On the road to Trinidad

After finding out my makeup was nowhere to be found, we went for breakfast and then decided to get some money out; enough for the rest of the trip, as ATM’s is a almost non existent thing on the island. We headed for the closest bank, and after the regular queuing, we were allowed in all 4 at ones. We got asked to sit, and I stayed standing as my back was hurting. The security guard came over to me, and told me to sit again; I told him I did not feel like it as my back hurt. He looked at me with an authoritive and angry look and said “I was not asking you, I was telling you to sit down”. When I told him again my back hurt, I was placed in the corner and was told not to move a finger due to security…. This was my first encounter with the extreme control in this country!

We were on the road again by midday and heading in the direction of Trinidad. Tobias was driving, and at first he was in a very good mood, but after driving around for 4 hours trying to find the exit from Havana to get onto the motorway for Trinidad his patience was wearing thin. We asked everyone, and we got told a new direction each time, basically sending us around in circles. We finally found the motorway, and off we went. The motorway was not the best condition, but the boys seemed to think they could drive on it as they do on the Autobahn in Germany, so it was a fast and very bumpy ride. On the road we did not only see cars, there was also a huge amount of horse and cart, tractors, bicycles, and any other means of transport you can think of. You also find so many people standing by the side of the road trying to get a ride, and by Cuban law you have to stop if you have space! We watched part of Cuba go by, and we arrived in Cienfuegos by late afternoon. We took one look at the buzzing city, and decided we would rather stay in a quieter and smaller place for the night, so we carried on through.

We finally found a hotel by the sea in a little village called Guanaba that seemed fair priced, and in a good location, so we stopped and decided to stay the night. We all got cleaned up, and decided to have lobster and fish dinner at one of the Paladares (restaurant in someone’s house). The food was great but unfortunately the after effects were not that wonderful. As soon as I had finished the last bite by stomach felt like it was going to explode any minute. I asked the owner to borrow the bathroom, but quickly changed my mind when I realised it was just a curtain separating the bathroom, and the rest of the house! I told the boys I had to run, and starting heading for the room, as I headed past the restaurant in the hotel I knew I could not go any further, and I ran the last few steps, and thankfully just made it in time to save me from a potentially very embarrassing moment.

It did not take long before Tobias was feeling just as bad, so I guess we had been food poisoned!!!!! The rest of the evening was spent talking in the bar, and enjoying the local rum and the cigars that the boys had purchased in Viñales. For Tobias and me it had now become a nightly routine to talk about our day and our views and experiences before falling to sleep, but this night was an exception! I guess the food poisoning had taken too much out of us, and we fell asleep after a quick good night and sleep well!

As soon as we awoke the next morning we headed for a morning swim at the beach before breakfast. It was not the nicest beach I have ever seen, but it was never the less a beach. After the boys had a swim and I took photos we headed for breakfast which consisted of the usual eggs, bread and a bad cup of tea! We found another beach further down the road which was nicer and stayed there for a little while. After enjoying the coconuts at the local beach we hit the road again with the plan to get to Trinidad to enjoy the famous beach of Ancon.

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