11th December.

Off to Baracoa

We managed to get up in time for our taxi at 6.30 and were even 5 minutes early at the bus station which was deserted apart from one other couple and a guy trying to sell extortionately priced coffee. There was no staff and we wondered what the reason behind getting there an hour before departure was when eventually at 7.20 a couple of people showed up for work. After sorting tickets out we managed to get our luggage booked in and sat down to wait for the bus which was due to leave at 7.45. 8 o'clock came and went and there was still no bus, 8.15 and a bus showed up so we got in a queue with a few others to wait to get on...this wasn't our bus however. Our bus finally showed up at about 8.40 and by the time luggage was loaded and everyone was on board it was gone 9 before we departed. The countryside as we drove along was beautiful, similar to Costa Rica, we went up through cloud forests and along narrow switchback roads, through coffee plantations and everywhere you looked there were palm trees of many varieties. We made a brief stop in Guantanamo to pick up more disgruntled passengers (they also had waited over 2 hours) before continuing. Andy slept and I read for a while until strangely the bus stopped and began reversing, I thought maybe to let someone pass as the roads are quite narrow, but no, it was because the driver was peckish and had seen someone selling sandwiches at the side of the road!! Having not had any breakfast we were also hungry and just wanted to get to Baracoa so we could get something to eat, however some of the other passengers decided they'd also take advantage and we spent 10-15 mins waiting while they messed about buying what looked like decidedly dodgy rolls. Another hour passed and the same thing happened again, slightly more than annoyed by this point and a good 2 hours late we were incredulous as not only did people get off again to buy stuff but the driver actually let people on to sell it!! On another occasion I would probably have enjoyed these little detours from the schedule but I was tired, hungry and we were running 2 hours late and had someone waiting for us at the other end so I sat there being grumpy until we moved on again. Eventually we arrived in a rather windy Baracoa at about 2pm and met Eugenio at whose casa we would be staying for the next 3 nights. We settled in at the casa before making a quick exploration of the small town, finding it as colourful and friendly as Trinidad but not with quite the same charm as it lacked the cobbled streets and grand buildings. However we found it to be a pleasant place and even found somewhere to dance for the evening!! We made our way back along the sea front where it was blowing surf against the rocks in a similar display to the Malecon in Habana when it started to spit with rain, so after walking to the baseball stadium we headed back to the casa where we had a lovely dinner of shrimp with rice, salad and banana crisp things like we'd had in Trinidad. We went upstairs to shower before going out for the evening and I did some washing also with the soap we'd bought in Santiago, it seems to work quite well! Our first stop for the evening was the Casa de |Cultura where a group called Barumba (Baracoa Rumba I guess) were performing that evening, it was free to go in and from the sounds outside promised to be good. We stood watching this amazingly energetic and varied performance while a guy was telling us about his dance school up the road (we take this with a pinch of salt nowadays) eventually we were able to navigate away and sit down to watch the show. It was a mixture of dances and music, some son which we recognised some of the steps Betty had taught us, some kind of frenetic type Rumba and various Afrocuban dances, including frequent changes of costume. At one point it was just one man with a painted white face dancing whose body movement was incredible, he stopped half way through however and decided to drag me and Andy onto the dancefloor with him where he did a series of movements and we in turn copied him...they seemed based on reggaeton type stuff and as we've done so much of this since leaving home, were able to pull it off reasonably well and to applause from the (thankfully small) audience! Once the show was over the guy who had been talking to us before insisted he show us to his friend's art gallery across the street which was very good , but I'd rather have talked to the performers, then he took us to the place to dance for the evening which we'd already scoped out in the afternoon. It is called the terraza and is like a nightclub on a very large terrace complete with mini glasto style band stage, mainly tiled floor, bar and lots of tables. There were already a number of people there and the guy managed to get in with us paying (not with our permission I might add) so we found ourselves at the bar, not wanting to buy him a drink we bought ourselves a lemonade and I offered some of mine to him, whereupon he got himself a coke, again with our money :( I determined that was all he was getting out of us for the evening and as there was a little salsa playing had a dance with Andy. Another song came on and I was obliged to dance with the guy who I think his name was Daniel but not sure, anyway there was no way he was any kind of dance teacher as his timing was appauling and he couldnt lead to save his life, his one redeeming feature was that at least he wasnt as rough as some cubans ive danced with. After this the group came on to perform, they were called Candyman and are apparently quite famous in Cuba, unfortunately this is because they are a reggaeton group, they were on for about an hour and Daniel kept persisting in making us dance which was really irritating, if I want to dance I will, but I dont like being told to! The whole night was basically reggaeton from then on and it rained for most of it too so everyone was crammed under the shelter available making dancing even less appealing. The good point to come out of the night is that when Daniel introduced us to some of his friends they were with 2 girls from Spain who were here on holiday and we arranged to meet in the morning if the weather was fine and share a taxi to the beach 20km away. We managed to escape at about 1.30 by which time I was exhausted not just from dancing but from the long day and the journey too, so we walked back to the casa and went to sleep.

12th December

Beach and Casa de la Trova

After a bit of a lie in to recover from the day before we eventually got up and dressed and walked into town to check the internet. We are waiting for a reply from Spirit Airlines, the ones who gave us the free flights, but still have no way of booking them, again no reply and after checking our emails also we went away a bit disappointed. Outside Daniel met us and we all sat to wait for the girls, Andy and I had already decided between us that if they didnt show then we wouldnt go as it would be too expensive on our own and also if they did show up that we'd get them to find out if Daniel was intending to pay his share or not, if not I was quite happy to leave him behind as he was getting to be a bit of a pain!! At nearly 10 past 11 Daniel said he would go and call at their casa, not sure how he knew where it was but almost as soon as he'd left the girls showed up and said they'd heard him brag to his friends that he wouldnt be paying because he was cuban as well as telling the girls that he was our dance teacher!! That was the last straw and we all decided to ditch him completely and go to the beach just the 4 of us. We headed off in separate directions to get our towels etc and were to meet back in the square in 20 mins. As we were leaving our casa Daniel showed up at our door in a taxi imploring us to get in for a lift back to the square where he'd just seen the girls. We refused and eventually he went on without us, we arrived to find the 3 of them in heated discussion of which I could only pick out a few words as it was so fast, basically he wasnt happy that he'd introduced us and was now being told to get lost, but its his own fault and we left with him hurling insults at us as we got in another taxi....I really hope he had to pay for the one he took to our place and back!! Finally on the road we spent the next 45 mins bouncing along in an old jeep along rough roads, past the chocolate factory and El Yunque a picturesque mountain with a flat, table like top, through glorious scenery and talking to Estella and Marta who it turns out both live in London!! They are both lovely, friendly people and we had a great time getting to know each other both then and whilst chilling on the beach, which was stunning by the way, they even answered my many questions about spanish grammar (which I'm struggling with a bit) with patience and humour. The time spent at the beach which is called Maguana, was lovely, so peaceful, the odd chicken pecking around, a family of little pigs, the obligatory beach hut style bar and even the people trying to sell you stuff werent too pushy and quite funny at times. Me and Andy went for a swim early on and spent an hour or so in the clear water, we made a friend too as for the last 20 mins or so a fish kept following and swimming round us wherever we went! After this we went for a walk up the beach and back before relaxing and keeping an eye on the bags while the girls did the same. Eventually it was time to go and we must have arranged it perfectly as it just started to spit with rain as we left! Another bumpy ride on the way back and sharing more stories with Estella and Marta, the driver even stopped a couple of times for us to take pictures as it is so beautiful, tropical forests, swift rivers and green, palm covered mountains! Once back in Baracoa where the sun was still shining we thought to end the afternoon with an ice cream from the Casa de Chocolate, but unfortunately they had run out so we went to the other Cremeria and had a couple of scoops of delicious strawberry and tasty coconut ice cream instead. The rain cought up with us at this point and we arranged to meet up for a farewell drink later on after we'd all showered and eaten. Saying goodbye we dashed back through the downpour to the casa where we were glad we'd arranged dinner as we were starving, the ice cream being all we'd eaten all day! We had Marlin steaks which is a fish a little like tuna in texture with rice and red beans, salsa and banana chip things which went down a treat before showering and changing to go out. Just after 9 we met the girls at a table outside Casa de la Trova where they had already got drinks and 2 cuban guys, one of whom spent most of the evening declaring undying love for Estella which we found most amusing as she was having none of it!! The band playing inside were pretty good with 2 tiny women singing the leads and exceptionally playing several bachatas, more than any other band we've heard anywhere! Of course we had to dance to at least one of them amidst the tables which wasnt easy as the ground sloped and there was very little space as well as the fact that once again everyone was watching us....at least if ever we do performin the future we shouldn't have a problem with stage fright!! It got to nearly 11.30 and we were all feeling the effects of a long day in the sun and decided to call it a night, we swapped email/fb with the girls and hopefully we can stay in touch once we leave Cuba as they really were a pleasure to meet. Once back at the casa we fell asleep pretty much straight away, shattered.

13th december.

Buses and Caves.

We had a few things to do today so we walked into town quite early, stopping briefly on the way for a fried egg sandwich and coffee each fo $0.40 all together. We then went into Cubatur to enquire about buses to Holguin which he said there was a direct one the next day which had 2 spaces left on it (convenient) or you could take a 200 miles detour via Santiago which for some odd reason was $4 cheaper per person. We said we needed to go to the bank and get some money out and that we'd be back soon. When we got to the bank we discovered that in this branch you need your visa as well as your passport to withdraw cash, news to us and we had to sit around for 15mins while he phoned about to check we had a valid visa before we eventually got served. By this time Cubatur was closed for "lunch" so we checked the internet, still nothing from spirit grrrrrrr!! We then went to another travel agent who wrote our names down and said they'd see if anyone else came in asking to go in the same direction. After such a Stimulating morning we felt we should maybe do something worthwhile for the rest of the day so we grabbed our swimming stuff from the casa and walked down to the end of town and off towards the beach looking for a small nature reserve the girls had mentioned the previous day. Just after we turned off the main road we met a man who said he was a member of the Fuente family (mentioned in Lonely Planet!!)and that he would show us where to go. We followed him for about 1mile across a stunning black sand beach, and a really cool wooden bridge which bounced as we walked over threatening to throw us in the very muddy river beneath!! We walked through a tiny village to eventually arrive at a small hut in the road which turned out to be the entrance gate to the park. We paid our entrance fee and the man in the booth told us that our guide was in fact who he said he was and turns out to be quite famous as he is in the Cuba guide book. Senor Fuente led us on a short way where we stopped at his house for fresh coffee which they grow and produce themselves in the village which is also full of loose pigs, lambs and a cart pullled by two very large bullocks!! After coffee we continued on with our walk, our guide pointing out a cave the indigenous population used to light fires in as it is well sheltered from both the rain and any spray off the sea, he also showed us a green bean plant which they grow here. After about 10 mins walking we arrived at the coconut graveyard, they pile them all up and use them as compost for the farms. At this point our guide informed us that we would go up to the ' Balcony' where a recent french version of Robison Crusoe was filmed. He then led us to a distinctly rickety looking ladder which he said we would climb up. Apparently this was used in the film and despite Mae's initial assumption that he was joking the ladder turned out to be quite sturdy. Once at the top we walked into a large cave set in the cliff which was used as a living room/meeting hall by the pre spanish population. We climbed up to a ledge where we saw a stunning view out over the forest below to the sea which sparkled blue and green in the distance. We continued on along the amazing cave formation which is halfway up the cliff face and open on one side, it really is like a balcony, apart from being 1km long. At several points along the journey we had to crawl through small tunnels or scramble up our way around rock pillars which blocked the path. The guide stopped at various points to show us things of interest including a birthing chamber which contains a water basin formed entirely naturally out of the rock, various quartz deposits which sparkled when he shone his torch on them, a natural window in the rock which is in a heart shape and several other fascinating formations. As we climbed down from the balcony having walked along the entire length he continued to show us the plants of the area, including eucalyptus, cocoa and Guava. (a red fruit which has turned up in several breakfast we have eaten in Cuba) He also showed us a cool snail which is bright yellow, it also comes in green and red but not blue. We then walked along a raised path made entirely of rock which pre-dates the arrival of christopher Colombus to reach a cave which descends about 40 feet into the ground. This was the goal of our trek as the cave contains a natural swimming pool. We climbed down with the aid of torches as it's pitch black and slid into the water which seemed cold but is actually about 20 degrees! (the same temperature as their buses!!!) We swam around for about half and hour exploring the 2 or 3 caverns there were and we were surprised how deep the water was, at some point we coudn;t touch the bottom. We climbed back out and started the walk back at a somewhat brisker pace as it would soon get dark, but none the less stopping at various points to take photos of the loose pigs and goats dotted about the landscape. We left our guide just before exiting the park and paid a total of $10 for the almost 3 hour tour and hurried on to get back to the travel agencies before they closed. We got there to find that the Cubatur man had gone home early again and decided to book our ticket through Havanatur instead we managed to book our onward ticket to Holguin from Santiago but were informed that the Baracoa office was closed and we would have to come back in the morning. Feeling somewhat exhausted now we grabbed some dinner and went back to the casa for a shower. After about an hours rest we decided that we really should go out dancing and headed to the Casa De La Trova once more. The band tonight weren't as good as the last one, but none the less we had a great time as the place was packed and plenty of people were dancing for a change! We danced until almost midnight when the place closed and managed to survive the awful rendition of yesterday by two Australian girls who quite clearly thought they were really good! We also laughed at the Cubans once more failing to dance Cha Cha and danced mostly crossbody which earned us a lot of funny looks from Cubans who don't understand the concept that there are other styles of salsa. At closing time we went home and, after waiting to be let in for 15mins, went to bed.

14th December

Baracoa to Holguin

We got up early today as we had to sort bus tickets to Holguin and so at 8.30 we were in the Havana tour office again where the nice man who helped us yesterday rang up Viazul to book a ticket for us. Unfortunately the woman on the other end said we had to put our manes on the list in person (no reason for this) so we made our way half a mile or so to the bus station, waited until the lady finished filing her nails (or something equally unproductive) and she wrote our names on a piece of scrap paper and told us to come back at 12. We went back to the Havana tour man and told him, after ringing and getting no response he said it would be fine and to show up and buy the tickets at 12. We then thought about breakfast and had another fried egg sandwich and coffee before checking the internet to no avail once more. We bought some food for the journey, not wanting to get caught short like last time and were well prepared with 2 pizzas each and some crackers as well as a bottle of water. As we were passing we thought we should sample the chocolate ice cream in Casa de Chocolate once more but when we went in they said they didnt have any, only hot chocolate, so we had a cup of this each which was delicious, obviously we werent the only ones who thought so as we saw one lady come in and buy a bucket full of it...literally a 2 gallon bucket of hot chocolate!! We then went back to the casa where we said goodbye to Eugenio and took a bici-taxi with our luggage to the bus station to arrive just before 12. After fighting our way through the other taxi drivers and touts at the door and the people trying to sell you stuff inside we made it to the office again where the lady told us to try again in 15 mins, not that she did anything in that time but obviously couldnt be bothered to see to us right then and preferred to wait until there was a queue of people waiting! Thankfully we managed to get our tickets and after a bit of confusion our bags checked in as well, we could then relax for a bit until the bus arrived. We ended up buying some coconut mixed with honey wrapped in vine leaves and some chocolate for the journey also before setting out on our initial 5 hour trip. It was fairly uneventful, lots of stops to pick up and drop off people as well as get food (we bought a vine of about 15 mandarins for $1) before arriving back at Santiago on time at 6pm. The 1 ½ hours we had to wait to get on the next bus to Holguin went fairly quickly with retrieving bags, sorting tickets and checking bags in again as well as me going to the cafe next door for a coffee which took 25 mins to materialise! We got on the next bus with one other person and had the luxury of being the only people on it and so could sit where we wanted and have the seats all the way back without feeling guilty about squashing the person behind. We caught up on blogging before the battery died then dozed for the rest of the way, waking up to a shout for Holguin at nearly 11 o'clock. We were met off the bus by a guy in a bici-taxi who loaded our bags and then the lady we were staying with, Juana, 5 minutes later we were at her casa and after a sleepy conversation in Spanish (she doesnt speak English) we crashed out in the very comfortable bed for the night.