I
was up with my alarm after a good sleep. I had breakfast at the casa again
before making my way to Plaza Céspedes to meet the taxi driver. I didn't see
him or Renato anywhere so decided to find another one and lucky I did as I
managed to negotiate him down to 35. This is still expensive but at least it's
a bit better.  

We
took a walk around the corner and had to wait as the police walked passed
(these are illegal but highly common taxis) before we jumped into his 1954 red
Chevvy. As we got in the car and started driving I saw Renato and felt a little
guilty. We head of towards the basilica in El
Cobre called Basilica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del
Cobre. While here I had a walk around inside and
out enjoying the landscapes as well as the stained glass windows. Inside the
church there were plenty of locals coming to lay flowers at the alter and many
more lighting candles. The location of the basilica gave it great views of the
town and countryside around it.

Once
finished I returned to Junior and his Chevvy to head to the bus station to sort
out my bus tickets for Baracoa tomorrow. When I got there the guy in the ticket
office wasn't very interested in helping me (it was 5min before his lunch) so
he just said come at 7am for the bus that leaves at 8 and you should be OK. If
not I hope to meet some other travelers so we can share a cab there.

From
here we made our way to the coast to see Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca which
is a fort located at the entrance to the bay of Santiago de Cuba. I had a quick
walk around as all the signs were in Spanish so enjoyed the views of the coast
line and bay below before making my way to the restaurant for a beer and headed
back to Junior to return to Santiago.

The
entire trip Junior would accelerate up hill and switch the car off entirely and
coast down trying to brake as little as possible. It wasn't the most comforting
thing and I doubt it's the most economical way to run the car but hey, I'm in
Cuba!

Back
in Santiago I took a little walk around before stopping at Hotel Casa Grande
for a drink on their terrace that overlooks the plaza. I started with a cubata
before trying their mojito. What I will say about the mojitos here is that they
don't use a lot of mint.

After
the drinks, and a quick rain storm, i made my way back to the casa to collect
my laundry and pack my bag as I have an early start tomorrow. Once my chores
were done I got onto the terrace to enjoy a whisky and cigar before finding
somewhere to grab dinner. I have noticed that in this heat I have a big
breakfast and then don't eat for the rest of the day. It isn't a big problem
because I have heard that Cuban food isn't that tasty.

I
took a walk down the road and down some stairs to find a restaurant. Who knows
how to choose so just went onto the first one and got a beer. The recommended
dish was langosta con salsa Juliana (ham and cheese sauce - house special). I
decided to be more traditional and had the langosta con ajillo. I dont know
what I thought langosta meant but soon after ordering realised that it was
lobster and considering I wasn't eating much it would be a good treat.

I
first got some freshly fried chifles and a salad and shortly afterwards the
lobster arrived. It was sooooooo disappointing. It was completely overcooked
and under seasoned. It says a lot when your favourite item on the plate is the
avo! But we live and we learn.

I
was feeling rather tired so I decided to call it a night and headed back to the
casa where I watched a movie before trying to get some sleep.