Childsplay in Holguin

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"Holguin!" bellowed the bus driver. Off the bus and negotiated the fare to our next casa. Once more a crazy taxi ride, this time one man is teaching another to drive! Part of the lesson includes the skill of turning off the engine when going downhill to save petrol. It's a green car.

We pulled up at a group of three storey communist style apartment blocks, square concrete cubes stacked together. The sun was going down, the area looked really dodgy and I thought the next few minutes would be crucial as we waited for our host to arrive on his bicycle. All turned out ok - Holguin was one of the safest cities so far in Cuba and the owner was a gent. Top chef too.

Rise and shine Sunday morning to explore the city. One of the our greatest memories of Cuba will be how just about everything takes place on the streets - Cubans of all ages chat, play dominoes, music, ball games - the street is their back yard. Children run around happy and free, always watched over by parents/neighbours/friends. It seems every adult takes on the responsibility of making sure all children are safe and behaving themselves.

Children are a key focus for the revolution. For example, most pre-revolutionary military barracks have been converted into schools. Out with the old and in with the new! Holguin is no exception. In the northern end of town (towards the Loma de la Cruz) a concentration camp once stood holding revolutionaries from the surrounding counrtyside. Now it is a children's playground. Rides in the shape of rockets, slides down the backs of girafes and pirate boat swings. HOW COOL IS THAT? The only thing stopping us heading in was our size and...well that was about it really, our size! Children could even take a ride on a goat-drawn carriage. Yes, a goat. I kid you not (every pun intended), six delighted children from ages three to six being pulled around by a very strong goat.

The central Plaza de la Maqueta on Sundays is where parents watch their young children learning to walk - you know that funny slightly drunken cowboy walk they do. We counted at least twenty kids falling down, looking around, wondering what just happened and demanding a hoist to their feet! Older children ran around, chased each other and played with homemade skateboards. I've never seen kids so happy.

Later on, toddlers make way for the fashion parade. Men and women strut their stuff around the large plaza. All smiles and winks! Well not all smiles - if a lady was wearing a brand new sexy dress, looks of scorn from other ladies would follow her and a discussion would then ensue. Same the world over! Holguin on a Sunday evening would put Rome or London to shame when it comes to fashion.

From James

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