The wild east featuring Moa

Baracoa is usually reached via Santiago but we noticed on the map that there was another road via Moa. No tourist services take that route and that is mainly because the road is quite bad.  The bright side is that we were off the beaten tourist track and got to see places few tourists see. The downside was that the going was slow and parts of the road were just potholes. Luckily we had a hire-car :-)

We were now away from the developed part of Cuba. For hours at a time we saw no other car, only horses, bicycles, trucks and pedestrians.

Still, even out here amongst the straw huts and jungle there were billboards proclaiming the glory of the revolution. Finally we reached Moa. Our tourist guide did not even mention the existence of this quite large town.

We were greeted by

one of the Heroes of the revolution. For a biography in Spanish you can google him. Since we had plenty of time up our sleeve we decided to check out the town. Near the Harbour we found another monument to Cuba's struggle against imperialism.

and since I am not getting the translations right I will leave it to you 

Moa and the east in general has had a revolutionary spirit since Columbus's time. It was in this area that the famous Chieftain Hatuey led the indigenous uprising and was executed in 1512. He is now honoured by a great beer that bears his name. We had one immediately after taking these pictures in this bar.

From here we had a good view over the whole bay and enjoyed some fresh fish and local Hatuey beer. It is rather hard to come by because most hotels prefer to sell tourists the more expensive and bland Crystal or Bucanero.

The bay.

Main street. Hey look, another Car!

Like every town in Cuba there is a central park. Nice sculpture in this one. There was actually not so much to see in Moa but it had a nice vibe about it and the people were very friendly. Given more time I would like to spend a few days here assuming there is somewhere to stay. We did not see any hotels but didn't look.

It was time to hit the road again if we wanted to reach Baracoa before dark. By now avoiding driving at night had become a priority. Just outside town was an industrial area. I think Nickel is mined here. There were signs forbidding photo's and after my Havana experience I was taking these notices a bit more seriously. Our next short stop was the tiny village of Navas.

and if you are going to be buried anywhere

at least here people will enjoy visiting you.

The road although unpaved was not so bad in parts. Do drive slowly though because huge potholes appear out of nowhere.

Here we were really in the "Campo"

If you knew what I was thinking.....

Our last photo-stop before Baracoa and I was sorely tempted to go for a swim but didn't know exactly how much further it was to Baracoa, and like I said, wanted to avoid driving in the dark. Besides, Baracoa was right on the sea, surely I could just go for a swim there. Yeah right. 

Let me show you Kuala Lumpur.

Don't worry, my Cuba series is not over, I am just interrupting it for an important announcement.

                          KL Open 2011 (click for info)


Kuala Lumpur is one of my favourite cities mainly because of the food. If there is a better city to eat then I have not been there yet. The organizer Peter Long is a friend from our Junior days, and besides organizing great tournaments he is also an excellent host. Besides playing in the open last year which I reported on here, many times I have dropped in on the way to Australia just to hang around a few days with Peter and let him show me the best laces to eat.


Well this year Peter, at my request has offered to put together an exclusive


                                                 Doubleroo package!


Fly in on the third of September and we will pick you up from the Airport, take you to the Swiss 
Garden Hotel where the tournament is being played, then dinner at the famous night markets. On the fourth we will explore KL in air-conditioned comfort. It is good to have a day to recover before the tournament. On the days without afternoon rounds we will do some light sightseeing for those up for it culminating of course with dinner at one of our favourite eating establishments. Then on the 11th we take you to the airport again.


The cost of this package including hotel 8nights (twin share) is RM 2400 or US$800 or Euro550.
Hedonists only :-)


If you have any questions please email me or Peter, or leave a comment below.


The Cuba roadtrip continues next...hasta pronto :-)

Guardalavaca and Chorro de Maita

This day we managed to leave the hotel quite early as we had gotten a good nights sleep. Without a tourist guide we headed to Holguin's best known tourist destination Guardalavaca (watch the cow). The road is great and it is only about half an hours drive away. One of the reasons for going was that I was having wi-fi withdrawals and wanted to publish a post. We were told that one of the resort hotels had wi-fi. It did but only for residents and since the rooms started at about 300 CUC (300$US) a night we gave it a miss. On the other hand the internet was only 5 CUC for 24 hours. Hmmmmmm, sorry, you had to miss out. The beach however.....well look for yourself.

Lots of shade

Sailing

Beach-bars with food, drinks and music

a first-aid tree

carob?

a little creek

and a "special effects" picture for you. Got lucky :-)

a view from the point. I could go on but you get the picture. We spent quite a few hours in a cafe, very cheap by western standards but I had to go to the Museum at Chorro de Maita because it shuts at 5pm. Thomas preferred to stay at the beach. This are is very rich in Archaeological sites and a mere 5 minutes drive away is one of the most interesting ones I have ever seen. 

For German speakers I found an interesting link about the museum but the rest of you will have to find one yourself or content yourself with my synopsis. The excavations here started in 1986 and unearthed 108 skeletons of which 56 are on display in the museum in their original state. They belong to the original inhabitants of the island and date from about 1000AD to about 1700AD. One skeleton is of a European, perhaps a missionary.

Apart from the skeletons they also found lots of tools, pottery and other everyday items of the Taino people. 

the excavations

tools

kitchenware

and gold statuettes. The staff were extremely friendly, spoke English when my Spanish did not suffice and stayed long after closing time. They were a bit lonely as I was the only tourist in sight. The thousands of others could not be bothered it seems. Sad. Across the road from the museum was a recreated Taino Village which was closed by the time I left the museum but the caretaker beckoned me in as he was also bored. Nobody all day. 

the entrance to the village

recreation of village life

planting corn.

a nursery

and finally a wooden Idol. I highly recommend this excursion if you are in the area.

By now I was gone well over an hour and would have stayed longer if I had not left Thomas at the beach. I need not have worries as he was quite happy speaking with the locals when I got back. This entry is a lot longer than I had intended but there is so much to see. The day was by no means over but I have kept you long enough. More tomorrow. Bye :-)

  

Puerto Padre and Herradura.

One of the things I find hard to understand in Cuba is why it is so hard to get down to the beach. The country is a very thin Island with coastline everywhere but compared to Australia, very little beach culture. Most of the people we met can't swim! As usual we got up later than expected and didn't hit the road till after the crack of noon :-)  A girl we had met on a visit to Holguin two years ago offered to guide us to a beautiful beach called Herradura but instead of meeting us at the hotel at 11am as agreed she turned up just before 1pm. Nothing unusual. We did however assume that she knew the way. Oh well. One thing about Cuba that one needs to get used to is the lack of road signage. I did read somewhere once that in some area the signs had been taken down to make life harder for the yankee invaders and I guess they have just forgot to put them up again. Our guide, Yusmary, was good at leaning her head out of the window and asking people for directions. What if there are no people around to ask you may say? Doesn't happen. There is always someone around....everywhere.

 Anyway, we missed the turnoff and ended up in Puerto Padre. A  lucky mistake as this charming little town is not listed as a tourist attraction in our tourist guide but deserves to be.

The main street leading to the port

where a sailing club seems to be.

Don Quixote?

next to a windmill.

And next to the Church

Jose Marti!

So what is this? Next to the church we thought this was a grave but it bears the inscription of Jose Marti... but this Cuban hero (well worth clicking the link) is supposed to be buried in Santiago de Cuba. We remain confused. The beach beckoned more than historical curiosity. On our way out of town we passed a fortification. 

the front

I would love to tell you what it is but since it was already late afternoon and we had already spent a few hours on this detour we left. 

This time we found the turnoff and got to a nice bay with a small beach and no other tourists except a Cuban-American visiting his family. He had not seen them in years as only recently were family visits allowed by the US government and only once a year for 21 days I think. Since we were talking Spanglish I may have some of the details wrong but anyway, here is the beach.

and the other direction.

This town had suffered a lot of damage during the last Hurricane so there was not a lot of infrastructure.

Like everywhere else we were offered Lobster but a word of warning. They are often not fresh. On the right was a plate of Banana, not potato chips. Delicious.

And our guide Yusmary enjoying her food. Were were not dining in a restaurant but rather a private house.

as you see the accommodations are quite modest. By the time we had finished Dinner, which turned out to be more than agreed upon (not much) we drove back to Hoguin.

But not before spotting another Rainbow :-)