to 5 pm, a quick tour at the *Playa Ancón* with a Chevrolet Impala. From there, Trinidad looks like a much smaller city. Two hours of salsa course in the evening. I've enrolled in an 11-hour course in only 4 days, which is between 2 and 3h30 a day! At 10 CUC the hour, it is a bargain! The teacher's really fun, speaking a mix of Spanish, English and French. Due to the salsa courses, the schedule for the rest of the trip has been reworked, squeezing the days in Camaguëy. There is a hard limit which is the plane in Baracoa on the 13th of December. #Day 9 Going to Camaguëy is difficult. The city is not as much visited, hence not well connected. A taxi is expensive if not shared and buses do not have convenient schedules. While I'm looking for a cab as it is faster, I registered for the bus next Monday. It is a 'pre-reservation' that only has to be confirmed half an hour before departure! In the court, there was an old bus, I Viazul does not use similar ones! The weather is very cloudy today even though the forecast was predicting something a little more optimistic. A quick tour in the city centre offers more to see: pupils at school, people carrying furniture, etc. After the early afternoon salsa course, it started pouring. In 10 minutes, everyone was out of the streets. The end of the day was already compromised. Everything that was already so quiet became even quieter. People started to go out only one or two hours later. The second salsa course in the evening was much nicer due to the lower temperature. #Day 10 Early salsa course to start the day. Horseback riding in the *vale de los Ingenios*, which is North of Trinidad. There is not much view points, only one from where there is a nice view on the Vigía hill and the valley itself. The valley looks like the one in Viñales, minus the mogotes. Back in Trinidad, it's time to catch up on visiting the museums of the city. Visit of the *museum of the banditos*, which is at the location of the old San Francisco de Assisi covent. Banditos are the name given to anti revolutionaries. From the tower, the only remain of the covent, is a really nice view on the city, the coast and the Escambray massif. The mountains were used as a place to hide, hence the museum. On the plaza mayor, there is the museum of architecture. It is seated in a very nice blue house and has a patio almost as big as the house itself. It covers the different techniques being used to make traditional housing. Nowadays, most of the houses are done in bricks with little wood. Construction is expensive in Cuba. Houses used to be larger, but with marriages, the houses are being split, hence becoming narrower. A Cuban house is generally between 3 m and 6-7 m wide, only on the ground level and with a flat roof which serves as a terrace. There is a central corridor which is aligned with the entrance door. The corridor is about 70-80 cm wide and crosses all the rooms, with doors, of the house on one side. The first room behind the entrance door is the living room. A few chairs, a table, and a television. The television also serves as the music player in most of the houses. Furniture are scarce. Behind the living room, there is a kitchen followed by a bedroom, or a small open area if the house is larger. In this case, the rooms are on the side. Windows have no shutters. There is usually no glass either. Instead, a couple of pivoting blades that can rotate are used. Older houses have larger rooms and more wood involved in the construction. Another salsa course in the evening. #Day 11 Before the last course of salsa, visit of the *La Poba* neighborhood. There is a small yellow cat playing on the street. Manuel, the owner, came out of the house and started talking about the cat. The cat is named Leon and is apparently of a special race. He then talks about the history of Cuba and Trinidad. He tells about what he is doing for a living: repairing electrical appliances from recycling. He then talks about the Bible and the Jehovah witnesses program. Time to leave. He asks for one CUC. Amen. The 10th course of salsa follows. There is still pain from the horseback riding from the day before. In the end, the 11th hour will be held in the evening as the weather is finally good. The hike to the *mirador de la vigía* is not as hard as described. The path is warmed up by the sun and there is a nice breeze. There is a disco that is made in a cave along the way. No visit. The path to the cave is somehow difficult. I can't imagine how it is to walk there when you are drunk. At the Vigía, there are a few buildings and the telecommunication tower. The guard is also doing tours and explains the view. From there, the view on the *vale de los ingenios* is very nice, and even better than the view from yesterday. The vale bears its name from the many sugar refinery that are located in the valley. There is a train line that was used to carry the sugar cane from the end of the valley, which is about 50 km long, to the port. Nowadays, only a few fields are being exploited. On way down, rain is coming from the west, but doesn't go over the hill. However, it drizzles over the city. After lunch, visit of the museum of the city. It shows multiple pieces of furniture. It also has a tower, which albeit being lower than the one of the museum of the banditos, is more in the middle of the city and makes it more interesting. Very nice view on the city. It starts to drizzle while the sun is still shinning. Two museums that are closed on Sundays can't be visited. Just before the sunset, the sky is very cloudy and the setting sun lights them orange. Last course of salsa to conclude the stay in Trinidad.

Cienfuegos

#Day 5 Early departure from the hotel. The bus is at 7 am! It's a long ride to Cienfuegos with two stops on the way. The bus went nearly all the streets of Pinar del Rio, stopping 5 minutes in front of a bus station and then leaving again. No one was dropped/picked up, it wasn't a stop! It was being rather cold in the bus. The driver said it happens often at the back. At 2 pm, the bus finally arrives in Cienfuegos. While it was expected to do two stops in the city, it will only do one, at another hotel than the one I was expected at. It happens to be a misunderstanding on the name of the hotel. I take a bicitaxi that goes by the Malecón of Cienfuegos. The view on the bay from the Malecón is very nice. The driver gives explanations on the building and streets. Being almost broke, with only 7 CUC left, I go out looking for a Cadeca / bank. I cannot find the one that they told me about me at the casa. I go back to the centre, walking along the Malecón to find a bank… next to the hotel where I arrived with the bus earlier. From there, I visit the city centre, only a few blocks wide, before heading West to the Reina neighborhood. As the street goes downhill, the houses are getting worse and worse. Poverty is really more and more apparent. The streets get worst, the houses become smaller and have bare walls. At the end of the street, and one street away from the one of the cemetery - apparently nice to visit - I decide to go back. Going further ahead looks rather uncertain. In this area, people are nice, saying hello and asking nothing. Only the taxis passing by, wondering why a foreigner's walking, keep asking for a possible ride. I'll learn later that it is one of the top 5 poorest neighborhoods of Cienfuegos. Going up the street then going South, I end up on the *Muelle Real*. There is a lot of tourists here. Fishermen are also here. Apparently, what's being fished here is not edible due to the proximity of the harbor. Back at the hotel with a bicitaxi. The driver says he's been in the national team of cycling for 10+ years. His name is Nelson. Evening at the house. Rohly, the host, made a nice plate with fish and local vegetables. There was a starter made of a soup and prawns. The dessert is fruit and cheeses, mixed. The two mojitos will be the best of the trip. #Day 6 After breakfast, I tour the neighborhood of Cienfuegos. The day before, I asked what were the most interesting places to see the real Cuban life. I got them sorted by poverty/risk. On the list, were: 1. San Lazaro 2. Punta Cotica / Pueblo Nuevo 3. Reina I visited most of them but not San Lazaro. Unlike the historic centre, there is no one to ask questions about taxi etc. The people on the doorstep & in the street are nice and open to discussion. I talked with Jaime who's unbending pieces of metal to repair his house. The house doesn't look much and the front is made of wood. His friend José Luis is nearby. Near the Malecón, Pedro and José Luis are talking in the shade. José Luis lives part of the year in Montréal. In the afternoon, after a lunch at the casa, I go back to the city centre with Rohly. Aside his job as the casa owner, he is also helping other businesses grow. Visit of an artist studio and some offices related to tourism. From the Palais Ferrer, there is a nice view on the Palace of the Government and on the Parque Martí. The palace itself is mostly empty but the walls and ceiling are finely decorated. There is a shower coming from the land towards the sea. The museum of the province has not much to see. The theatre however is very nice to visit. On the way back to the casa, Nelson the bicitaxi says he has a friend of him who's tall *like that* and *muy lindissima*, who's coming tomorrow and that he would like to setup a meeting. That's awkward. After declining, he says that we can always talk about it tomorrow. No sunset as the sky is filled with clouds. #Day 7 Another tour of the neighborhoods of Cienfuegos, but with the camera this time. In Pueblo Nuevo, I encounter Francesco Ferria Ferrer who was a boxing champion in 1945. He's smoking on his doorstep. I visit his house. He then asks me to wait and comes back very proudly with the article in the newspaper where it is written he has won. He'll be turning 94 the next day. Crossing the paseo, I arrive in Punta Cotica. Here, there is a hill with a telecommunication tower and some schools on top. There is no view on the city though. The streets look like San Francisco, with the buildings being shorter. Continuing, I enter La Juanita. Here is the city train station. I follow the tracks and walk towards the station. It is an open field that people use to cross this giant area instead of going to the next street. The field itself is a couple of blocks long. Arriving in the station from the back, someone comes and says I shouldn't be here, that we will have to talk to the station manager. I tell her that I have pictures of tracks and trains, but not from the repair centre. I am told that there is an inspection ongoing. She quickly talks with with a person in uniform and asks me to exit the station by a side door. Next to the train station, there is the Viazul station. I queue for 15 minutes to learn that the next available ticket for Trinidad the next days is at 2 pm. That's too late for the tight schedule! Continuing in La Juanita I meet with Jesus, a baker. I visit the bakery which is being refurbished. José Luis is pushing an empty caddy. He has just finished his turn for the day and is going home. He sells groceries. Waiting for a cab at the casa, Nelson the bicitaxi comes to repeat the same as yesterday, but I decline again. Another visit of the Palais Ferrer, then a Piña Colada near the *Muelle Real*. It is said to be the best in town. Visit of the park at the end of Punta Gorda, but there is too cloudy to see anything.