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we soon passed through the Valle de Ingenios where we
were just a few days prior, Interestingly, the Dutch
guys who were on the train were now sitting right
across the aisle. By the time we arrived at Sancti
Spiritus, the countryside was mostly flat, the way it
stayed until we were past Bayamo. Cuba's entire
interior seems to be mostly plains that had formally
hosted sugarcane, but now all lay in fallow after Cuba
abandoned sugar due to the reality that it consumed a
major part of the economy for a meagre part of the
income. After stopping at the large Ciego de Avila bus
station, we stopped a short while at another Rumbos
rest stop for lunch, where we were able to get a
chuckle from a chicken trying to steal the bus driver's
lunch off his plate. We then continued for hours up
the narrow and interesting highway through Camaguey and
Las Tunas to Holguin, where the Australian, who had
long before departed my seat to sit with the more
conversant Dutch boys, departed. We then drove
straight south past some beautiful farmland and ended
up in Bayamo, where the women are supposed to be the
most beautiful in Cuba. After a short stop, we were on
our way again east toward Santiago, and for the next
half hour I was absolutely awestruck at the fantastic
scenery in the setting sun. It was especially tempting
considering that taking photos through the bus window
was impracticable. I owe it to myself to return, if
for nothing else, to only shoot those spectacular
sunset vistas.
After a short stretch on a dark freeway, the bus
finally arrived in
Santiago Friday evening at 20:00 at
the Viazul terminal, which was a fair distance from el
centro, so I was fairly gratified to see my name again,
this time held by Oliia, with her neighbour also
present to give us a ride back to his casa, as hers was
occupied that night. After a simple supper at his
casa, I walked down the main streets, shooting some
night scenes, and then onto the main plaza, Parque
Cespedes, which was packed with locals.
I met up with the Dutch buddy from the train ride
again at La Perla del Dragon on Plaza Delores, from
where we walked up and toured the
Moncada barracks,
notable for where the Revolución was unsuccessfully
initiated in 1953. Apparently, Batista had the
barrack's walls all repaired, but after 1959, Fidel had
the bullet holes dug out again. 
From there, we
walked over a few blocks to Victoriano Garzon street
adjacent to Plaza Marti, where the Rex Hotel still
stands, which was the last place (literally for many)
the revolutionaries stayed before the attack. While
looking at the hotel from across the street, a barber
from inside the huge shop beside us, was really trying
his best to get us inside. One thing I really noticed
in Santiago, was the unique preponderance of large old
diesel trucks all used as buses.
We then headed back down a few blocks to the Plaza
Delores where we saw the other Dutch guys again, and
drank some beer at the "Chinese" Restaurant. I then
walked down to see the harbour, adjacent to a wide
avenue (Jesus Menendez) and parks where youths were
playing football. That night, I again returned to the
main plaza, but nothing compared to the crowds there on
Friday evening.
I decided after breakfast to walk back up through
Santiago along Victoriano Garzon. The newer city was
actually quite nicely laid out, and there were many
nice houses and yards along the avenue. Mind you, it
was easy to see that none were newer than 50 years old.
The fugly Hotel Melia
was nearby, and I was impressed
how wide and vacant the suburban boulevard was. After
a few kilometres, there was a small plaza in a traffic
circle with statue of Heridia, and there I turned
around. I later saw on map it was very near the
open countryside.
Returning, I decided to venture a bit, and I took a
slightly different route. This was fine in theory, but
executed terribly, as I ended up far out from where I
thought I was (lost?), due to the diverging streets.
Anyway, after a long walk back up the hill from a
location 90 degrees from where I intended to go, I
ended up walking past a hand squeezed orange juice
seller right into the plaza, where I met at about 12:00
the one Dutch guy, as we had agreed to meet there at
13:00 for a visit to the castle. With the extra time,
we toured through the ancient casa de
Don Diego Velázquez, the first house in Cuba for the first
governor, where once again I was personally escorted by
the tour guides. They were very informative, and I did
find out some interesting facts about the house,
including that the ornate wood ceiling was totally
original except for a section that burned down in 1990
from an electrical fire. The big rooms were
intriguingly partitioned with portable dividers.
For the trip to the Castillo de Morro, my Dutch
buddies negotiated to travel in a 1956 chevy, which was
pretty neat, but then a nearby policia hassled the
'negotiator' for apparently 'negotiating' the ride for
us. The Castillo more than made up for any
shortcomings in the old city, as it was absolutely
spectacular, in location, architecture, and
preservation. I was very impressed with the whole
site, loaded with canons, where once again a very
amorous tour guide latched on to me, and after some
persuasion, continued to show me the fortress rather
than get married. It was set high on on the eastern
point to Santiago Bay, and the vista was also most
impressive. I could see the small island (Cayo Granma)
which is supposed to abjure a small Mediterranean
enclave. After exiting, I took a walk on the road
around the front, where I ended up way down near the
fortress dock, where once again, there were a few
policia hanging around. From there, I ascended the
steep stairs back into the castillo. After a few brew
at the restaurant overlooking the cliff next door, we
headed back in our Chevy, as the driver had agreed to
wait the whole time for us, to the Parque Cespedes, and
then up 7 floors on the elevator to the top of the
Hotel Casa Grande for some more brew and view. Later
in the day, I checked out the Plaza Marti, as goats
were supposed to be pulling around small wagons for the
little kids. It was neat, but I never caught a ride.
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