lotsa cuba

30 october 2012

i'm sitting in my casa particular in trinidad, cuba with a cold.  not a real bad one but i've had it for 3 days and its annoying.  all things considered, i've been on the road for 5 months and this is the worst i've gotten, that's pretty good.  i'm going to skip the nite out here and take it easy and try to catch up on the past few days.  last i wrote i was in maria la gorda so let's go back…

the group of us from the bar decided that the hotel food was too awful to eat again so we called the woman that julianna and i met on the side of the road for some home cooking.  she had offered 10cuc per person but the lithuanian woman (i can't begin to pronounce or spell her name) spent a good deal of time telling us about her bargaining skills and i let her loose on the family.  we ended up paying 40cuc for 6 people and it was so worth every peso.  there was the biggest platter of lobster that i've ever seen, without all the little legs and claws and such to dig through.  just mounds of tails cut into pieces.  we couldn't even eat them all.  added to that was beans, bread, rice, plantains, papaya, cucumbers and more.  after we were all stuffed and could barely move was when we saw the rat walking through the rafters.  awesome.  

the last day at the hotel was kinda lazy, walking on the beach, sitting and reading, planning our next drive.  i was in the hotel store looking for road snacks and i noticed juice boxes, looked kinda like they would be chocolate milk.  turns out they were pina coladas.  most amazing thing ever.  the internet was down at the hotel ('its not working, maybe try again in a couple days') and i decided to call home just to check in.  pam had given me an international phone card which of course you can't use in cuba, so i went to the desk to buy a card.  5cuc for 3 minutes.  to anywhere.  same price to call the woman in the next village as it is to call home (and as julianna put it in her best russian voice, 'phone call is phone call').

its been very interesting traveling with a woman who grew up in a communist country, she can explain so much more than i would have picked up on by myself.  she also points out the similarities between present day cuba and the soviet union.  i don't think i've ever considered a lot of things i learned in school but seeing them first hand is very eye opening.  one thing i can tell, though, is that people here seem to live better and be happier than in much of central america.  and its much cleaner.  i'm still a little weirded out by the propaganda everywhere, billboards don't advertise products but instead point out the benefits of socialism and education, giant pictures of che, quotes from fidel and raul.  

we get on the road to jaguey grande and stop by a crocodile farm.  when we pull in the man explains that everyone has gone home for the weekend but we should come back on monday for a tour.  we stand there asking questions and hoping that he'll let us wander around by ourselves (yeah right) when miraculously another worker shows up, we can take a tour.  we walk to pens of 2-3 foot crocs and they are adorable.  there are about 20 or 30 per pen and they're all huddled together in the shade, hardly moving, mouths open, trying to keep cool in the heat.  next stop was the babies and they might even be cuter than the teensy turtles in mexico.  so tiny and skinny and skittering into the water so fast when we approached.  these pens were covered with metal fence material, not so they escape but because the giant birds think its a buffet.  our guide picked one up and i got to pet him and i wanted to take him home more than any kitten or puppy i've ever seen.  

last stop was the adult crocs in the giant fenced pond area.  we walked out onto a platform about 5 feet off the ground and watched them sleep.  pretty uneventful.  i think i expected something a bit more terrifying like in belize but they were nice anyway.  this was the last area where they live until they're released into the nearby lagoons.  the whole time we were at the farm we could hear sheep and goats and we figured that that's what they feed the crocs, but turns out that they were for the workers that live there.  if i were a croc i would sneak back and eat them, but they rarely get free or surprise anyone.  our guide did show us his leg with some pretty mean scars, i guess when they surprise you they mean business.  he offered to take us for a walk along the fence line (in the tall grass) to get a closer look and i went, julianna decided that she liked her legs like they are and stayed on the platform taking video in case anything interesting happened.  a croc blinked a couple times, that's how lazy they were.

we make it to jaguey grande and i can't recall much detail.  stupid cold.  i do remember that every town we've gone through (oh so many) is fairly stressful driving, barely 2 lanes, people everywhere, bikes with 2 or 3 people on them, motorcycles, horses or oxen pulling carts, giant trucks and tractors pulling trailers full of people (country bus system), i'm always a bit stressed out with dodging people and being lost.  our casa particular was owned by a tiny, cute little blond woman.  there wasn't a lot to do in town, we went to dinner and wandered through the streets.  the one thing i wrote down from the nite out was about walking home.  everywhere we've been here people whistle or yell or ask where we're from, no one says hello.  some people seem pleasant to talk to, some seem creepy.  its hard to decide who to chat with and who to ignore.  so we're walking home, its about 9pm and dark, and a man walks up behind us and asks where we're from.  he seems creepy so we don't answer, just keep walking.  he asks again and isn't looking like he's going to leave us alone even though we aren't even acknowledging his presence.  so i do what julianna does in these situations, i say 'russia' in as sinister a way as i can manage, usually makes people go away.  and what does the guy do?  he starts talking to me in russian.  crap.  julianna whispers to me what he's saying and its so funny because its not like i can answer back in russian.  so finally she tells him that i don't want to talk to him (in russian) and he walks away into the bar we're passing.  

the next day we decide to go to cayo santa maria but its a long, long drive.  there is an autopista that goes to various places but for anything interesting or scenic you need the small roads.  there are miles and miles of horrible potholed dirt roads through some of the most beautiful land.  i'm doing all of the driving and julianna is reading our german cuba guide book and finding points of interest to stop at.  our first stop is the bay of pigs, beaches and calm blue water and a cute little hotel with cabanas that instantly made me think of 'dirty dancing', loud cuban music and 50s style everything.  we walk a bit and get back on the road to the bay of pigs memorial museum and che guevera memorial and mausoleum.  

i've never had the feeling of being in the wrong place so strongly in my life.  the bay of pigs museum had displays of weapons of all types but the walls were covered with pictures and newspapers with captions in scary propaganda language.  yankee imperialist cowards.  mercenary yankee bombing.  victim of yankee shrapnel manages to scrawl a last revolutionary message in his own blood.  the yankee mercenaries were well armed but lacked our moral strength.  (on and on until) victory! the armed wing of the revolution punished the mercenary impudence to invade our socialist country.  then came all the messages about the humane treatment for the captured cowards who wouldn't fess up to taking part in the invasion and the miserable moral condition of the yankee murderers.  then there was a wall full of pictures of the martyrs who gave their lives defending their land.  i was quite uncomfortable.  

most places require a passport, every casa and some roadside checkpoints.  the museums only required a name and nationality.  i signed in as a russian to all of them.

next was the che memorial and mausoleum and it was pretty cool.  it covered about 2 city blocks, most of it kind of like a park.  giant statue surrounded by quotes from fidel, flags, sculptures, etc.  the museum had pictures of che from boyhood up until his death, things he owned as a child, pictures from all of his campaigns.  historically, it was amazing.  the mausoleum had the remains of everyone that he died with, there was also an outdoor cemetery with an eternal flame.  no cameras were allowed in any part of this.

we're back on the road to sightsee santa clara before we head to cayo.  some of the roads have long stretches of white substance that i thought was sand, seemed like a weird way to repair the roads.  at one point half the road is covered in white and i'm driving on my side with oncoming traffic in my lane.  rather than drive on the white the other cars and trucks pull to my far right and drive on the dirt rather than on the road and we can't figure out why.  after a while we see men actively raking the white and we stop to ask what it is.  turns out its rice, they're spreading it on the road to dry before they bag it and load it onto their ox carts.  i had sorta driven on some earlier so i asked if its ok to drive on it, they said that it would be better if we didn't.  oops.  

santa clara is a decent sized town but i wasn't real fond of it.  the same crowded streets and stressful driving, we walked around the square and had a horrible lunch.  it seemed kinda sinister to me but i think that's because of the bay of pigs museum making me feel like everyone in this country hated me.  i made julianna leave.

finally after about 10 hours on the road we make it to cayo santa maria.  the last 30 minutes of driving was on a bridge sort of like driving through the florida keys, 2 lanes and nothing but water on either side.  there was an armed checkpoint at the start because cubans aren't allowed there unless they are bussed in to work.  we picked santa maria over another similar place because it would save a couple hours driving.  its newer and doesn't have many hotels but we thought that might mean its less touristy.  no one we spoke with had been there.  the guidebook had 3 hotels listed, all kinda pricey, we picked the cheapest one as our first stop.  

its sunset when we pull into the hotel.  i'm totally frazzled from driving all day and can only think of a couple of beers and bed.  the hotel has one room left but julianna doesn't like it, 'too jungly'.  its a nice room with an ocean view but the waves on this side are kicked up from the hurricane winds and there isn't much beach to walk on.  she doesn't want to stay.  i get a beer to go and we set off in search of the other hotels, knowing that they are about double the price.  we get lost and end up in an outdoor plaza and ask for directions.  we find an all inclusive resort starting at 250cuc per nite.  we ask for directions to another hotel and end up in the plaza again.  we get more directions and find another all inclusive resort for 177cuc, julianna wants to see the room and isn't happy with it.  the first hotel was only 85cuc (we've been paying about 20cuc for our home stays).  we decide to go back to the first place and i'm so happy to finally be done with the day.  but while we were out they rented the room to someone else.  so we have to drive all the way back across the island and pay double.  i wasn't real pleased.  

the hotel was huge and we needed to get to our room by an overly friendly man in a golf cart.  we have 20 minutes until dinner is over (10pm omg i'm so tired) and we grab a drink at the bar and eat.  the hotel was expensive but at least it included booze and food.  internet was 12cuc for half an hour and incredibly slow.  i drank myself back to a good mood.  our bartender was a nice chatty guy, he gets a bus to work (with all the other employees) that takes 2 hours and works 16 hours, then 2 hours home.  the next day he has 4 hours of driving and an 8 hour day.  then 16 again.  he gets one day off per week.  

the next morning we could see our view, and julianna liked it because it was 'jungly'.  whatever.  the beach was crazy, the wind was pushing the waves all the way up the beach and walking on it took a lot of care to not be swept into the angry ocean.  i decided on a couple drinks and a nice nap by one of the several pools.  our nite stay gave us until 3pm to vacate the property and we drank and ate until exactly that time.

we were going to drive to trinidad but we started out pretty late and it would be after dark when we arrived.  one rule i have is that i don't want to drive here after dark, there are far too many people and bikes and animals in the roads and the streets are crazy mazes in the towns and its too much.  we started picking up hitchhikers (women only) to get information during the past couple days and our passenger told us that we shouldn't drive into trinidad at nite so we go to sancti spiritus.  we had only intended on stopping there to have a quick look so we didn't research any places to stay.  its a pretty big city and i'm instantly lost.  there's another car with a couple tourist women so i'm following them, thinking they know where to go, turns out they're lost too.  while we're stopped i spot an older woman on the street with a business card, in cuba that means that she has a house and is out looking for guests.  

we go to her house and its much the same as all the others, it could be my grandmothers house when i was small.  the outsides are very much different but the insides are all 'antiques' and knickknacks and totally old school (one day when i'm not on cold medicine i'll go through my pictures and be a bit more descriptive).  we get some news about the hurricane (after it smashed its way through santiago no one seems to care and its been hard getting news about the us).  there's also a dengue fever outbreak a few towns over.  we walk through the town and the restaurants are all closed, there's only one left to look for and the directions send us to a dark street with lots of shady looking people hanging out.  we see the sign for 'el soltano' but there are no lites anywhere.  julianna asks a man why all the restaurants are closed and he says its not, we're just looking in the wrong place.  there's a doorway next to a house, dark hallway, stairs, and we end up in someone's house.  they lead us to the back and there are 3 tables with settings and 2 more on an outdoor patio overlooking the river.  its a private, underground restaurant and we're the only guests.  friendly family and massive amounts of cheap food.  not great food but more than we could possibly eat. 

there's no real tourist activity in sancti spiritus so its an early nite.  we get up (and have a moderately awful but inexpensive breakfast like we do every morning in our casas) and begin the drive to trinidad.  we stop at a couple of incredible miradors, we get fresh squeezed sugar cane/coconut water at one of them.  trinidad is a small town but totally confusing to drive through.  roads point in all directions, one ways, some closed, we're swamped with people running up to take us to this hotel or that restaurant and its completely intimidating.  i'm driving through hordes of people on cobblestones dodging horses and dogs and its been about 20 years since i had a standard shift car and i'm barely managing to not freak out.  today was the day that i hit my limit for driving in a 3rd world country.  dozens of hours over 9 days and i just want to put on the brake in the middle of the street and run away.  i'm actually looking forward to returning to central america and taking buses.

we're lost and incredibly enough we see the women that were on the bike tour with us.  there's another room in their casa and we load them in the car and they show us the way.  this place is like an antiques museum, i don't think there's anything newer than 1940, everything perfectly clean and in excellent condition.  all i could think of walking through was the field day that antiques roadshow would have here.  poor suckers, they want the american embargo lifted so bad but when americans get here they're going to leave with every valuable old thing the cubans own.  then sell them on ebay for millions of profit.  capitalist pigs.

julianna and i walk to the car rental place to see about turning in the car here for a fee instead of driving back to havana.  i buy a bus ticket on the way.  the grumpy horrible man tells us that its 90cuc for turning in the car in trinidad, when we were told that its 45.  julianna refuses to accept that and the man won't budge, says its in our contract.  he points to a line of illegible writing, and he won't call havana to confirm.  looks like we're driving back to havana, i get my money back from my bus ticket.  when we get home i call havana and simply because we called we get half the fee waived, and if we return it early we can get the day refunded.  we walk back, thinking that we have a great victory ahead with this unpleasant man and the office is closed.  so we have the car for one more day and honestly i don't even want to look at it.  i'll go buy another bus ticket tomorrow.

i only have 2 days left before i go to nicaragua.  cuba has been a fantastic adventure but overwhelming in a lot of ways.  i'm also not used to traveling with someone that has a plan for every moment and i think its made me kind of weary as well.  i don't need to see everything that every place has to offer, some nites just need to be chill with a book, regardless of where i am.  i think she was a little upset with me for not going out to bars tonite but i'm happy to be here alone, finally catching up on my blog (although way too much has happened to do it justice in my scatter brained writing).  everything i've seen over the past 5 months has been amazing but there's nothing i can think of that would make me feel like i'd want to die if i missed it.  and i don't expect that the nitelife in trinidad will make me feel that way.  my last big nite out will be here tomorrow and i'll make sure to do it justice.