Days 29 - 31 Baracoa

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Lost my notes for this section.

We booked an American car for the 5 hour trip to Baracoa but next day a small modern car arrived driven by a Venezuelan, new to the country & who had never been to Baracoa so numerous stops for directions required before we made it. Regardless in hindsight it was probably a good thing as the final third of the trip was through steep mountainous country with numerous turns & switchbacks which would have been difficult for an old banger.

Before reaching the mountains we followed a picturesque Atlantic coastline near Guantanamo, site of the infamous gaol & port run by the Americans. No sign of the site apart from armed guards at key intersections around the town.

The town was only accessible by sea until 1960 so it is unlike any other town in Cuba with a small-town colonial/hippy feel. A long malecon runs along the foreshores main street with sandy beaches heading to the most easterly point of the island.

The most dominant view overlooking the town is El Yunque, a table-top mountain like the one in Cape Town South Africa.

Our return to Havana was by a small 70 seat plane from a tiny runway into the sea in order to avoid a 20 hr bus ride.

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