Waking up on my first morning in Havana was like a dream, Cuba has been on my bucket list of destinations for some time now and I was actually here. As I hung out the window, the old cars and bikes, the symbols of Cuba, were really driving by I was just a tad excited! We had one day in Havana before starting the 22 day 'Gran Cuba' Intrepid trip we had signed up for. So we didn't explore too much as we are coming back for more fun during the trip.
We have a full contingent on the trip, 12 of us representing Australia, England, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland and our leader Romey who we quickly learn is affectionately called Chino across the country. We had a 4am start (well we were all ready the pre booked taxis just didn't turn up) for our 6am flight to Baracoa one of the more remote places in Cuba - almost on it's eastern tip. The landing there certainly emphasised the geography - I was sure we were going to land in the water"
Baracoa is one of the oldest colonial cities not only in Cuba but more widely in the Americas. It is surrounded by mountains and until the 1960's was isolated at which time a road (La Farola) was put in.
You get a sense that this isolation is what makes Baracoa such a special place with it's relaxed, friendly and unique way of life. We got to meet some great people from schoolchildren to farmers, the neighbours to local musicians.
There way of life appears simple, relaxed and uncomplicated yet they have very little. We were fortunate to be able to share a part of their lives.
A feature of our trip to Cuba is having the majority of our accommodation in home stays. We were soon introduced to Andres our host for the next three nights who took us to meet his wife Irma and settle into their wonderful home.
We were immediately made to feel welcome and they couldn't do enough for us. In order to host people in your home you have to get certified by the government and for those who are the opportunity means there is a little extra income for the family. Andres and Irma spoke little English so Spanglish was getting a good work out between us all.
We filled our days exploring the local environment with Benny a local guide. He was full of interesting facts - we quickly called BennyFacts- some at times stretching the truth just a little such as 'you're better to swim in the river than the ocean as the salt makes you burn faster' and 'you're only a farmer if you have a machete and a horse'! He pointed out local fruits, bushes and trees that could be used for medicine and kept us entertained with his diatribe.
We visited coconut plantations (they do not waste any part of the coconut), cocoa farms (the smell of chocolate permeated the air at the factory), rowed up the Duaba River, had a magical day at Maguana Beach.
our first swim in the Caribbean and where upon ordering lunch they went off to catch crayfish from the river so it was really fresh), a beautiful walk to a hidden waterfall and waterhole wading through the river to get there and an absolutely relaxing lunch on the river with slow pit roasted whole pig, swimming and horse riding all to the accompaniment of local musicians.
And that was just the day time activities! It took little time at all to become accustomed to the $2 mojitos, $5 bottles of rum and active town square where the locals congregated to share stories, escape from the heat and listen to live music. You can imagine for me it was pretty idyllic. We had a salsa lesson on our first afternoon which was a bit of fun but I need to consume a fair bit of the rum before I would even take to the dance floor - the Cubans (including the men) are the most amazing dances!
We had a couple of interesting nights out. One at the local 'club' at the top of the hill overlooking town. 90% of the people were there and you could almost smell the testosterone as they carved up the dance floor.
The atmosphere wasn't quite comfortable and after a few flings around the dance floor we left which in itself was an interesting experience!
Another at the 'Poet's Restaurant' where we were not only served an amazing feast but were also entertained by Pablo, the owner, who is a well known musician and poet access Cuba, and all given one of his special after dinner digestives where Pablo squeezed cane juice from the cane into your mouth at the same time Romey poured in rum. It was surprisingly refreshing.
Baracoa was a wonderful first experience of Cuba. If this is what the rest of the country is going to be like I'm going to love it!
“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
No comments:
Post a Comment