We spent 3 days in Matanzas and are quite glad to have escaped the mayhem!

It was a lot more lively than Guanabo, with lots of hustle and bustle on the streets, people everywhere and constant noise.

We spent a couple of days exploring the town, taking in the atmosphere, drinking a few beers and eating some of the worst food we have ever encountered.

Trying to eat here is like entering a victoria wood sketch. One evening we were taken to a restaurant by a local where the staff were both fast asleep - one laid across the table, the other across two chairs. Our guide woke them and found the actual waitress (not sure who these two were as neither of them seemed to serve food). She then presented us with a menu several pages long, and told us there was chicken in tomato sauce, beef, or fish - not sure what the point of the menu was! So we ordered the chicken and chips and were presented, some time later, with 'mystery meat' and crisps! Joe is opting for pigeon, Madeleine for some kind of small rodent. Anyway, 80 pesos (about 2 quid) lighter, and feeling slightly nauseous, we had accomplished the task of eating. For that night anyway, the whole thing repeated itself last night, only with 'mystery meat' that purported to be pork.

The noise is pretty much constant - Madeleine kind of likes it but Joe is being driven to distraction by the constant bibbing of horns!

We met some locals at a bar one evening and had quite a good chat with them about Cuba and what it's like to live here. They were happy, funny guys on the surface, but underneath they seemed quite angry and dis-enchanted with the country.

We are now off to Trinidad - on the caribbean coast - where we are promised a slower pace of life and amazing beaches.

Love to everyone at home

xxx