Friday March 26 - Trinidad to Havana

Crab on its dangerous way across the road

Time to leave the colourful town of Trinidad behind, and another different coach and driver. We hadn't gone more than a few miles before the coach pulled up - another coach problem we wondered? But no, we had reached the coast road where kamikaze land crabs cross the road on their way to the beach. The smell of rotting crushed crabs was somewhat overpowering, and the sight of these yellow or red crabs scurrying across the roads was intriguing. The passing cars had no chance to avoid the crabs as their progress across the road was somewhat erratic.  Leaving the coast road for a while we headed for the city of Cienfuegos where after a brief stop at the Palacio del Valle, with its magnificent mix of styles and coastal location, we stopped for a Cuban half an hour (i.e.nearer an hour as Ricardo was buying books and Raphael seemed to be chasing yet another female 'colleague') in the centre in the Parque José  Marti, an attractive square surrounded by a number of classical buildings including the theatre Tomás Terry - a name always guaranteed to make the British smile! Onward from Cienfuegos we wound our way on minor roads to the coast of the Zapata swamp - alongside the Bay of Pigs - and stopped at the Cueva de los Pesces. This was the opportunity for those who wished to dip their toes or more into the Caribbean Sea. Corals and brightly coloured fish could be seen close to the sharp rocky shore, although the water was far from calm. Inland, adjacent to the restaurant where we had lunch, was a water-hole, connected to the sea via a cave, where there were more, and larger, coloured fish. Strangely, I was the only one to venture into the water. I tried to follow the link to the sea - until the water disappeared underground.

Shortly after lunch - by now it was 3 pm, and many were itching to get to Havana - we made yet another stop. Frustration disappeared rapidly as we were loaded into two speedboats and driven in a cloud of spray through a cut in the swamp to a reconstruction of an Indian village on the far side of the Laguna del Tesora. Whilst the village was not very exciting, the ride to & from it was exciting, and we had close up views of a number of birds including an osprey (one complete with fish) and pelicans. Before piling into the coach for the last leg to Havana we had a rapid tour of the crocodile farm, where the endangered Cuban crocodile is bred. Havana at last and, yes, we were actually staying in the historic Ambos Mundos hotel as per the itinerary. However, the hotel hadn't got enough rooms, and asked the singles in the group to share rooms. The compensation offered,  a bottle of wine & the odd cocktail, didn't impress anyone and Ricardo was sent off to contact Ramblers' agents, Cubanacan. A phone call from their boss to the hotel completely changed the expression on the receptionists face and after a delay & one more cocktail, we singles all got separate rooms - and better and bigger rooms than average.....So success in the end, but a tiring day, which explains why few headed into town, although the subtle lighting of the city squares meant that they were magical at night.

Pelican in a tree

Saturday March 27 - Havana

N.B Having lent my camera to Cate (whose camera had died), I have no photos of Havana, hence the inclusion of  photos from 2007! Our last full day in Cuba started with a tour of the old town with Ricardo. This was my fourth city tour, and definitely the best as Ricardo often eschewed the main tourist routes and brought us round the back - notably to the spot behind the Capitol building where they were restoring old steam engines, and another where the 1950s American cars were lined up - collective taxis waiting for their fill of passengers and heading out of Havana. Havana still displays the curious mix of exquisitely restored historic and attractive buildings alongside derelict or semi-derelict buildings and properties divided up into apartments with the most dangerous looking electrical wiring you can imagine. Part-way round we stopped in O'Reilly's for refreshment (yet another opportunity to hear Guantanamera & contribute to Cuba's music economy). The tour ended up in the Plaza Vieja, where I presented Ricardo with a tip, and we split up to find lunch and explore independently the city for the rest of the day.

Capitol Building (in 2007)

Crumbling building opposite the Capitol (in 2007): slightly shabbier in 2010.

The evening saw a large group of us head into the city for a final drink. We headed for the Plaza Vieja, but had difficulty getting anywhere to sit - ending up in three disparate groups in the same café on the square with music drifting across from the other cafés. A sub-group with some energy left headed back into the city in search of music when it became obvious that the café wanted to close (before 23.00!!). This proved difficult as everywhere seemed to be closing. Eventually the group dwindled to four of us when we finally found some live music in the Monserrate bar - and even that stopped before midnight......

Sunday March 28 - Havana to Home

Noisy performers on stilts (in 2007), and still going in 2010.

As the flight home was scheduled for early evening we had virtually a whole day free to explore Havana further. Most people felt that this was enough time to get an overall impression of Havana. Ferries were taken across the harbour, Russian and Greek Orthodox churches visited, the new craft market thoroughly explored and a few people walked miles across the city to Vedado and the Malecon. We were able to retain one room until we left, in order to be able to change. Unfortunately this room, the temporary home of Geoff and, was one in which the shower didn't work (or rather it flooded the place if used!), but it was better than nothing. By the time we met up to go at 5pm we knew that the incoming flight was late, and that the departure time had been put back until 9.30 pm. However, as the coach was due to be used after its trip with us (and as the airlines still want you to check in on scheduled time) we left only slightly late, and dawdled only enough to get a quick view of Revolution Square, before joining the long queue at the Virgin check-in desk. Take-off was eventually at 22.00 - late enough to ensure that Mark & Molly missed their connecting flight to Newcastle, although I  made my train from Euston to Kendal with half-an-hour to spare - mainly because the time between the jumbo's tyres hitting the runway & me running out of the customs green channel was a record 20 minutes or so. Quite a trip!

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