Camaguey was about a six hour drive from Santiago and as we drove along it soon became apparent that we had left behind the water and had arrived in cattle country. Not only were there loads of cows but more and more cowboys either riding their horses or on horse drawn carts with their families.
We had one of our surprisingly good Cuban experiences on the way when we stopped for lunch at a road side stall that sold the most amazing pork rolls. At just 25 cents it was a steal! They roast the whole pig and then just pull off strips of meat to fill the roll - not especially healthy but very yummy.
Camaguey is a beautiful colonial town with a maze of one way twisting streets to confuse any marauding attackers. It is the third largest city in Cuba and the locals are very proud constantly telling us how beautiful the town is. One of the things it is well known for are the large clay pots all around town, originally used to collect water now part of the cities style.
It is quite a religious town with some beautiful old churches and Cuba's only saint having been beatified by Pope John Paul II there. I still haven't been able to quite reconcile how socialism/communism and religion Both exist in Cuba. Apparently in the early days of the revolution some priests were exiled and others left voluntarily and there were some weekend camps for those involved in the church but after a change in the constitution by Castro going to church is fine, and in fact there has been an increase in attendance (particularly amongst young people).
We explored the town on bike taxis, taking in galleries, churches, local farmers markets (where farmers can sell produce after they have met their weekly quota for the state), beautiful squares with sculptures of local identities, ration stores (the Cuban people receive both weekly and monthly ration cards which they take to these stores for produce - anything they want beyond this they have to pay for) and got to see a great group of kids practicing music and dance.
When you see them at this age moving, singing and dancing there is no surprise that they hit the dance floor lIke they do - music and movement is certainly innate in the Cubans!
Laura and I did go and have a salsa lesson, we had a great teacher and by the end of the class I actually could salsa away to a whole song. Ridal (the teacher) was a fantastic dancer and lead us around the dance floor with much skill - the big problem will be finding guys who can move like that at home! Dancing here is such a big part of life and all the guys are into it as much as the girls, they all hit the dance floor as soon as the music starts.
We had two funny nights out in Camaguey. The first was at a late 70s style cabaret show, with scantily clad women and men trying hard to look interested as they strutted their stuff interspersed with some very interesting singers, the man in an ill fitting suit with his special dance moves and the woman in slinky black numbers hitting the high notes. Once the show was over the audience got up and salsa danced which was certainly the highlight of the evening.
Our second night was a Saturday and it is very much the night everyone comes out in town. On the main street through town, which is only open to bicycles and pedestrians a any time,there were whole pigs being roasted on spits outside many of the restaurants and loads of people out and about. We had dinner in a small Cuban restaurant, very traditional food of rice and beans, pork, chicken or fish and plantain chips washed down with rum! We then went to 'the' party where everyone goes toon a Saturday night - we felt like we were supervising at the school disco as it was crowded with uni students. We pay 3CUP ($3 australian) to get in which includes a drink, the locals pay 10 Cuban pesos (about 50c) no drink though!
We really enjoyed Camaguey, it's home for Romey our fearless leader so had an extra special appeal. it was interesting to visit a town not on the water and In the time we were there we only just began to explore its maze of narrow streets.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe Harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”. Mark Twain
Location:Camaguey - Cuba
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