Cienfuegos and Trinidad
September 15, 2005 at 12:19 pm | In Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos | No Comments
Wow. 3 days in Cienfuegos was quite an experience. The entrance to the Casa I was staying in was totally dilapilated leaving me expecting the worst, but one you set foot inside you´re greeted by gorgeous colonial furniture, 12+ foot ceilings, marble and granite everywhere, and a very warm family.
A city of contrasts, the uber-hip shopping street “The Boulevard”, lined with Palm Trees, marble benches and trendy shops and cafes is only a couple blocks down from some of the poorest slums I¬¥ve ever seen.
Then to Trinidad, where hustlers and prostitutes have their angle of attack down to an art - I didn´t get bothered much because I can get away with looking like a local. It´s a gorgeous little town, and I´m going to stay here for a week to cool down.
I might bus the rest of the way to Santiago, as my bike has started complaining a little…
Again, when I get back, I¬¥ll have a lot more to write… Internet access here is painful to say the least…
Santa Clara, Che Guevara and cops
September 7, 2005 at 12:37 pm | In Villa Clara | 1 Comment
After 200km from Matanzas, I’m in Santa Clara - the town where Che Guevara fought his last battles against Batista’s forces.
I visited his memorial and grave, where security is “very” tight. No cameras, no phones, no electronic devices allowed. They took down my passport number and asked me questions for 15 minutes before letting me in.
Upon arriving here, I immediately took a liking to the city - few tourists, lots of people and tons of beautiful girls. One could be forgiven for thinking that Santa Clara is composed entirely of finely sculpted young women.
In Matanzas, I visited the local Joven Club de Electronica y Computacion, where they are transitioning from Windows to Linux, and spoke to a young 8 year old boy who was doing his Linux Syntax Homework.
I still can’t upload pics from here. I will try again in Cienfuegos (70km) or Trinidad next week.
Matanzas
September 2, 2005 at 1:47 pm | In Matanzas | No Comments
I´m writing this from the port city of Matanzas, located between Havana and the tourist mecca of Varadero.
It´s a bit of a depressing place, with lots of oil tankers moving in and out, clouds of smog from the big factories on the bay, and too many tired-looking people.
The casa I´m staying in is very nice, however, and the abuela who owns it is very sweet.
I can´t upload photos from here right now, but I will try to soon.
I´m here until Monday morning then I´m off to the small town of Colón, en route to Santa Clara.
