We felt like starting the new year with another bout of Cuba travel: why not??? Last year had been so much fun. We are slowly discovering quite a bit of the isla cubana: with La Buena Vida, we explored the island from Havanna westwards...including the beautiful mogotes region of Pinar de la Rio and Vinales back in 2000. Last year, our holiday took place in the area of Cienfuegos and this year, we both decided that the area of Santiago de Cuba had some merits...after all, the city of Santiago de Cuba is the second most important city of Cuba and its musical capital. And the description were very enticing, promising at least week of sightseeings in the city.
To be in the mood, you may want to listening to The Buena Vista Social Club while reading...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaerapRPS64
Santigago de Cuba is also the hottest place on the island...temperature wise. And it is a very dry area, where the mountains of the Sierra Maestra block the precipitations coming from the north...it is not unlike in the other islands of the Caribbean such as Antigua, where the Caribbean side has the natural scape of a desert with cactus and rocky soils and its Atlantic side, lush tropical forests!
Our hotel offered a beautiful view! From above, what a feeling to wake up in the morning with a warm breeze, looking at palm trees swaying ...ah! it certainly beats the gray and cold mornings of Canadian winter! And in the evenings, we enjoyed our Cuban rum with a good Cuban cigar! (we managed to put our hands on two packs of local cigars. Each region has a specific name for their locally made cigars...here in Santiago, they are called Creditos!)
We were staying in a resort, one hour away from Santiago; really, it was 60 km away but on Cuban motorways, it can feel as far as 160km!!! Potholes, narrowness, goats and people on horses and buggies, all slowing down traffic considerably! Not having rented a car, we were dependent on public transportation...not very enticing in Cuba unless you want to wait for hours under the sun for a semi-opened truck in which people are standing like cattle. We could also have taken the workers' bus leaving the hotel at 7h30 am, a bus that looked as if a gang of angry gangsters would have slashed its seats in a bout of rage. It is sad to see how
la gente de Cuba is treated by the authorities...anyhow, we were lucky enough to get a ride on the resort owned bus leaving the resort on Saturday morning.
The road trip was interesting because we could admire the rugged landscape and the beautiful Sierra Maestra...area made famous by the guerillas led by Castro and his barbudos in the 1950's. Our bus stopped a couple of streets before the Plaza Dolores as there was another bus incapable of turning on the extremely narrow streets. We walked slowly to Plaza Dolores and as soon as we got there, several wanna-be-your-guides and hawkers hung around us, very persistently. There were four of us and with 3 or 4 people around each of us, it felt like being in a bee hive! Heiner and I are used to that phenomenon but we have to admit that the Santiago experience was intense: we were kind and polite, joked around with all of them, explained that we like to visit on our own, but they persisted....until we almost fled the center and the touristic areas.
Wow...was it because Santiago is desperately poor or just because these people are passionate about their city???? Anyhow, it proved much more relaxing to meander through the street by ourselves and explore non-touristic places.
Touristic attractions are easily recognized as they are freshly painted, almost sparkling (almost sterile looking) such as the Casa de Diego Velasquez, down below. Velasquez was a Spanish conquistador and his residence (ca. 1515-1530) is the oldest building in Cuba.
As it was Saturday, market day, there was a pleasant activity on the streets...I took the opportunity to buy some ice cream - delicious as always in Cuba - and we bought wonderful fruits called sapodilla. One of us, Patrick, met a family that he had became acquainted with in the past. They invited us in their home and we greeted everybody...the mother, the grand-mother, the niece, the baby etc....Cubans love family affairs!!! We walked for almost 3hours in the city streets, including a hike to the Nautical Centre of Santiago overlooking the industrial harbour of Santiago ...and then further up the hill for a panoramic view of town.
Here are other views of town.... as explored on our own!!! Juergen and Heiner were happy to escape the hawkers on less traveled roads!
Typical Cuban entrance to homes...with a dog! Ah Cubans loved their dogs!
A less shiny structure where the people live!
Saturdays are fun: la gente is outside, for socializing and hair cutting!
Grilling, the Cuban way. Oh yes, this young man will be sitting there for a while. Hopefully somebody will bring him a rum....
Santiago...in the far, the Cathedral of our Lady of the Assumption. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 did a lot of damage to the city's historic structures...
To finish the day, we ended up back on Plaza Dolores and sat down for a couple of beers, with our fellow travelers. Buccanero cervezas por favor..32C heat does that to you after three hours of walking!!!
Another interesting excursion was to the Laguna de Baconao, a salt water lagoon connected to the sea.
While we could have gone on a horse buggy type of expedition to this lagoon, it was only 3 plus km away from the hotel and we also needed the exercise! We left around 10am...and it was already hot. We walked on the road...no traffic, of course, with the exception of one or two trucks. The view all along the sea was wonderful and we stopped often just to take in the views of the Caribbean sea....it made us nostalgic of course, thinking back to our cruising days.
One hour after departure, we heard dogs yelping and barking...we took precautions: a stick for each of us, just in case. Oh but this was not what we expected. We saw two men, with several young dogs on leash (rope) and sending these animals to search the bushes...but also whipping them savagely, and holding them up in the air at the end of the rope, almost strangling them! What was going one? The poor dogs...we passed them, looking at them cautiously, these people were not friendly looking and continued on with their strange activity. We soon came across a woman who was working in the bush and chatted, also giving her some stuff for her kids. Further along the road, another woman called us from her yard...we should come and visit her. Here we go. Rosa is proud of her home and invites us inside, asking us to take pictures. Now, Rosa is a very nice woman and an astute Cuban...as long as the resort (where we were) has been existing, she has seen many tourists wandering this road and she knows them: they are curious, they love taking pictures...and they are generous! So, Rosa has adapted...she is proactive! We loved it. And so while I was chatting away - after all, I know a couple of verbs and I can conjugate them quite well - Heiner was taking pictures!
This is Rosa and her man's bedroom; on the walls, the art work was painted by a friend of theirs and it was quite nice, adding a tropical touch to the simple interior.
The kitchen was rather rustic...with a wood fireplace for cooking, and the necessary "gadget" to prepare coffee.
Rosa and her man, Andre, had a garden with fruit trees, coconut trees and a pig, called Andrea (!). As we were already pretty thirsty, I asked for water and Andre promptly cut two fresh coconuts for us. Their water and flesh were better than energy bars!!! Wonderful! While we chatted, I asked Andre who these men with dogs might have been??? He said that they were a military patrol searching the shorelines for drugs! Rosa and Andre were very proud to say that Cuba is a drug free island. Of course, the fact that this shoreline is really only 150 miles from Jamaica and closer to Haiti and Dominican Republic makes it attractive for smuggling attempts and must require quite a bit of vigilance on the part of authorities.
And so, after many hugs, we made ourselves on our way to the laguna. Upon taking the path to the actual lagoon, we encountered several large flamingos. Flocks of these birds are also commonly encountered in the southern Bahamas, on Great Inagua island.
The view of the lagoon was very handsome, with mountains and the mangroves lining its shores.
We have seen many mangroves lined lagoons during our cruise and we did not wish to do a boat trip around the lagoon. The place was very quiet anyway. After taking our photos and eating some snacks, we turned around and walked back to the hotel. Uneventful walk, passing by the Exposicion Mesoamericana, a series of sea caves along the Carretera de Baconao, showcasing reproductions of Central American pre-Columbian works of art.
Back to our hotel around noon, we first went for a swim and then headed for the dining room! We felt hungry!
The rest of the week was pleasantly passed reading on the beach but also swimming and sailing the small catamaran with the instructor who enjoyed recounting stories while letting Heiner steer the boat!
Snorkeling was a bit tricky as there was not tide tables handy and our first attempt to swim beyond the flag poles (demarcating the exit from the reef ) was pretty scary, with the current pushing us at 2 knots speed towards Jamaica!!!!!!!!!
But stress was well taken care of with the wonderful mojitos and pina coladas prepared by the kind staff of the hotel!!! Santé! We wish you the best Cuba!!!!
Of to the excursion: Temple of Heaven - The park area leading to the Temple of Heaven is quite extensive, totaling 267 hectares (660 acres). Some of it consists of playgrounds, exercise and game areas. And some of the other open spaces and side buildings are often used, particularly in the morning, for choral shows, ethnic dances, and local presentations. What a sight!
We were given some time to mix in with the crowd and do our own exercise... 
