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Published: November 4th 2008
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I think Merryn and I have quite easily adapted the Cuban approach to time. I had thought of getting up really early and taking a walk through the old town of Havana, but instead, kept sleeping. Getting going was a slow process and we just took all the time in the world to get ready, have a leasurly breakfast, and then meet the rest of the group for the ´real´start of the trip. 2 people were still missing - they had visa problems and would be meeting us in Trinidad.
We had a massive bus all to ourselves. It is specifically for tourists to Cuba. It was only 2 years ago when laws were relaxed enough to allow Cuban and tourists to visit the same restaurants or hotels, however, there is still quite a separation between visitors and locals. So, a private and very comfortable bus is ours for the whole two weeks.
I must say, people here are dressed very well and look pretty healthy and happy. There still exists a dual currency system. As tourists, we can only use the Cuban Convertables. Those people who deal with tourists are especially comfortable here, as this currency gives them
a huge boost and enbles them to purchase much more than those people who are not involved in the tourist industry.
And I also have to add, that this is one of the safest places one can come to. Everywhere we go we are told that it is very safe and although some places may look a little dodgy, we´ve had not hassles or issues at all. Everyone is very warm and very friendly.
The drive to Santa Clara was fairly long. We stopped at a roadside place for lunch. Although they had horse on the menu, none of us selected that option. Food so far has been pretty good and there is a lot of it for tourists.
Santa Clara is famous for Che... Ernesto Che Guevara, to be exact. He is definately a hero here. Just outside of Santa Clara is a humungous monument to Che, and underneath is a museum and also mosoleum. His remains are there, along with other rebels who fought for the Cuban revolution. It is absolutely fascinating. The museum peices and photos give you a really good sense of the charisma the man had, and also provide a very comprehensive
historical account of the revolution.
After our stop at the monument-museum-mosoleum, we got to Santa Clara and were dispursed across a number of houses... All the accommodation on this trip is with families. My Spanish is getting seriously challenged as since both Merryn and I speak a little Spanish, we keep being put with families who speak no English. There are some very funny conversations that go on... lots of miming and acting out what we are trying to say.
A German lady was staying at the same house as Merryn and I, so over dinner, whenever the host husband and wife would wander in, we´d have quite a number languages going, just to try and communicate. We had English, Spanish, Russian and German all put to use.
Apart from Che-related stuff, there´s probably not a lot in Santa Clara. After dinner we all took a walk to the local park, which on a Sunday night is packed chocka-block with the youth of the town, just standing around listening to loud music. It´s quite wierd-funny, but it is just ´what they do´.
The following morning we headed off and made a stop at another Che-related monument.
This time it was the train wreck site where 23 of the rebels sabotaged a train carrying tonnes of armour for the Batista solidiers. 300 or 400 soliders were fooled by the 23 rebels into surrendering. This was a major achievement for the revolution as it essentially armed the guerrilla army and enbled them to win the war.
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