15th December

Holguin

We got up at about 10 after a good nights sleep in a really comfy bed and had breakfast, it turns out that this is included in the $25 for the room, after we explained that we had very little money each day she offered to also cook us dinner as well for $2.50 each so we agreed and asked for pork steak before walking into town. We made a quick stop to buy an internet card but found that there was no connection so agreed to come back later. Walking a little further we arrived at the centre of town which is a big open square containing a Statue of Calixto Garcia (another of Cuba's many revolutionary heroes) We walked around this square looking at the several fascinating and colourful buildings to investigate various places to dance that evening, we found the Casa de la Trova and Casa Musica as well the Casa de la Culture. (which unfortunately had nothing of interest on this week) As we got to the third side of the square we came to a little souvenir stand where we stood talking to the owner and his friend for about 30 mins about various things to see and where to dance in Holguin, both of them speak excellent English and one had even lived in London for 2 years. Having explored this park we walked down a short pedestrian street to another square which on one side contained a beautiful Spanish Cathedral which unlike many in Cuba is in excellent condition. Holguin is known as the city of parks and it easy to see why as there appears to be one every 2-3 blocks, after looking at this one which contained another statue we continued on. We had only gone a short way when a man came over and started talking to us in excellent english, he told us that he was a teacher in a small town about 75km from Holguin and was visiting the town, which he does once or twice a month. He then proceeded to take us on a guided tour to another park this time dedicated to many south American heroes. Our next stop was the train station, an amazing old building which is likely unchanged since it was built about 150 years ago where we enquired about a train to Camaguey which leaves every day at 4 and requires one change, it cost about $1 for the 150 or so mile journey but not wanting to arrive at an unknown station at night not really knowing which train to take we thought it safer to stick to the buses for now!. He then took us back to the cathedral square where we had a quick look in the Chinese culture house, apparently Chinese immigrants were brought over when there was a labour shortage in Cuba and so many towns have a Chinese community. He then took us to look at a fabulous bronze mural which depicts the history of Cuba from Columbus until the Revolution, it is extremely impressive. We then went to look at the old centre of Holguin which used to be a covered market but was abandoned years ago because it was falling down. They have now made some efforts to repair it but it has been turned into a small bar. Both of us thought this a shame as it could be put to much better use. (like for a big Salsa club!!) At this point we said goodbye to our guide who wished us good travels before leaving, it makes a nice change here not to be asked for money just for someone to genuinely want to be nice!. After a quick trip to Viazul to check on bus timetables we went to an ice cream shop we had spotted earlier in the day. It was the cheapest place yet and it's easy to see why the Cubans are so obsessed when it's so cheap! For our final stop of the day we walked up past the Baseball stadium to Holguin's Plaza de la Revolution which is quite understated and much more pleasant to look at than the other two we have seen. It also has a wood behind it which we walked through before heading back to the casa for dinner of pork steak, rice, tomatoes, fried bananas and some sort of bean soup. After a shower and change we relaxed for a while (ok snoozed!) until it was time to go out to dance :) We walked to the main square and found it alive with music and people, mainly around a bar called Begonia where there was a small band playing 60's and 70's covers which the Cubans seemed to love. The place was pretty full but open to the street so there was a big crowd round the entrance also, we joined this to watch and listen for a while when a tap on the shoulder found us saying hello to the guy we'd met earlier, Eddy, he'd said he might come out to dance tonight so we chatted for a while before deciding to go to Casa de la Trova where a band called Septeto Zenda was playing. Eddy being one of those kind of amiable people knew the manager there and got us a table before leaving us for a bit while he went to do some bits. At only $1 each to get in we were already much happier with this one than the one in Santiago and we ordered a beer each while we waited for the band to come on. A mixture of types of people made up the group, young, old, spanish looking, black, one lady and even a guy who looked scottish! After one song Eddy showed up again and joined us at the table to listed to the band, they were really very good, probably one of the best we've heard outside of Habana and it wasn't long before we felt our feet itching to dance. Me and Andy got up and as there was no actual dancefloor found a reasonable space between the tables which we shared with another couple. When we sat back down Eddy was speechless, saying how good we were and that he hadnt expected it, which was really quite nice as we had danced crossbody and were expecting the usual 'you're dancing it too fast/wrong'. Later I had a dance with Eddy who I found to have the lightest lead of any Cuban yet and a very nice dancer, if a little nervous as he said he hadnt danced for ages! When the band finished at 12 the usual happened and Reggeaton took over so we finished our drinks and left, only to spend the next 2 hours talking with Eddy in the square about loads of stuff including his time in London as well as dancing of course! We made it back to the casa and bed at about 3 setting an alarm to get up in the morning.

16th December

The Steps!!

We got up at about 10 and had breakfast before going and checking the internet once more, today was deadline day for spirit airlines and as expected, nothing :( We decided to explore the other direction of the city from yesterday as there were more parks to see as well as a rather daunting set of steps up a hill to tackle! We found the parks if possible to be even more charming and after passing a number of them as well as The Beatle's Cavern Club and some very colourful, fun looking play parks found ourselves at the bottom of the hill. Looking up, the steps seemed to stretch on into the sky and you couldnt even see the top as it was rounded, so we started climbing. Apparently the steps were built in around 1920 as more and more people climbed the hill to worship at the cross at the top which was put there by a monk who was visiting the town a couple of hundred years ago. Eventually, after taking the odd breather along the way, we made it to the top of the 462 steps to find a paved circle about 20m across with a small castle turret like building in the centre which is a small art gallery. The views were spectacular, you could see the whole city below you in its perfect grid formation as well as the surrounding hills that create this pretty valley. In the far distance was a large lake and later when the air cleared a little we could even see the sea probably 20 miles or more away! Whilst Andy was taking pictures I started talking with a man who was selling small, beautifully carved stones who it turns out lived for a short while in Holland a long time ago. He spoke very good English and was full of interesting information about Holguin and the local area, pointing out in the hills where there was an old gold mine, now deserted and supposedly haunted by the ghosts of slaves who died there, to a village in the distance where you can find a beer drinking Donkey!! We spent about 3 ½ hours talking with him, Raul was his name, until he left for home, not before giving me a necklace with a beautiful polished stone that changes like the waves of the sea as you look at it and 2 little plastic espresso cups which he had made with his own mould back at home. A truly talented sculptor in wood and stone and a genuinely interesting, generous man who we shall remember always with fondness. We descended the steps slowly, taking in the vista for the last time and once at the bottom headed back to the casa for dinner and a rest before dancing again that evening. We went out at about 10 and arrived in the main square once again to find it full of people of all ages, teenagers, old couples, families with small children, all enjoying a live band which had set up and was playing a mixture of Rock, merengue and other popular music. A group of 10 young men playing a variety of instruments and with a lead singer who had a fantastic voice, it was great to see local talent showcased in this way and with the whole population coming out to enjoy it, shame there isnt more like this in the UK! After they finished we walked around for a bit to see if we could see Eddy but as he was nowhere to be seen we decided to head on to the Casa de la Musica as it was gone 11 and the band, MamboFino, was due to play at half past. We paid our $3 each to get in and were seated with a good view of the stage which also had a small dancefloor in front of it which we hoped to use shortly! The band came on but unfortunately turned out to be more of a cabaret with one guy on keyboard and 3 ladies singing, the rest of the music came from a computer and although the singers had great voices they didnt sing any salsa, just reggaeton and merengue. We still enjoyed it though as it was something different and the club itself reflected Holguin well in that it was quite modern looking inside and kind of progressive compared to other places we'd been. Once the group had finished the dj played a couple of salsas which got people up dancing, including us of course, half way through the second one, Eddy came in and I danced with him for a bit before finishing the song with Andy. Then the Regaeton came on which we danced to for a bit before deciding to call it a night as we knew by now there would be no hope of more salsa! Saying goodnight to Eddy we said we'd come and say farewell in the morning before we left for Camaguay, then walked back to the casa and bed.