Cuba 2013: The East

After the obligatory relaxation in Guama and the French charm of Cienfuegos, we made our way to Trinidad. The state mourning for Mr. Chavez was over and Cuba was back to its busy self.

Trinidad captured us immediately. The city has been beautifully restored in parts and offers a relatively good infrastructure. The old town is enchanting, with a great atmosphere and quite a few bars.

Welcome to Trinidad

There are more private restaurants and the casa particulares are particularly beautiful.

We stayed at Casa Margarita and enjoyed warm hospitality and another great lobster dinner. Our room had the standard of a good mid-range hotel and it was also within walking distance to the center of Trinidad.

casa Margarita

Hummer at casa Margarita

In the following days, we only ate at the paladares (private restaurants) in the city. I would recommend Sol y Son. An eccentric menu, a good selection of wines, and occasionally live music. All in a beautiful house with antique furniture and a nice courtyard.

the bedroom at Sol y Son

lobster again, this time baked in a banana

Trinidad offers good opportunities to admire the city from above. One option is to climb up to the roof of the home museum, another option is the church tower. From above, the former splendor of the sugar barons is much more present, and the city is nestled in the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills) and offers a beautiful panorama.

Another highlight is a visit to one of the former sugar plantations and climbing up the slave tower. Besides the great view, you get the oppressive feeling that no slave ever had a chance to escape from the sugarcane plantations - the entire valley can be observed from the towers.

Slave Tower

If you're not interested in culture, you can go to Playa Ancon and enjoy the beautiful warm water and the pretty beach. I don't know if there are public buses to Ancon, as we had a car and it waited obediently in one of the parking lots. By the way, it is highly recommended to pay the parking (protection) fee. This way, you can feel relatively relaxed knowing that your car will still have four tires at the end of the day.

Playa Ancon

they no longer pay a parking fee

We continued our journey to the east, to Camaguey... a relatively unimpressive little town, but we had friendly casa owners and a decent room there. On the way, Mathias took our maps to the post office and stumbled upon 300 teenagers waiting for a performance in front of the local theater. 300 girls with braids and school uniforms were excited about the blond gringo who was obviously traveling without a wife.

Later he claimed that he felt like a rockstar and was more than surprised that he could escape the estrogen rush unharmed. This proves that there is not only the Latin Lover, but also the female counterpart. He didn't want to believe my statement that the lovely maids are only after CUC aka dollars aka euros. His ego would have been overwhelmed by the truth that day.

Camaguey is strategically located for a trip to the Sierra Maestra, so the next morning I set off with my Gringo Superman to the mountains. Fidel Castro, the Argentine doctor Che Guevara, and 14 other people barricaded themselves in the so-called Commandancia for 24 months and waited for the decisive coup against the hated dictator and "America's ass-kisser" Fulgencio Batista. The guerrilla warfare lasted for two years and was ultimately decided in the decisive battle of Santa Clara for the revolutionaries.

Of course, we wanted to go there, where Cuba's destiny took its course, so we dragged Cubino through the mountains. The ascents were extremely steep, and the little car didn't always want to go on. I was glad I didn't have to drive.

Rain on the way to Bartholome´ Maso

After a challenging tour, we arrived in Bartholome´ Maso and settled into our accommodation. A pretty state-owned complex with a terrible restaurant... tough schnitzel on the plate and pigs wandering around. We only ate there once and looked for a paladar for the other meals. The pigs were also running around there, but there wasn't a brother or sister on the plate.

pigs from the hotel

The next morning, we ambitiously set off for the Commandancia de la Plata.

The first climb was so challenging that I had to think of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest Base Camp... later the path got a little better. The Commandancia is lovingly maintained, and all Cubans are proud of their revolution, which brought equality of men and women, education, and healthcare for all. In Baracoa, we learned that many Jamaicans emigrated to Cuba for exactly these reasons. Despite any justified criticism, this should not be forgotten, as the Caribbean as a whole is not doing great, and for people from the Dominican Republic or Haiti, the mentioned achievements can be very significant.

Ché's hut

Fidel Castro's luxury accommodation

Hiding place with refrigerator

that's how you go downhill in Cuban style

We spent the night in Bayamo after the Commandancia. Another small town, but beautifully renovated with a great pedestrian zone and a chess school. We visited the school and were amazed to find out that being good at chess is still trendy on the island. I bet the kids in Cuba would perform better in Pisa than elsewhere.

Bayamo Chess School

Bayamo

We set off early the next morning and thankfully, the Lady of el Cobre had made sure that Mathias was feeling better, even without our offerings. This would have been the explanation of a faithful Cuban, but I am convinced that everything had gone out. We went from Guantanamo (no, you can't see any signs of the presence of the Americans) to Baracoa, almost the easternmost point of Cuba. Jamaica is closer than Havana and you can feel it.

View of Baracoa

The food is different, the music is different, and the people are different too.

Table Mountain

all for the revolution

We stayed with Andres and his mom and enjoyed the city under Table Mountain. We set off to explore the area, took a tour to the chocolate factory (the story of Willy Wonka is set in Baracoa), admired the Columbus Cross (which is supposed to be real, Columbus landed in Baracoa, Cuba), and went on a tour to the Alexander von Humboldt National Park.

Piggies in Baracoa

the beach in Baracoa, beautiful

the public ferry

Alexander von Humboldt National Park

The Columbus Cross - supposedly brought directly by old Christoph himself

Again, we had a night ride with Viazul and approached the last highlight of our tour. The revolutionary city of Santa Clara with the grave of Che Guevara and the other revolutionaries, as well as the museum around the Tren Blindado, where the revolution had its successful end. Here, Batista's soldiers were defeated, and Cuba was "freed" from the oppression of the US.

The remains were initially buried in a mass grave in Bolivia after Guevara's execution, but in 1997, the body was handed over to Cuba. After the revolution, Guevara had taken Cuban citizenship.

Ché Guevara monument with burial site

Hasta la victoria siempre

the "ripped up" tracks symbolize the victory over Batista's troops, Tren Blindado

Granma - the state organ

We stayed at Casa Florida Hostal, the most famous casa particular in Cuba. The rooms are incredible, the ambiance is charming, and the food is soooo good - again, we had lobster, surprisingly, we were still able to eat it.

Florida Center

beautiful

delicious breakfast without guava

no, he didn't get tired of it

We spent our last days in Varadero at an all-inclusive resort, Hotel Palma Real. It was reasonably priced, the food was good (though of course all the package tourists were complaining), and the entertainment was subtle. We marveled at the drunk Canadians and Russians who were filling themselves with Cuba Libre by the bucket - borderline.

on the beach in Varadero - Gringo Superman and a few fountain pens

mass tourism Cuban style

After three nights, we went directly from Varadero to Berlin and I draw a final conclusion:

1. Cuba is very doable as an individual traveler

2. The food is pretty great as long as you trust the mamas in the casas particulares

3. Cubans are super nice, as long as we're not talking about the famous jineteros

4. In Cuba, you drive into the pothole, admire the ducklings paddling in the pothole, and eventually drive out of the pothole

5. Pizza and spaghetti don't taste good in Cuba, no matter if you pay with CUC or CUP

6. Don't trust Loose or Lonely Planet when it comes to extending your visa - ask me

7. State-owned restaurants are terrible, paladares are great

8. Cuba still has a Wild West atmosphere - I hope it lasts for a long time

9. Havana is overrated

10. Even if you have CUPs, you can't necessarily get rid of them. We exchanged 20 € and almost gave them away in the end... we even got kicked out of a CUP supermarket

11. There is hardly any crime in Cuba, unless someone can unscrew something from the tourist car

12. Guava really doesn't taste good

13. Melon doesn't taste good in Cuba either

14. Cuban cola (Tukkola) is great

15. Havana Club doesn't taste good with Coca Cola

16. Cuban chips and snacks are great, but stay away from cheese balls... chickens love them

17. Not every bank has an ATM that accepts German cards even if it says "bank" on it

18. The less you expect, the more you will get

19. Cuba with US Americans will never be the same

20. Cubans love little pigs on their plates, and for the stupid tourists there's the leftover: LOBSTER

21. No matter where you buy your rum, it costs the same even at the airport as it does in the provinces

22. El Rapido, the Cuban answer to Mc Donald's, is really everywhere - and what you get there is always a surprise... sometimes chicken, sometimes pizza... or just coffee or cigarettes. None of it will make you full

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