In Cuba ….
Leaving the Guines area, we headed towards Santa Clara. We knew that this would be our longest travel day, which it was….. but on this day I was drip fed virus/bacteria from our little bus’s air conditioning unit. It’s vent was right over my head and I knew that it was going to cause me a problem ( I am that person who never gets ill).
Arriving in Santa Clara we were dropped off in the main square and hiked out towards the house that we were staying in….. always an adventure on this trip…. But on this occasion, we were very pleasantly surprised. High stone walls framed a faded blue wooden gateway. Hanging from it was a large brass bell. I tugged on its rope and within seconds a very congenial woman greeted us and bade us to ‘enter’.
Inside was a luscious courtyard with an azalea adorned fountain spraying water into the air. Humming birds flew around us….
We looked at each other in amazement…. Heaven did exist.
Dropping our bags onto our beds, we collapsed. My head was thumping and I had a sniffle……. I had caught something.
The room was cool and with a tiled floor and very high ceiling, it was just what one might expect from a colonial villa. The only exception to that norm was the rooms entrance door. It was a stable door!??? With an opening above and below it……. Very strange to me, but it obviously helped with the ventilation inside.
We eventually resurfaced feeling refreshed…. A lovely feeling after so many days on the road. A small table sat under another azalea, that tentatively clung to the high stone wall outside of our room, and we sat down.
Almost immediately, a tall blonde haired gentlemen appeared and introduced himself as the property owner…… an Italian!
We were curious about him and so engaged with him in a lengthy conversation. His wife appeared bearing food and drinks….. yes rum cocktails…. And we spent the evening eating, drinking and making merry.
The next morning, we walked back into the centre of town. We wanted to see the Ché Guevara memorial. He was a Cuban revolutionary who went off to fight in other conflicts…eventually being killed with other fighters in Bolivia, their remains were brought back to Santa Clara ( scene of his greatest victory) in 1997. The memorial is huge and a strong testament to the feelings that local people have for him……. Another interesting visit!.
From there we took another really interesting taxi ride up into the mountains. An ancient sugar plantation was our target, and it didn’t disappoint. Walking through the ruins gave us a great impression at how difficult life was for the slaves who lived worked and died there……
Driving back into Santa Clara, we boarded the Cuban equivalent of a tuk tuk…… A donkey pulled cart took us to the local cigar factory…….. ( to be continued)