Cuba

Anchor 3

Chan Chan played throughout my visit although my first-love was Buena Vista Social Club's pianist Rubén González. Nevertheless what brought me to Cuba was the news that US was going to normalise ties with Cuba and I wanted to photograph the Oldtimers - how naive! - and I want to see Cuba in its "originality" i.e. before any McDonald's "invasion" but after the initial curiosity wore out, Marcus (a fellow traveller I met on the bus) and I agreed that it wouldn't be so bad if there were some "West influence" in Cuba. By that time we were sick of what to eat in Cuba - the chicken and the beef tasted the same because they were just salted - and the constant shouts from street touts selling taxi, casa and shouts of "mira" (come and look!) or hissing or kissing sounds, many of us wanted to get the next flight home.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí

VARADERO, CIENFUEGOS, RANCHO LUNA, El NICHO, TRINIDAD, HOLGUIN, GUARDALAVACA, SANTIAGO de CUBA, BARACOA, VINALES, CAYO LEVISA, HAVANA

CHAN CHAN CUBA

21/08 - 14/09/2015

25

days

My map of Cuba

Even though I told myself to learn Spanish while I am in Cuba, I got by with only these, and counting in Spanish:

Mucho calor (very hot - weatherwise), Dónde el baño, Cuánto, no habla (don't speak), no entiendo (don't understand) and of course no gracias.

At the end I was able to understand some conversation by catching a few words like understanding that the Viazul bus was going to stop for a toilet break or a longer lunch break, or when a tourguide tried to suss out my relationship status.

VARADERO

I started my journey at Varadero which is a beach resort on the northern coast of Cuba. The all-inclusive hotels lined up the beach but there are also many casa particulars (rooms in private homes for rental) one street away.

This bracelet got me free food and drinks at the hotel. The hotel has seen better days but it is clean, comfortable and directly on the beach. I also saw dolphins swimming out in the sea through the glass-covered restaurant one breakfast.

The lizards here have "coiled" tails. I've never seen one like this before.

Varadero beach is stunning. Mostly flat with white sandy beaches, different shades of blue, turquoise and green waters.

A large stretch of beach was EMPTY. Only busier when you get close to a beach resort.

My hotel catered mostly to Spanish speaking visitors. Most "disturbing" is seeing many bring their plastic cups from their all-inclusive hotels and littering them all over the beach. The second thing was, many adults (I hope only adults) bring a glass bottle of Ron and drinking them neat while swimming in the ocean. I guess there are not enough drowning incidents to cause any alarm (yet).

Varadero had the best sunset for me in Cuba but I've also obtained some nasty insect bites. They looked like mosquito bites but they leave deep scars. I wonder if they are sand flies. One thing though, fumigation is carried out everywhere. The book I was reading "Waiting for Snow in Cuba" was written when the author was a young kid living in Havana. He and his friends would run after the fumigation truck. I don't even know how they survive breathing in those lethal fumes! The whole street is choked with it even when the truck is nowhere to be seen. Good thing is, there were almost no mosquitoes on this island.

The heat is unbearable though. I spend the mornings on the beach where the waters were still fresh and cool. In the afternoon, it gets choppy and warm and I'd hide myself in the air-conditioned hotel room. On my first day I walked down the beach which is supposedly 22 km long. I didn't even make it halfway and I was almost sunburnt so I took refuge under a bus stop as I reckon it is the best place to take photos of the vehicles passing by.

Besides the 50s oldtimers, there were old trucks too. These are usually used to transport cattle or parts in other countries but here, they double up as buses for the locals. I feel very sorry when I see people packed onto them. We took one of these when we were in Cienfuegos and we swore we will never take another one in our life, hopefully.

CIENFUEGOS

From Varadero, I took the Viazul bus to Cienfuegos.

The Viazul bus caters mainly to tourists and covers the whole Cuba. It takes patience to understand how it works. For example, in Varadero, they refuse to let us buy nor reserve tickets in advance. We have to come to the station an hour before the bus leaves. Even when we are at the station, we are not allowed to buy the tickets until the bus comes. So when the bus comes, there is quite a rush to buy tickets. Luckily everyone stayed in the queue but that meant that the bus left half an hour after scheduled.

This is the nicest stop we had for breakfast

The buses are mainly old Yutong buses from China. It usually stop for a toilet break every 2 - 3 hours but the one from Baracoa to Havana was express and it stops only when someone needs to go, that meant a bush here or there on the highway which is somewhat better than those broken toilets that have tiny cubicles with partition barely separating you from the other, no flush and no running water to wash your hands YET they charge tourists 1 CUC (1 EUR) while locals pay 1 cent perhaps.

The buses are all refurbished and some are so old like the one from Varadero to Cienfuegos that the whole bus reeked of the smell from the toilet. Unfortunately we have to put up with it for 5 and a half hour! The "saving grace" was when I met Robert on it who became my travel companion for the next 4 days.

For independent travellers, the recommended accommodation is the casa particulars which are rooms let out by private home owners. I came across a blog by a Sardinian girl Claudia about her travel through Cuba with her sister and she recommended Olga y Eugenio's place which we found to be really nice and clean. Eugenio's English is very good and he is very cheerful and nice. For 25 EUR, I got a room with 2 Queen beds and ensuite bathroom. Breakfast cost 5 EUR each and it consists of fresh cut fruits - the mangos are the best! - freshly squeezed juice, omelette, grilled bocadillos with ham and cheese, coffee and hot chocolate. Enough to last us through dinner!

The casa is centrally located: not far from the bus station, close to the town centre and the malecon. Cienfuegos is also rather quiet. The only sound we would hear was the horse carriages clobbering down the street in the morning when we have breakfast on the roof top terrace.

The Lonely Planet guide compared this Arco de Triunfo ("Arch of Triumph") to the one in Paris. Rob and I was searching for something "grand" and big only to be amused by this little pink arch. Nevertheless it is a pretty square.

Cuba just started having Wifi. This was the perfect place to receive Wifi signal and it was the first place in Cuba where I got connection back to my family and friends. It was a great feeling. All you need to do is to buy an internet card which cost 2 EUR for 60 minutes of use. You do not have to spend all 60 minutes at one go. The cards are sold at Telepunkte or the phone company ETECSA. They only allow one person to enter at each time so normally you know where this shop is when you see a big crowd outside. After waiting for 5 minutes with no sign of movement, I did my "stupid tourist" act and went straight to the entrance and ask the guard to let me in. Sure enough, he let me in and I bought 3 more cards at one go. The lady at the counter wasn't that pleased. She spoke in Spanish which sounded like her reprimanding the guard for letting me in when all she wants to do is do nothing in the nice air-conditioned office. She made me wait while she pretended to sort out her paperwork. Another way to cut the line is to buy these cards from touts on the street who sell them for 3 CUC each. While 1 EUR more is not a big amount but this is a 50% profit but still cheaper than the one I got at a beach resort because I wanted to get on the internet quickly. There, I paid 4,50 EUR for a new card.

Cienfuegos seems like the shopping capital of Cuba. Nowhere else in Cuba was there a shop after another on one (pedestrian) street.

Shopping in Cuba is like going into the ETECSA shop. You have to wait outside until the customers in the shop leave. But it is rather depressing inside as the items are either locked away, behind a counter, not many choices and very expensive. I wonder how a normal Cuban who earns an average of 35 CUC per month can afford e.g. a toaster costs around 50 EUR, a refrigerator costs at least 600 EUR which is more than what we'd pay in Germany because we have a choice of cheaper brands. Even though some are Chinese brands, I don't understand why it costs so much in Cuba. I hope they get some form of subsidy/returns from their government for these purchases.

Same with cars. New (imported) cars are very expensive thus many people are still driving these 50s vintage cars. They are so pretty to photograph that we forgot that these cars are running on diesel i.e. carbon monoxide and black soot polluting the air. You can also spot Chinese made cars "Keely" which are usually used by rental car companies. I saw an Audi A4 once but that was the only Audi I saw the whole time I was there.

Despite the scorching sun, we made it out to the pier for a stroll but that was as far as I would go. I'm saving the malecon for later when the sun is more pleasant. While I was back at the casa and Rob went out to the local tobacco factory, there was a sudden downpour which brought the temperature down significantly which made our evening stroll along the malecon a very pleasant one. The next day when it wasn't raining, many locals hang out here with their music and ron which is really nice to hang out at.

There are some nice villas on this part of Cienfuegos which are mostly converted into hotels.

We had a drink at the marina and dinner at the restaurant upstairs which was pretty decent and affordable.

The next day we went for an adventure of our life time.

As I mentioned before, besides taxis and buses, there are also these "cattle" trucks that are used to transport people. You board the trucks at the back like this picture.

When we asked Eugenio how we can get to Rancho Luna without taking a taxi, he told us to take the bus which cost 1 CUC.

The bus station, as you can see, was rather busy.

We had no idea when the next bus would come etc but being foreigners, we were quickly ushered to the front. The station "master" even invited me to his air-conditioned office so that I can take a seat before the bus came in at 13:30.

According to the notice board, the ride was only 1,40 pesos. In Cuba, there are 2 currencies. One is the Cuban pesos which the locals use and the other one is the CUC (Convertibles) which are usually used for big item purchase and the currency foreigners use.

It is 24 pesos to 1 CUC. Being the foreigners that we were, we were told that the ride cost us 2 CUC each. This is way more than what the locals have to pay. Besides, Eugenio told us it would cost 1 CUC. Since the smallest note I had was 5 CUC, technically I paid 3 CUC for the ride. This is such a rip off! I would have given the bus station master a piece of my mind if I could speak Spanish but well!

The bus turned out to be a "truck". Good thing was paying the premium price, we were the first to board - it was very empty - and we could find ourselves a seat but soon, they piled everyone in like cattles. It was just too hot for such a ride. The guy behind me kept touching my back.

We really shouldn't be smiling in this selfie. One experience is enough for us. We started planning how we would get a taxi to go back.

RANCHO LUNA

All this trouble for a bit of beach life at Rancho Luna.

There were only a handful of beach-goers. The water temperature is so warm, it felt like being in a bathtub. And lots of grass underneath.

We asked if we could use the paddle-boat to go out into the sea to try and snorkle and a guy, like all Cubans, said we could use it if we paid him 5 CUC (5 EUR). He was just a gardener so we waited til the lifeguard came. When we asked, he said, "Sorry, it is only for hotel guests". Although we couldn't use the peddle-boats, at least we felt good because he was honest.

After a while, we heard what I thought was German speaking tourists. Turned out that Nick and Marlou are from the Netherlands. We asked if they wanted to share a taxi but we were thrilled that they have a rental car and are heading towards Cienfuegos. When we got there, we found out that we are staying at the same casa. Isn't this a small world?!

Eugenio and his wife prepared dinner for us. It was the best dinner I had in Cuba. The plantains or Tostones were dark and perfectly caramelized. I couldn't find another one like this throughout my trip. The salad of tomatoes and avocados get a bit of getting used to. Cubans rarely eat/serve (green) leafy salad. We all ordered shrimps which was also cooked very well. All this for 8 CUC per person. It was worth it.

We went for a stroll along the malecon again and had some drinks at the marina. This is what happens when you travel alone: you make new friends.

EL NICHO

Claudia blogged that El Nicho was a "paradise" so we wanted to go and see it. The tour agency in town charge 35 CUC each to El Nicho and the trip would end back in Cienfuegos. We didn't want to return to Cienfuegos and since Eugenio was very friendly and came across as very sincere, we decided to book a car through him for the same price. When the next day came, we found out that the car and driver is his daughter's boyfriend and his daughter is coming along. Somehow I feel that we over-paid for this trip. Good thing was, we could trust leaving our passports and backpacks in the car and they would safely drive us to Trinidad.

Here is us at the back of a Ford oldtimer which has a British steering wheel, a Mercedes engine and other car parts.

We had to drive a few miles in narrow mountain roads to get to El Nicho.

It took about 4.5 hours to drive there. An oldtimer is a lovely concept but it doesn't have the power of a modern car. At some point when the car has to climb a hill, the driver had to turn off the air conditioning.

An additional entrance fee of 9 CUC got us into this park mostly covered in a jungle. We were supposed to be guided by a tour guide but we didn't find him. The highlight was swimming in the refreshing fresh water "pond". There were many Italians there. Personally it is nice but it is not "paradise". We were a bit afraid of leaving our belongings unattended otherwise we would have enjoyed ourselves more and hang out here longer. Well, it started to drizzle which turned into a downpour as we left so we couldn't have stayed longer too.

Another 3 hours drive later, we reached Trinidad. When we got there, the arrangement of our accommodation went south. Eugenio promised me his friend's casa to be as good as his but the woman said there are no casas available and took us to her friend's casa Hostal Juan Fernandez. Our mistake was trusting her and staying put instead of looking for another casa ourselves. The woman who runs it wasn't a good hostess, she only wants our money. The room and food she provided wasn't worth what we had to pay especially after hearing from fellow travellers who stayed in wonderful casas in Trinidad.

TRINIDAD

We followed Lonely Planet's recommendation of the "Photographic Walking Tour". Little did we know that it meant taking us through the "real" life behind the tourist street, of people in very basic houses and living condition. It was here that I realised what real life in a socialistic country meant. However, the children seems happy here like this boy who had a rooster under his arm and riding a horse without saddle.

It was in Trinidad that I have difficulties walking around in sandals or flip flops because of the uneven cobbled-stone street and (horse) manure everywhere as you can see in this picture.

We love hanging out at Casa de la Musica. Made me want to play music like they do, and dance.

They serve very cheap sandwiches too. While I learnt "perro" to mean "dog" from signs posted as "Hay Perro!"; "caliente" means "hot" but "perro caliente" just meant "hot dog" (sausages)! But for a second, I thought they serve dogs on the menu in Cuba!

Trinidad has the most colourful houses in Cuba.

Thanks to Rob for being there. It was nice to have a male company because it meant that I could go out and enjoy some of the night scene without the fear of being harrassed. It was finally a "Una Gran Despedida" (a great goodbye as the menu said) as his holiday is coming to an end.

HOLGUIN

In Trinidad, the Viazul bus lets us make reservation for our onward journey but they do not allow us to buy the tickets in advance. In the morning when the office opened, there was a long line of confusion but at the end we all boarded the bus on time and left for our next destination. Rob travelled north and I travelled south-west towards Santiago. My original destination was Bayamo which was listed as 10 hours on the guidebook. The bus, however, made a lot of stops on the way and after 10 hours of hearing a Belgian woman complain incessantly about everything, I just had to get off at Holguin even though I have no idea what it has for me. Holguin turned out to be a really nice and calm place just to get my sanity back. I also stayed at a very nice casa called Cat on the Moon. Jorge and his wife are very kind and friendly.

There wasn't a lot of choice for restaurants here. I found the Salon 1720 good and had dinner there the 2 nights I was there. On the first evening, the waitress was very attentive and understanding. One waiter came and spoke to me in German too because the cover for the Lonely Planet in German is the same as the English one. In fact the authors are the same so basically Lonely Planet was translated from English. He wanted me to wait for him to finish work to take me out. No thanks.

The next morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and decided to climb the 465 steps up the hill to the viewing point before the sun rise, before it becomes too hot for me. It was really pleasant. There were only 3 locals who had the same idea but obviously they have gone up here for their morning exercise.

On the way from the bus station on a bici-taxi yesterday, I thought I saw Don Quixote and Sancho but I wasn't sure. When the book confirmed it, I decided I need to get there to take some photos for my friends who are fans. It was quite a far walk but I refused to take another bici-taxi. I got scammed by the bici-taxi and I have enough of haggling for taxi fare.

It was quite a distance. It was still early morning but I was sweating a lot. In Cuba, I have learnt to bear with it i.e. let my body sweat and not bother wiping it off because the body learns to cool down better this way. Of course at the end of the walk, a bottle of cold water will help plenty.

Back in town, this is shopping Cuban style. You have to wait outside until you are let in. And when you get in, you have to wait in line to pay. I think the cashiers are the luckiest persons in Cuba. They work very short hours and they scan your items at supersonic slow speed. That's when I start thinking Communistic idea of equal wealth distribution is good but having equal pay whether you work or not isn't going to motivate anyone to work faster. Shopping is also very depressive in Cuba. There are not many things available and if they are, they cost a bomb even for local brands, which means there is only one person who benefit from all these.

While waiting in line to pay for my water, a little boy, José 7 years old started chatting me up. His mother left him standing behind me in the queue while she went to grab the items she wanted to buy. José got "attached" to me and rambled off in Spanish. I picked up the word "China" so I corrected him but I have no way to show or tell him where I'm from. He couldn't comprehend even though his mother came back to the line and probably told him that I don't speak Spanish. In any case I got to find out his name and his age. When he saw me on the street again a few hours later, he was so happy. Well, me too. I felt like I made a local friend here.

This is an artisan market. You can get watches and shoes repaired here or have your manicure done. I would like to get some glue to fix my suitcase but no one will sell me any.

TO GUARDALAVACA

It's time for a beach life again. Jorge booked me in a casas on Guardalavaca and he helped me negotiate for the taxi to get me there. He had a hawaiian girl on the dashboard.

I didn't like the casas on Guardalavaca because they are in local flats away from the beach. There are no restaurants or night life here. Besides there was a cockroach.

The minute I arrived Gladys asked me to buy this and that: Go on a horse ride, go snorkeling, have dinner etc.

After a swim on the beach which is awesome, I went for a horse ride with Gladys' husband. This is my horse Pequeño. He is a pretty well behaved horse. Gladys husband's English is limited but I'm happy to enjoy the peaceful surrounding. The dip in the freshwater spring was really refreshing.

The next day I moved down to the beach. Brisas which is Canadian-run would be a better choice but it is double the price.

I decided on the all-inclusive Amigo Club which is 48 EUR a night. I was dumb to insist on a seaview which added 5 EUR to the bill. What I got was a room in front of the swimming pool which has parties and music until 11 p.m. every night. Anyhow, here are the photos.

The receptionist Celia, who checked me in, is very nice. She made dinner reservation for me so that I can have some peace and quiet to enjoy my meal rather than eating at the buffet every night. Travelling on my own has its privilege. The bartenders are all very nice to me too. They are not slimy and are open to special drink requests like Iced Coffee. I cannot believe that they had not even have this on their list. Most guests are Canadians but there were Spanish speaking ones probably from nearby countries like Mexico. Being an all-inclusive, somehow the parents are not watching their children properly. I was in the pool one day and a teenager was obviously drunk. Her parents just thought she was funny instead of being concerned that their child had too much to drink.

Here comes the beach photos of Guardalavaca. My favourite beach in Cuba. I could live here forever.

The all-inclusive included the catamaran. It was really an exhilarating experience. I'd love to go on it again.

SANTIAGO de CUBA

I wanted to avoid the Viazul bus as much as I could but trying to organise a trip from Guardalavaca down the coast to Baracoa was too expensive so I ended up taking a ride with the tour on Cubanatur to Santiago. I had no idea that it was a tour until it collected groups of mainly German speaking tourists. Good thing about it was, I was able to understand the guide introduction to Cuba. I tried to ask him a few questions but his answer was skewed. I paid almost as much as the tour but he refused to let me join in his tours. I got to know a German guy from Nürnberg and he backed me up so the tour guide relented but of course he charged me an additional fee which went straight into his pocket. This is how dishonest most Cubans are.

The first stop was the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia. The guide told me that if I want to join him inside the cemetery, I have to pay an entry fee. It was a hot day and I can wait at the car park. The car park attendant was so kind, he offered me his seat. He is only 60 years old but he looked more like my grandfather! I told him, in whatever Spanish vocabulary I have, that I will come back next morning when it is not so hot. When I did, he was so happy. We were like old friends who hadn't met for a long time. And there was no entry fee at all. It is a pretty cemetery where the founder of Bacardi along with some prominent Cuban figures were buried.

The next stop was lunch at Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca del Morro. The restaurant has a very nice view of the coast but it was too hot for me to visit the Unesco World Heritage Site.

After that we went into the city centre of Santiago de Cuba. The bus stopped at Parque Cespedes. It is super hot here. I have never perspired so much that I was "raining" sweat. Street touts were everywhere calling out for "taxis, casas, mira!" I walked as fast as I could to the casa I was looking at. The owner was very nice but his rooms are all taken. I have to wait until 8 p.m. for the guest to check out. He was very kind, he offered me cold water and freshly pressed guava juice. I was so tired I said I will wait but after an hour or two passed in the stifling heat, and having seen how many cats there are in his house (and the smell of cat piss!) I told him I'll go and find another casa somewhere to rest. He was very understanding and apologetic at the same time, he didn't want to charge me anything for the drinks but I can't let him lose money so I paid for the drinks and left. I passed by a nice casa but it was full so I decided to go back to the Parque Cespedes square and was going to stay at the Grand Hotel.

When I got to the hotel, I asked the receptionist if she could give me a discount. She said she cannot but I can pay less if I stayed at a casa. She said she knows some casas and can help me. I saw a sign for a casa just across the street so I asked if that is the one and she said yes. "Worried", I asked if she is a "jineteros" (street touts who wants a commission for referring me to a casa). She laughed and said no. In a few minutes, the owner Yani of Mirador Catedral came over and took me to see her place and I fell in love with it. It has such a lovely view of the city below. Her husband was also very friendly. They made sure that I was comfortable and happy. Yani made the best dinner and the best sunny-side up eggs. For some reasons many Cubans struggle to make them, even hotel chef make a mess of it.

Yani is special. She is probably in her 30s and she loves to watch Grey Anatomy in English with Spanish subtitles. It was so cute to see her in front of her computer with her 11 year old daughter spending an hour or two after dinner hooked to the series and learning English at the same time.

By this time, I want to go home. AHORA! The heat, the traffic, the noise, the constant haggling and touting. You can't even walk on the street in peace. The minute I stepped out of my casa, the men will be offering taxis to me. I decided to walk everywhere that one guy noticed it and commented on it. Well, if they had left me alone, I might have taken a ride. And I can't even go to the Casa de la Trova for some music and dance because I was afraid to be harrassed!!

Transportation here is something. The cheapest form (besides walking), are the coche (horse carriages) and collectivos (taxis who just take passengers on in a certain route). It took me a while to figure out how the coche works. Not speaking any Spanish is not helping but there are kind Cubans on the street. The first time I took a coche was here in Santiago when I wanted to go to the cemetery. The Lonely Planet author was nice enough to state where one could catch these coche. I asked a woman waiting on the street and she hailed down a coche for me and she asked him if he was going to the cemetery for me.

When I got on, since it was obvious that I am a tourist, I wondered if he's going to charge me tourist price but as it turned out, he charged me the same as everyone else: 2 Cuban pesos which is like 8 cents! That is what I mean. I think they should charge me (tourists) the same as local people for such essentials. Why should there be a discrimination?! Why would a tourist want to come and visit Cuba and pay Western price for below-par standard of living?!

So the coche people are honest but the bici-taxis and taxis are the most dishonest. It is so exhausting to keep haggling about the price. We are tired of constantly being scammed to pay more. It creates a bad feeling and we all want to go home and never come back and tell our friends never to come. Cubans need to realise if they want to rely on tourism, they need to treat us better.

BARACOA

It was early in the morning when I left Santiago and can you believe it?! There was NO taxis around, except a guy sleeping in his Lada. 2 French backpackers were going the same way so someone asked me if they could hop on, I said why not. Yani's husband has already negotiated the fare of 3 CUC (3 EUR) for me. When we got there, I gave the French guy my share of 1 CUC and told him to give the driver his share and his girlfriend's but instead of giving him the exact fare, the French guy gave him 5 CUC and waited for a change. Of course the dishonest driver started to say it was 3 CUC for me alone but 5 CUC now that there are 2 more people. This is not how it works. Good thing was, the driver didn't just drove away with the money, he actually stayed to negotiate. In the end it was 4 CUC. This is what we don't understand.

The Viazul bus to Baracoa were mostly French backpackers. A guy from Dominica sat next to me. No, it's not Dominic Republic but a smaller island in between Guardalope and Martinique. He spoke excellent English and is studying medicine in Cuba. Why?! Because education is free! One of the perks of living in Cuba. He had to spend a year in Spanish language immersion but that is no problem at all. Cuba is a very safe country compared to so many neighbouring countries. I had the most interesting conversation with him about what it means to live in Cuba and the Carribean that I hardly know about like how he spend almost 3 days flying to Cuba because of the hurricane that destroyed some of the roads in Dominica so he has to detour to another island etc. He took the Viazul although it is 3 times more expensive than the local bus because school has re-started and he doesn't want to miss any lessons. He spent all his money on the bus that he hasn't eaten the last 25 hours on the bus! I gave him the breakfast fruit salad that Yani had prepared for me and he was really happy.

He got off at Guantanamo which is where the Guantanamo Bay is located as well. Nothing "dangerous" or any sort.

The bus climbed up windy mountainous roads, the scenery and plantation changed. This "highway" was built by Fidel Castro to reward his supporters. Otherwise Baracoa will be cut off from the rest of Cuba.

Once the bus pulled in to Baracoa, we were welcomed by these bici-taxis and casa owners. Competition is tough here.

Baracoa was a small fishing village but because of tourism, almost every other house is a casa particulars. The casa I called sent me a bici-taxi who took me to another casa. The casa is very new and nice but I didn't like being conned. I was given a huge room with 3 Queen beds and a large balcony for 25 CUC a night. Pretty steep for a small village. Just then 5 Germans walked in: 2 girls and 3 guys who met on the bus. They want to stay together so the casa owner asked if I would give them my room and I get a smaller one downstairs. They were going to get my room for 30 CUC a night including breakfast which means each person pays only 6 CUC. I have not heard of anything less in this country. I used this chance to get the price of my room reduced to 15 CUC including breakfast. The thing is, the breakfast was not even worth mentioning when you reduce the price of the room.

I thought Baracoa was nicer and had booked my onward ticket to leave one day later but Baracoa was so small, you can see everything in 5 minutes! Although it is the "end of the world" here, the Cuban government was kind enough to extend wifi to Baracoa too. The book described the food here as extraordinary. I tried them and there is nothing really to rave about.

Something extraordinary happened to me here in Baracoa. As I walked down to the bus station that Sunday morning, I heard a man's voice on a loudspeaker and singing. When I reached the entrance of the house, I was overcome by emotions. When I looked in, there was a cross and the words "Metodist" was written on it. There is no explanation except that whenever I go to church after a long absence, I would always be overcome by emotions. I went in and sat through the service even though I understood no Spanish. Service here is interactive. The woman, I assume is a missionary, talked about "emociones" and "control", also with her hand gestures. I believe she asked the congregation how you would react if someone became emotional and lost control. Someone from the congregation would stand up and give his/her example of how you could solve a situation. I thought this was really interesting. You keep the congregation engaged.

After that, at the advice of another German guest at the casa, I went to look for Playa Blanca, the white sandy beach. I set off towards Playa Blanca then I realised that I didn't have my camera with me. It was too late to turn back so like Heidi would say, "I am sorry I have no photos for you".

The local beach at Baracoa is black sand. There were locals swimming there but I didn't because the German girls said that Playa Blanca is really nice. There is an entry fee but it is worth it, that they went twice.

The instructions on how to get there wasn't very clear. I walked for an hour under the hot sun on the long beach and asked for direction 3 times and it was still " keep going" until the beach stopped. You have to track through a small "forest" and you reach a mangrove. They had built a bridge on stilts across the waters. I pray to god that I don't fall in! It took over an hour to get to the entrance of the park and it cost 3 CUC to use the beach! The park ranger said that I am the first Singaporean he has ever met.

I met the 3 French guys whom I met on the bus yesterday. They were having a beer so I went on to cool off on Playa Blanca. It was a very small piece of white sandy beach among cliffs and rocks. The waters was crystal clear. All the beach goers were girls! 2 from Germany and 2 from Belgium. All the locals were men hiding under shady trees. Typical! I stayed for about 3 hours. The French guys went to some caves and the viewing point. I had a late lunch at the entrance and made my way back to the casa. It was a great way to tan.

I was happy to leave the next day. But the Viazul wouldn't let me use the ticket I had bought to go to Havana because it is on a different day. I have to buy a new one and get refund in Havana. We are talking about 66 CUC here so that's a lot of money but what to do?! I don't want to stay any longer in Baracoa. I wanted to break the journey at Ciego de Avila because I thought 25 hours bus journey to Havana is a killer! so I bought a new ticket to Ciego which cost 40 CUC. On the bus everyone I met was going through to Havana! even the 10 year old girl. Her parents are Cuban but they live in Germany, the girl was born there. I had a chat with her mother and she admitted that she couldn't stand living in Cuba too. With the "encouragement" of fellow passengers, I decided to stay on until Havana.

This bus was going Express. It does not stop! That also meant that when they want to switch drivers, the one driving would put the bus on neutral and prepare to get out of the seat and the new driver will hold the steering wheel so that the driver can get out and he slips in. Just like in Hollywood!! Apparently they wouldn't stop if a foreigner wanted to use the toilet too but if a local Cuban wanted to use the toilet, they will! Luckily, we made a stop once for 15 minutes and another time for dinner at a local joint. I had to limit the amount of water intake so that I didn't have to use any facilities halfway because that would mean the bush along the highway.

I sat up front right behind the driver. There were 2 drivers. In other countries, we would probably get a new set of drivers half way but not in Cuba. The 2 drivers drove us from Baracoa to Havana! That is a 28 hour bus ride! When one drives, the other takes a rest but he would put on a DVD to watch so he hardly sleep too. It is amazing that the bus could drive us over 1000 km without any long breaks! But trouble started at around 1 a.m. The airconditioning stopped. The lights on the display blinked. The bus driver got out of the bus to check but couldn't figure out what it was. Then the display lights went off. I was praying: get us safely to Havana. We were driving in the dark when the headlights went off as well. Luckily it was only some kilometres as we were nearing Havana and there were street lights again. We were really lucky. We got into Havana at 5 a.m. safely, and on time.

I had met Christopher and Marcus at this point on the bus. Marcus was going to stay on in Havana but Christopher was going on to Vinales. I had thought about it. It would be easier to continue on to Vinales than to find a casa in Havana and move again a day later. So 3 hours' wait later, we were back on the bus, to Vinales.

But on the way to Vinales, the bus stopped at La Terazzas, a beautiful ecological park in the middle of nowhere. Christopher and I said we'll come back here on the way back but we never made it.

VINALES

Just like everyone said, Vinales is very nice but the casas were very aggressive. They wouldn't even let us get off the bus and get our luggage. Claudia's explanation of her casa wasn't very clear. We were led to another casa. She had only one room so Christopher got it and I was whisked to another casa opposite. I could tell that the casa is brand new and the owner tries her best but there was only one room and I felt too isolated so I asked to move to the same casa as Christopher the next day when they have vacancy again. I am sorry but I want to be happy too.

We bumped into Max and Michi here. Christopher had met them somewhere along his trip in Cuba. Too bad the tour to Santa Maria de Gorda is fully booked so Christopher couldn't go on a tour with them but he came along to Cayo Levisa with me instead which was an excellent day out on a almost Robinson Crusoe island! If you want, you could probably swim out to Miami.

CAYO LEVISA

The beach went on for miles and you can also walk into the sea for miles and the water barely reached your chest!

When we booked the tour, I was asking myself how I'm going to survive 6 hours out there but time passed quickly when you have company. This was the last beach in Cuba for me.

We met up with Max and Michi again for dinner, at the Tapas Bar which serves extraordinary great food. Best service in Cuba for me. I tried a restaurant across the road for lunch once and service sucks. And the last night there, we ate a palador and we had to wait 2 hours for the food and when it came, the chicken tasted like the beef because all it had was salt as seasoning! I'm surprised that I even put a photo of food from Cuba on here!

The next day we went on a tour of the valley of tobacco plantation on horse backs.

And Christopher went cigar shopping!

The bio tobacco farm is supposed to be the only one here, now in its 3rd generation and they supply to all other cigar factories in Cuba. He gave us a cigar each to smoke. He doesn't use a cigar cutter but a pair of sharp scissors to make a small cut, put a drop of honey and that's how cigars should be smoked. He made no-brand cigars which is the same blend as Montecristo No. 4 and without any chemical preservatives i.e. no nicotine. A cigar is best smoked after dinner, just before bed time. To relax yourself, not to treat an addiction.

We went to a cave, a lake for a dip and a coffee plantation afterwards. After 4 hours of horse riding, Christopher even went to a salsa class in the afternoon when we got back.

I got my lessons free from Dariel, a local from Vinales who has dancing and music flowing through his blood. I'd never thought I'd say this but you could literally feel the passion he has for music and dancing. He says music is his life, he can dance all day. And he is indeed an amazing dancer. He taught me salsa, bachata and meringue. The trick is to feel the music not count the steps.

Dariel has a very happy personality that is almost "infectious". He was always laughing even when he said I am very fortunate I can travel everywhere, he will never be able to leave Cuba. I was overcome by a tinge of sadness but he didn't say it like he is depressed by it but this is just another fact of life.

His happy personality rubbed off on me. The whole night, I was intoxicated and I forgot whatever "worries" I have in my life. I forgot about time and I forgot how hot it was! I simply let go. I don't know what self-consciousness was and even did some crazy laser-shadow dancing. He liked it so much that we let ourselves silly for a while.

His friends are great dancers too. They tried to dance with me but it doesn't work out like with Dariel. Like a life partner, dancing requires the right partner too. I tried to replicate this back home now but nothing can replace Dariel.

He didn't ask me for any payment. I offered to buy him a drink but a glass of Cuba Libre cost 3 CUC. He said a bottle costs only 5 CUC so why not?! For 5 CUC, we got a litre of Havana Club and a litre of Coke. That made him and his friends really happy which made me happy too. I wished I had stayed another night to dance with him. I miss him. He is like a son I never had or if I had a son, I wish he was as happy a person as Dariel. Now I can understand why some (women) take home with them someone when they travelled overseas. For me, it is not romantic love but love of a different kind. Love for his happy aural, his passion for dancing and music. Dariel also reminded me that Dancing makes me happy, my serotonin, my dopamine! I had not done specific dance steps before but I love dancing in clubs, I even went to clubs on my own in my younger days even if my friends didn't want to go. Thanks to Dariel, I found a passion in my life (again).

And thanks to Christopher who was always looking out for me and making sure that I wasn't in a dangerous situation. Thank you.

HAVANA

The next day we took the Viazul bus to Havana because I want to get the refund of my unused bus ticket from Baracoa to Havana. Everyone kept saying another thing (about the refund). The bus ticket just looks like this. Just a print out with my name on it. Anyway, I was 4th time lucky finally. It worked. Christopher was really nice to accompany me in case they refuse to refund me again and he can help with the Spanish!

Really happy to have met Tom on the bus ride too because I was feeling like I was being too "clingy" to Christopher and afraid that he is annoyed :)

After Santiago, I was a bit apprehensive about Havana but it turned out to be a great city!

I called ahead to book Rafaela y Pepe. He said he only has vacancy for one night. He is waiting for a reply before he can confirm if he has room for the other nights. The casa is so beautiful, I was immediately in love with it. I think I love Havana Vieja partly because of this.

Thank you Factoria, Plaza Vieja. I didn't get Marcus' name when we were on the Viazul bus from Santiago to Havana. In the midst of other travellers, I was thrilled to hear American-English so I interrupted the conversation between Marcus and Christopher and it turned out that Marcus is in Cuba for a research study on religion. He is going to be a Christian pastor so I have many questions about the religion and what religion means in Cuba. I would have loved to chat with him more but we were not seated together on the bus. When we got to Havana, all I knew was he was going to stay in Havana for a few more weeks. When Christopher and I were returning to Havana, I told Christopher that it would be so great if I had gotten Marcus' contact before. Just as I said that while sitting at Factoria for lunch with Christopher and Tom, Marcus walked by deep in thought. Because I didn't know his name, I could only wave wildly at him and hoping he will look in our direction. Positive thinking. It worked! Marcus saw us and joined us. Yay!!

After the burger, we went to Centro Cultural Antiguos, a somewhat open-air handicraft market in a shipping warehouse. I felt so harrassed that I bought nothing.

My world kinda collapsed when Pepe's daughter, Silvia told me that they do not have a vacancy for me for the next days afterall. I went from one casa to another that Pepe and Silvia recommended to look at their place but they were really very bad; those listed on the Lonely Planet were full too so I was at a loss where I should move to. I was quite happy when it was time to meet the boys again to go out together. It was a very long walk. I almost got lost but thankfully I bumped into Tom when I neared their casa. Another hour walking along the malecon, we got to the meeting point with Marcus in Vedado. I can tell you, I have done enough walking for my whole life!

We had dinner at a local joint, went to La Gruta to get our "stamp" because the underground club was still empty - too early! The bouncer didn't want to give us any "stamps" but he counted us: Una Dos Tres Quatro. We left. The boys went to the shop to buy a bottle of Havana Club ron. It didn't sell any Coke nor cups. Oh well, we'll sort something out. We went down the road to the petrol station. The airconditioning in the shop was broken, or there wasn't any AC to begin with? We don't know but they bought a bottle of Fanta Orange because it didn't have Coke too. So there we were. On the malecon drinking ron mixed with Fanta! Ha! Before Christopher took a siesta, I had to pull out my selfie stick which throughout my trip, I was too embarrassed to use. It was now or never!

I had one of the most interesting conversations with Marcus and Tom. Marcus and I were feeling the "heat" of Cuba and Cubans. We were like "Fuck Cuba, we want to go home!" and we had tears at the corner of our eyes. I only knew Tom less than 24 hours but I warmed up to him quickly because he is such a caring big guy. I was having some questions about my relationship with A back home. I want to go home but I don't want to go home to face A! Tom was so sweet to give me a hug - thanks buddy! We also opened our hearts out about our own relationship. I don't think it was the ron talking. I think it was maybe because we are kinda strangers, what we talked about in Cuba will stay in Cuba. We might (I hope) remain friends (more than Facebook) but we might never see each other again. Perhaps that is why we talked openly. I have also, for the first time in my life, talked to a Jew about Judaism and what it actually mean but not deep enough.

After the ron is gone and after Christopher had his siesta, we went down to La Gruta and gave ourselves a good shake! When I wanted to go home and I needed a taxi, there was NONE in sight! I got one guy who will take me but he led me to his car where a woman was waiting inside. NAAA! I don't feel safe with "2 against 1" so I said "No gracias and walked another 500 m to get me a proper cabby. It was almost 4 a.m. I really have enough of Cuba at this point! The cab driver was, luckily, very nice. He took me right to the door step even if it meant that he has to circle the block because of the one-way street. He also waited and made sure that I got in safely before driving off. I was even more grateful the next morning when I had a chat with a guest at the casa that she was mugged last night at midnight. A man just snatched her purse and ran off. Luckily her brother was a faster runner and the robber threw her purse without taking any of its contents. There is a God watching over me to make sure that I got home safely.

The next day, reality hits again. I have to move casa. I decided to give Vedado a try.

Before I moved, I OD myself with churros! The best ones are from Museo del Chocolate. I tried another street seller and they weren't good. When I walked back passed Museo del Chocolate, I told him his was the best, he was so happy, he gave me a complimentary last pack for the day.

I had such a great day in Havana Vieja, I was so sad to move to Vedado.

I stayed at Marta Vittoria's apartment on the 14th floor. It is a very tastefully decorated and affluent apartment with a great view as far as the malecon but Marta isn't a nice host. She only want money from her guests.

Good thing was, she recommended the Hotel Copacabana when I asked about going to the beach and swimming. She only described it as a "pool in the sea". It turned out that the hotel built some "walls" so that you can swim in the ocean. I took the Hop On Hop Off bus there to check it out a day earlier because I had wanted to take it to have a look at Playa del Est but it involved having to change bus and I didn't have enough time to do that that day. The receptionist said that I have to pay 15 CUC to use the "pool" with which 10 CUC can be spent on food and drinks. I went back the next day with my swimming gear thinking no one will notice that I am not staying there because I'm just another tourist but guess what?! The security sent the pool guy to me but he only asked for 5 CUC! I said no problem but give me a towel at least for the deck chair. He did! It is really very pretty here. On one hand I'm happy that I will be on the plane home in a few hours, but on the other hand, I could really stay here forever.

Another good thing about Marta is, the taxi driver she booked for me. He was the friendliest and kind man I met in Cuba. His English was excellent - he taught himself! He studied Journalism but didn't work as a Journalist because he'd prefer to write his own views than someone else's. We had to drive from one petrol station to the other because the petrol sold out in the first one. Yes, he said this is possible only in Cuba. Ha! We had a lot of laughs together: He apologised for the potholes on the road and I asked if the tourist money fell through them?! He asked if I was Hawaiian and I said the Cuban sun turned me into one. When he came out of the second petrol station, he said Aren't some people simply so lazy?! Thank you, Mr Taxi Driver. It takes forever to pay for an item in the shop because of communism. You get paid if you work or not!

I told him about the book I read Waiting for Snow in Havana, about the author being flown to Miami when he was 13 and sent from refugee camp to foster homes to finally an orphanage while waiting for his parents to "claim" him. When his mother finally got her exit permit 2 years later, he has already grown into an "adult" on his own. And the only jobs he and his brother could get was cleaning toilets and washing dishes. It was a hard life, all thanks to Fidel! In fact, his life turned upside down just because his family was rich.

Mr Taxi Driver said he had a passenger once with a similar story. He was flown to Miami without his parents when he was 7. That is way too young to be sent anywhere on his own but his parent (mother) must have worried what Castro will do to their family. It must have been a very difficult decision for his mother to send her child away. It turned out that he was sexually abused by the priest in the church that he was sent to in Miami. And his life was ruined. He returned to Cuba to see his mother years later just to tell her how he hates her! He told her that her child died the day she sent him away because the happy kid died. This story gave me goosebumps and I feel for the many 10,000 Cubans who had to leave back then. As I said, if I had read the book earlier what communism did to Cuba, I wouldn't have gone to give my money to the one who pocketed it most of all.

He dropped me off at Terminal 3 because I had no idea, I just said I was flying to Germany. After he dropped me off and driven away, I found out that my flight is at Terminal 2. The only way there is "take a taxi". Fuck you and your taxis! I told the woman at the information that I will walk! She said I can't walk there because it is 2 km away. I wanted to tell her Fuck you! but all I said was "I WILL WALK!" I had no idea that that meant having to walk on the highway. Oh well. I persisted. A cab stopped and wanted 4 CUC for the 2 km! I said no. 1 CUC. Of course he won't take me although he will have ZERO passenger for that stretch anyway! After about 10 minutes walking, a jeep overshot me, reversed the car and stopped. He asked where I was going and I said Terminal Dos. He said something in Spanish I don't understand. I asked Cuánto and he replied in Spanish which I think he meant for free. YAY! Finally a kind soul in Cuba.

I wish for all the people in Cuba including those bici-taxis and my beloved amigo Dariel that the lifting of the embargo with the US, the easing of the communistic rules in Cuba mean that everyone will get a better life, a way better life than what they have; that the country will continue to improve for the sake of its citizen.