Letters from Cuba, June 2009 (10) Santiago sights

In Santiago de Cuba, we did our exploring early in the day before being hit by temperatures in the mid 30s.

Santiago de Cuba, locals enjoying Parque Cespedes, the shady central square  Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

This city plan shows the route we walked each day from our casa particulara to the city centre:

Santiago de Cuba, city plan, 2009

Santiago de Cuba, walking to the city centre.  Photo: Ann Barrie

·    In Plaza de Dolores: we investigated an imposing building and found it was the former Jesuit school attended by Fidel and Raul Castro (there was also an older brother, Ramon);

·      Museo del Carnival had a santeria music-dance group in the courtyard, and we felt as if we were in Africa;

·      Calle Padre Pico and the French quarter of Santiago (the French settlers had fled the slave rebellion in nearby Haiti);

·      the Bacardi Museum with its eclectic collection ranging from Egyptian mummies to guns to objets d’art;

·      the Casa de la Trova with its paintings of music greats on the walls:

· 

Santiago de Cuba, portraits of music greats at Casa de La Trova  Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

   At Moncada barracks: the bullet holes were still very apparent:

Moncada Barracks, Santiago de Cuba.   Photo: Ann Barrie, 2009

And this photo of Bill. Does anyone recognise which building this fine foyer belongs to?

Bill Barrie, Santiago de Cuba.  Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

We had several encounters with a friendly Sydney couple and two teenaged children who had been on the coach to Santiago. They were staying in the historic Casa Granda, and found, to their surprise, that this hotel does not offer dinner, so they went to a palador in a private home and bumped into Denis, our fellow guest from Trinidad. The Hotel Casa Grande features in the Graham Green novel, Our man in Havana. I used the internet there; and Bill and I took the lift to the rooftop terrace for panoramic views of Santiago.

View of Santiago de Cuba.    Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

Ayunamento (Town Hall) Santiago de Cuba.  Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

We also chatted to a well-dressed black Cuban who is a former guide and has written for Lonely Planet. He has visited Europe – financed by former clients, although he was able to repay them once he found work there – and he enjoyed discussing Edinburgh with Bill.

Near our casa particulara was a school opening directly onto the street:

Santiago de Cuba, girls at their school  Phone: Ann Barrie 2009

At dinner one day we asked our host, Jésus, to arrange a taxi for next day to take us to the Castillo del Morro, the fortress that guards the entrance to Santiago Harbour.  That evening we noticed Jésus spending long hours working on the electrics of his car. Next day we were slightly surprised – perhaps we shouldn't have been – to find that this car was our taxi. 

We were disappointed in the 'early-evening firing of the canon' ceremony ­­– true, the young conscripts were in historic revolutionary dress, but the whole affair came across as amateurish. Perhaps I was grumpy because I was ill – it was the same malady I’d got thirty years before in Antigua, the ancient capital of Guatemala (Bill stayed healthy on both occasions by drinking generously of the local fire water). On the other hand, the views from this huge fortress were magnificent, and we saw giant iguanas.

Ann Barrie at Castillo del Morro, Santiago de Cuba, June 2009

We paid our account on the last evening: CUC 20x3 for accommodation; CUC 7x6 for dinners; CUC 3x6 for breakfasts; CUC10 for the taxi to Castillo del Morro; and CUC8 for the taxi to the airport. The taxi in both cases was Jésus’s car, driven by Jésus Jnr, who is studying tourism, and is just as lovely as his parents.

 

Santiago de Cuba, account for casa particulara  Photo: Ann Barrie 2009

We arrived at the airport in good time, and, after checking in, waited upstairs in the restaurant area. To our surprise, the flight boarded and departed a half hour earlier than the time on the boarding pass. Fortunately, they had came searching for us, and we were embarrassed to find all other passengers on the packed plane already seated. The plane was a Russian Yak 320 — devoid of frills, but they did bring round a battered trolley with soft drinks and flasks of strong Cuban coffee.

Blog by Ann Barrie