I
woke up with my alarm and got my things together to get going to the beach. I
arranged to meet up with the group of Canadians to go through with them. I went
to meet them at the designated spot and after waiting for a while I decided
that their plans had changed so I started looking alternate options of getting
there.

While
waiting I did manage to keep myself entertained by watching the people passing
by. As little branding or advertising that there is around (actually none) most
of the people walking around are wearing brand name clothing, many are very
fashionable (not that I'm too aware of what that is) and they do enjoy wearing
clothes with some sort of American insignia. I did also see a guy walk passed
with his kitchen sink. I hate to think what happened there.

I
went to the bus station to find out bus times to Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and
Havana to sort out my plans for the next few days. Unfortunately there were no
busses to Guadalavaca so I had to get a cab. All these cabs alone are adding
up. Cuba is definitely a cheaper place to travel in a group.

The
first stop for the cab was my casa to collect some more money but the casa was
locked and nobody home so I am going to have to make what I have work. It
should do. As the cabbie was pulling into the road he clipped the side of a
truck. There was no damage to the truck so he went on but the cab had his
headlight broken. He didn't seem too upset about it but he did keep telling me
it's going to cost 10 CUC to fix. Something else that I have noticed is that drivers
(of cars, trucks, bikes, bicycles, horse carts, etc) are all very cautious. I
think the cabbie was just in a bit much of a rush.

In
the way to Guadalavaca he didn't switch the car off like the last guy but he
did speed up and allow the car to coast for a while before speeding up again. I
really struggle to think that this helps with saving the engine or fuel but I
guess they would know better than me due to experience. 

In
Guardalavaca the cabbie dropped me close to the beach and I immediately realised
I was in a tourist town. The walk to the beach was lined with artisanal shops
selling all sorts of wooden carvings, paintings, leather goods, etc. Eventually
I spotted some white sand and blue seas. I kept walking passing a few bars
(noted to come back here later) and making my way towards the water. I walked
along the beach and into the water (with my day pack) to round a few rocks
before I hit another beach. Here I decided to take a walk onto the promenade
and kept walking past a few beaches on the one side and hotels on the other.
Once I couldn't go any further I turned around and went to a little beach that
I had all to myself and enjoyed chilling in the water before returning to the
bar area for some beer.

The
beaches strike me as typical Caribbean style with the fine white sand, clear
blue waters and no waves. What makes it so tropical are the green trees and
palm trees that line the beaches (where the hotels don't). No matter where you
go on the beach (or in Cuba) there is always music playing and someone dancing
to it no matter what time of day it is and here is no different. The first
beach I was at seemed to be more local but the further I walked I definitely
found more and more tourists (but that's probably due to the fact that I walked
towards the hotels).

The other day someone asked me to describe the
physical appearance of Cuban women and I said that it's rather difficult as
they so diverse. Since then I have been giving it some more thought. They seem
to fit in to 2 categories. Either really skinny or rather large but no matter
which category it is impossible to tell their age unless they are over 40.
Another thing that I have noticed is that they are always drinking (my kind of
people). I don’t know if it's just because it's school holidays but when I walk
around (no matter what time) there is always someone walking around with a beer
(ok, it's Crystal so it could be water) but then I see someone with a bottle of
rum and a little glass. Seems like a good place to be... I am enjoying it ;) 

After
enjoying the sun, sea, beer and views it was time to return to Holguín so I can
pack and get ready for my bus to Cienfuegos. I found a cab and negotiated a bit
before we were on our way. I tried to chat to him in Spanish for a while before
he let on that he spoke English. After some more conversation (in English) I
found out that he was actually an English teacher at university. It's about an
hour trip so we spoke about all sorts of things about Cuba and South Africa.
What interested me the most is that in Cuba not everyone is paid the same. This
came as a massive surprise as with their political system I assumed all
salaries would be equal. Apparently doctors are the highest paid at about 150
CUC a month but many people like teachers and bakers only get about 10 CUC a
month. There is no way for them to survive on this and hence they start
stealing the baking supplies and selling them to supplement their income.
Another interesting fact was that people only get money if they work so nobody
gets money for having children etc. I then asked how their food rations worked
and he explained that they receive some food stuffs that are supplemented by
the government and are therefore very cheap but the problem is that there is
not enough to survive and they then need to buy additional items at the market
rates. He also let me know that with the tourism industry he, as a cab driver,
is able to make what a doctor makes in a day due to tips and the same goes for
other people in the tourist trade. We also spoke about all the renovations
going on around Holguín which he said were due to the fact that the Pope is
coming here soon and that the renovations in Santiago de Cuba are due to the
fact that the city is celebrating 500 years since it was founded. I also asked
him how the taxis work in Cuba. He told me that the official taxis (the yellow
new cars) are owned by the government and the drivers rent them for 19 CUC per
day and have to pay all the fuel. We didn't get into how the money gets back to
the government for the fares he takes but I imagine they have to declare them
and they don't declare the full amount. The illegal taxis are basically just
people driving their private cars. We also spoke about the fact that there are
so many young parents around and he mentioned that the problem is that people
are getting married at about 15 and then there are so many divorces as they are
too young to be married. For all these insights and better understanding of
Cuba I thank Orlando.

Once
in Holguín I packed my bag before going to Delicious Cabanas (as recommended by
Orlando) for some pork, rice and beans which is traditional to this area. The
menu is a little more expensive than San Juan but there were a few locals
eating here so it should be good. As I waited for my food more and more locals
walked in the door, this is encouraging! I got my food (the locals kept coming)
and for a change it wasn't overcooked. It was a thin piece of pork cooked in
butter and served with some fried onions. It was very tasty as was the beans
and rice mix (which had a few large chunks of pork in). All in all the meal hit
the spot and I had more time to kill so I ordered another cubata and some flan
for desert.

It
was still early when I left the restaurant and not much was happening yet
(besides a truck blowing smoke to kill mozzies and maybe even me) so I returned
to the casa for a beer and cigar before catching a cab to the bus station to
head towards Cienfuegos or Santa Clara.

While
waiting in the bus station I read some more before boarding the bus and trying
to get some sleep.