27th April, Santiago de Cuba to Baracoa
As we were trying to keep moving we decided to leave Santiago de Cuba after just one night and take a bus to Baracoa, a little town at the very south end of Cuba. Baracoa was the first Spanish settlement and first Capital of Cuba and was not reachable by land until 1960. The road from Santiago to Baracao is magnificent, winding through an amazing mountain range- It took us about 5 hours to get there, with a short stop at the infamous Guantanamo Bay. Luckily, we also got to know Merete, a Norwegian Salsa Teacher whom we would meet up throughout our trip.

After our arrival around lunch time we visited the center of the city, home of the monument of “Hatuey”, Cuba’s First National Hero. This Che Guevara of the 16th century leaded a group of natives in a fight against the invading Spanish conquistadores. As we all know, today Spanish is the first language in Cuba, which means Hatuey was unsuccessful. Actually, he was captured and burned rejecting the offer to go to catholic heaven because there where to many Spaniards up there.

Later during the day we decided to go to Boca de Miel, a little village about 30 minutes from Baracoa and spend some time Playa Blanco. A nice little beach , only about 5 meters broad, surrounded by sharp rocks. On our way back to Baracoa a family in Boca de Miel invited us to dinner the following night (of course to earn a few Peso Convertible). Like for most of the Cubans, it would have been against the law for the family to invite us for dinner to their home, so they where cautions to not be seen talking too much to us.

At night we joined Merete, and Laoise, a girl from Ireland on a night out of dancing and drinking at the local Casa de la Trova and a few beers at a club called “El Rancho” after the group of young men stopped playing at the Casa de la Trova. The club is just a bit outside of Baracoa on top of the hill ”. El Rancho turned out to be “hot spot” for locals and tourists alike, but the Casa de La Trova became one of my favorites locations on the trip.

28th April, Baracoa, Playa Maguan & Boca de Miel
The initial plan was to go to the Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt, but as it turned out it was quiet expensive to get there and the outlook of hiking for hours in hot and humid weather did not seem like a very good choice. So instead we settled for a day on Playa Maguan, a beautiful beach with white sand. It’s about 30 minutes away from Baracoa by car. We arranged a ride in a dodgy car, driven by two dodgy looking Cubans. On the beach, people and pigs alike roast in the sun and bottles of rum are emptied throughout the day.

At night we went to Boca de Miel again, for a nice meal of fish and rice with the local family. Usually the food is not very good in Cuba, but those locals knew hot to cook. The experience at the Casa de la Trova was a bit different from the day before as the band had changed and old guys where running the show.

29th April, Baracoa to Bayamo
On our last day in Baracoa we went to the Casa de la Trova one more time. The band usually starts around 10 or 11 am and performs throughout the day until late night. I also took a closer look to the local church, home to the only remaining cross of the twenty nine that Christopher Columbus brought to the “New World”.

We spent our last hour around the Bus Station to take pictures of an shipwreck just off the coast before boarding the bus that would take us to Bayamo, with a short stop in Santiago de Cuba and Holguin.

30th April, Bayamo
Bayamo is a city that most people pass through on their way from Santiago to Santa Clara. Luckily for us, most of the tourists skip that city and it has remained an almost untouched gem. Horse drawn carriages and no beggars and tricksters roaming the streets. We got lost once in the city and asked a guy for directions, he instead offerd us to walk there. He even invited us to have some coffee. The reason to be so kind was not so that we give him some tourist money , but to improve his English and because he was interrested in forreign cultures.

So, if you ever get to the city I strongly recommend it – unfortunately our tight schedule did not permit staying longer in this lovely place and we once again boarded a bus for our next destination, this time in the later afternoon.

1st May, Camagüey
Camagüey, the third largest city of Cuba is one giant labyrinth so it’s best to try and avoid to get lost in the city. We got there on a very important national Holiday. 1st of May is, just like in almost every other country on this planet the International Workers' Day (Labor day). But in Cuba it’s a little bit bigger than in most of the other nations, one giant celebration for the Cuban revolution, its heroes (Fidel and his entourage) and Socialism. Some might just call it shameless propaganda…

The celebrations took place around the Plaza of the Revolution. Cuban Flags everywhere, people singing “The Internationale”, fiery speeches and – most of the people apathetically marching along to the exclamatory chanting of the presenters on the stage in front of the monument

”Viva Videl” – Viva Raul, Viva la revolution etc. !

After the celebrations where over, all the people disappeared quickly and we were all by ourselves on the giant square . Camagüey also offers a Zoo, but most of its inhabitants (even tigers!) are in a very poor condition paying the entrance fee means you keep those poor animals trapped in their misery.

2nd May, Santa Clara
Santa Clara and the infamous “Mausoleo Che” could be compared to what the St. Peter Basilica in Rome is for the Catholics and Mecca is for Muslims: A sacred place for Socialists. We spent our first day in Santa Clara walking to the mausoleum, about 20 minutes outside town, which is guarded by armed soldiers 24 hours a day. Beside the impressive statue and the remains of Che and his comrades, there is also a very interesting museum with a lot of great pictures (yes, there a lot more than just one!) and items such as his inhalator and weapons. The museum offers a very personal and intimate insight on Che and his time in Cuba. Among my personal favorites was a picture of a very surprised looking Che whith his mouth wide open while eating a sandwich. Another great one of him was taking up in the mountains of Sierra Maestra when one of his comrads was pulling a bad tooth out of Che’s mouth.

3rd May, Santa Clara to Trinidad
Before we left Santa Clare to go to Trinidad we went to the place where Che and his comrades derailed a train which ultimately led to the victory of the Revolutionaries.

Trinidad offers fantastic Spanish colonial architecture and was rightfully declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. The cobblestone streets can be a bit hard to walk on, but we got used to it after some time. As we were exhausted after the past few days of hectic travelling we decided to take it easy, enjoyed a lovely sunset above Trinidad and spent the evening smoking cigars and drinking.