The bus trip from Vinales to Habana was a little longer than the trip there.  Partly because our driver kept stopping to grab his groceries on the way (a pineapple from this casa, some meat from another) and partly because we stopped at a Biosphere national park.  Although, the driver did tell everyone this was a 45 minute break and it was great to get out and look around...he unfortunately said this in spanish.  We assumed it was another one of his grocery stops or a toilet stop and sat on the bus for the 45 mins.  Ah well, there are about 8 biospheres in the world,  will just have to catch another one I guess.

When we arrived in Habana, we caught a taxi to Playa del Este which is on the beach about 20 kms from Habana.  It is a beautiful beach filled with many locals.  The first job was to find a hotel.  We tried to pre-book this in Vinales but the phone didnt work and our landlady assured us that you just rock up at hotels and they always have a room.  Hmmmmm.  We went to one of the lonely planet recommendations as a good midrange.  Ok, think of the set of the tv series ¨Prisoner¨and this is what the room looked like.  Luckily we asked to look at the room before taking it.  We were both speachless.  I´ve seen many a hotel room but none quite as nasty as this one.  We ran from this hotel to the big shiny one across the street.  It was Club Atlantico.  Twice the price of the other which we kinda gasped at until it was explained that the price included all meals and alcoholic beverages, not to mention the free salsa lessons (which we passed on) and a free shuttle to/from Habana every day.  Perfecto!

Not wanting to spend two days slothing it up on the beach, we headed into Habana again.  I was a bit sick the first time we were there and maxed out on drugs so it was a bit of a blur really.  The second time round though we did the tourist walk and realised how much we´d missed.  Luckily we crammed it all in this time.  Our tour started at the Plaza Viajes where we had a dietica kukola (Cuba´s version of diet coke, think plain label at Coles and it´s not quite as nice as that)  then we went to the Museo of Chocolat and sampled some of the finest chocolates I´ve ever had.  Then off to Habana 1791 which is a perfumery...a few small purchases and then it was time for refreshments.  We went to the Hotel Ombus Mundos which is on the main strip of Obispo Road.  This is where Hemmingway spent a lot of his time when writing in the 1930´s.  The ambious here was amazing!  Really like jumping back in the 1930´s.

Back to the hotel we went ready for our day of lazing on the beach.  Alas, my stomach had other plans as a touch of food poisoning kicked in.  Needless to say, we were lucky we got the nicer hotel with cable tv (first time we had TV all trip, too!) and not the nasty prison cell.  I didn´t hit the beach but rather soaked up the US´s finest in trashy tv.  We´re talking shows like I Know My Kids´A Superstar.  Terrible viewing that should only be endured when nauseus anyway. 

That brings us to here.  Mexico City airport again.  On our way home.  From Habana aeropeurto to Melbourne airport, it is a 33 hour trip.  Ick!!  We got up at 3am and my tummy still wanted to lie in bed and watch trashy tv.  But home it is. 

Catch up soon!!!

We had somehow been misinformed the night before and the tourist bus to Trinidad left at 5:30am not 6:30am. We managed to get ourselves onto a form of local transport though (which I suspect was illegal for them to do but a lot cheaper for us and more importantly we didn't have to stay in Sancti Spiritus another day). The transport is hard to describe, it was some sort of truck with seats installed in the back. It was completely overcrowded though and the 2 hour ride seemed a lot longer than my bus ride from Havana to Sancti Spiritus. As a result our agreed Casa Owner in Trinidad didn't find us on the expected earlier bus but we had his address and found him on the street without much problem at all.

We started our day as usual with a huge breakfast. Every meal our casa lady surprised us with something special for desert, it was cakes or pudding-like-somethingJ ... very delicious always.

After meal we went to Cubatur to ask about the hiking possibilities, we were particulary interested in El Nino waterfall, but unfortunately the lady said, that it is too far from Trinidad, it would be really expensive. So we settled for the biggest waterfall in the area (Guanayara) and hiking in the Topes de Collantes. It is part of the Sierra del Escambray, which is the highest mountain range in central Cuba. We said that we are interested in the tour, but we must come back later, because we didnt have enough money with us, as we were heading to the beach.

So we took the coco-taxi to the beach. Coco-taxi is cheap and cute way to cover the short distances. We asked the driver to take a picture of us with the coco-taxi. We went to the Playa de Ancon. It was really nice, white sand and light blue water. The sun was so bright that it heart to take the sun glasses off, but we had to to go to swimJ. At first we took the chairs though and soon our first mojitosJ (a 2 CUC). Next to us were some Swedish tourists and Canadian tourists and it seemed that they were staying in the hotel on the beach. One of the Swedish guy went swimming with his wallet in his pantsJ! Later some of them went with boat to snorkelling. Before the trip we had thought about going to snorkelling, but we never did, I dont even know whyJ. Something to do in future, I guessJ.

We were sunbathing, drinking and enjoying ourselves. We saw that other tourists left their things when they went swimming, so we thought we`ll do it as well and we were really glad that we were able to swim together! Usually, when we are just 2 of us, we have to swim separately. The water was really warm and calm as well, later we discovered that in north the sea was not so calm.

I had taken a book of Michael Owen with me, but I managed to read just 2 pages, when our friend Marcelo from Argentina, whom we had met the day before, came by. This time we (should I say I?J) were lot more talkative. Marcelo was surprised, but I explained, that we did answer his questions and we were sleepy and now we had drank mojitos (by that time 3 of themJ) as well. We talked mostly about travelling. He said that he has often left his work and travelled for a long time. Sometimes he has also worked a little bit in the places he has travelled. But this time he was on vacation, 2 weeks. He said that Argentina is for tourists cheap and of course interesting and beautiful (south beautiful, north interesting). He is from San Juan. Lately he travelled in China and he planned to go to India, but came to Cuba instead. He said that he will come to Estonia and wants recommendations from us, but later we forgot to ask for e-mail address! He said that he was in casa de la musica last night, so we thought that we will maybe see him there, but we didnt see him again.

We had been really careful putting the sun lotion on all the time, but of course while talking with Marcelo we forgot! Suddenly he said, that we are so red!J The we were in hurry and took a cab (unfortunately there were no coco-taxis waiting and we had to take a car) back to the casa. We were so burned that we had to change our plans and we did not go out. But before that we went to the Cubatur to pay for the tour the next day. We heard that there was a big group of people and instead of jeep we will be going with truck and it costs 43 CUC per person, including lunch.

Then it was again dinner time, we did not take wine because we still planned to go out to buy mojitosJ. We ate lobster, it was fantastic! The best meal ever. And of course i couldnt manage to eat it all! Cause i was full. The we decided to ask for wine, cause we were red hot of the sunJ. Because we did not want to have wine for my dinner, they did not have wine in coldJ. But they managed to bring us white wine and ice to the terrace, our lady, her friend and her son, all were busy bringing us thingsJ.

On the terrace the dogs were our friends nowJ. We enjoyed the view, took some photos and drank our wine. In our room we put on lots of lots of cream, cause it really hurt! And it was impossible to sleep any other way than on the backJ. But considering that, I slept well.

It was early start. 8:45 we had to be in Cubatur. Before that we ate breakfast of course and told our lady were we are going. We looked for a place to buy some water to take with us, because the lady in the Cubatur had told us that it is really important to take the water! Later we of course discovered, that there was almost no need for that, cause there were plenty of opportunities to get drinks on the road. Anyway, I bought 2 little bottles of water.

The big group were not canadians, as we had thought, but danishJ - 6 grown-ups and 4 kids. Besides them there were 2 couples, one from Switzerland and one from Ireland. The guide was a bit strange, because he looked really angry when he was not smilingJ. Very strange for a cuban person. His jokes were difficult to understand for all of usJ and he was pretty quiet.

The trip was nice, but not as great as I had expected. The nature was pretty and interesting, but the said rainforest was not exactly big forest, it was trees and plants and birdsJ. At first I was really disappointed of the waterfall, but it was the wrong oneJ. The real one was really nice!

At the start of the hike we saw coffee museum, it was interesting. We tried coffee with rum, but I didnt like it. I preferred cappuccinoJ and Cuban ice-cream was delicious.

But the tour itself was a bit tourist trap, it was expensive as well and if i had to decide now, i would not take it. But then again we saw some nature, mountains and did some hikingJ.

For lunch we had chicken and we were not very happy about it, because in our casa we had ordered chicken as well! The lunch was ok, but of course impossible to compare with our casa meals (specially Ana`s!). And it was said that it was light-lunch, but we could have skipped the dinner. At the start of the trip we had welcome drinks, rum with juice and water or smth. But for lunch we had to pay extra for a drink (1 CUC)! That we didnt like, cause instead we could have paid that 1 CUC together with the tour.

Few towns (maybe only Antigua Guatemala) can compete with little Trinidad when it comes to Spanish Colonial charms. Trinidad packs an amazing amount of colonial buildings and residences in a small, compact and easily walk-able town. The town is a delight for photographers. It is easily visited with a good tourist infrastructure of lodging (both casas and regular hotels) and eateries, and there’s a beach (Playa Ancon) close-by. All in all, very attractive for the tourist.

And tourism has come to Trinidad with a vengeance. Of all places we went to in Cuba, this is the place where we felt the pressure of touts and the like the heaviest. As soon as you’d slow down to take a picture, or to look at some building or something, you’d have someone next to you, offering a Casa, a paladar, a tour, cigars, souvenirs etc etc. A stroll around the Plaza in the evening was basically impossible without attracting all kinds of characters. It became quite tiring after a while and was the main reason we chose to stay only three days in Trinidad instead of the originally planned four. I’d heard about people having this problem in Havana but the only place in Cuba where we had this experience was in Trinidad. In fact, we had a very bad experience when entering the town with people literally stepping in front of our car to stop us and trying to open the door of the car to get in to direct us to ‘their’ Casa. The owner of the Casa we’d pre-booked had warned us about this practice so we just ignored them and kept on driving but it was a very disconcerting (not to mention dangerous to the touts themselves!) experience. Not a good start to our stay in Trinidad. Well, considering the every day situation of the average Cuban I guess by arriving in a relatively new rental car, we might as well have had the words “rich tourists” in flashing neon letters on the roof of the car! Anyway, we were happy to arrive at our Casa and get rid of the car.

zweimaliger hotelwechsel und üble magen-darm-verstimmung bei pascale (manuel sucht erfolglos kracker und langweilt sich, pascale verliert vollkommen lust auf kubanisches essen) und nervige scamer

ansonsten super schönes städchen mit pflastersteinböden und schönen, farbigen häusern.

liegen letzten tag am nicht ganz mexico-mässige strand und bestechen zum ersten mal auf unserer reise jemanden um statt im sand auf den hotel-liegestühlen zu chillen.

Biking from Ariamo to Trinidad 50 km.

Health care in Cuba.

We had a transfer to San Francisco.   Biking along the coast against Trinidad with the beautiful Escambray Mountains in the background passing small beaches where the rivers from the mountain meet the Caribbean Sea.

On our tour we passed a village healthcare clinic, and we were invited in and given information about Cuba’s healthcare system.

As I`m working in the Norwegian healthcare system I found this very interesting. 

All healthcare and medicine in Cuba are free. 

The problem for the Cuban citizens is the loss of medicine because of the blockade.  This is reducing the value of the healthcare system that the people in Cuba have been very proud of. 

In Cuba there are one medical doctor pr 231 citizens.  Comparing with Norway’ healthcare system Cuba has more medical doctors’ pr citizens than Norway, we have 251 pr citizens.

Cuba educates medical doctors not only for their one need, but invite students from other countries to study medicine.  Students come from all over the world and especially from other poor countries.  The studies are for free also for the foreign students.  This is rather expressive I think.

Norwegian goes to medicine school in Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and other countries, but they have to pay for the studies selves. 

Norway is a rich country but education is not for free.

With the increase of tourism the healthcare system is facing problem to keep the medical staff in medical care.  The salary is low and medical educated people leave their jobs and start working with tourism. 

This is not a problem just for the healthcare, teachers, engineers and other high qualified persons choose to work with tourism because they earn more money working with tourists. 

Not that the salary is higher but because of the tips the tourists gives them.

A teacher earns about 18 convertible pesos (1 dollar is 1 convertible pesos) pr month.  The tourist guides earns about 16 pr month, but the tips they have from the tourists can be up to 200 C pesos a month.  About the salary for one year. 

I do not blame them, but I`m worried about the future of the children in Cuba; Will they have enough teachers, medical staff, engineers and high educated people to build the country in the future. 

There have to bee a change of salary for those who choose to take high education.

The biggest industry in Cuba is tourism and in tourism there is lots of money.

Hopefully there will bee a change in the Cuban society.  Hopefully Raul Castro will make a difference.

After the visit at the lokal clinic we hit the road.  Biking in 30 celsius make you warm, so we decided to have a break and a short swim in the Caribbian. 

We had our lunch at one of the small local resturants.  I didn`t expect much of the food in Cuba but I have to say I were positivly surpriced.  To day we were served lobster.

Just before arriving Trinidad we loaded our bikes in the bus.  We had a few hour in Trinidad befor our bus brought us to our hotel.

We ate breakfast and for a moment we saw the girl of the house, but she just said hallo to us and that was it. We were really happy to get away from this placeJ. They were friendly, but we didn`t like the casa (and the pigsJ).

At 8.30 we waited for the taxi on the patio, it was a little bit late, but it arrived. We said our good-byes and left Vinales. In the taxi there was an English guy Michael. He said hallo, but did not talk more. The taxi was a bit oldieJ, one door looked like it could open any minute, but I let the Argentinian guy whom we went to pick up, to sit next to itJ. The Argentinian Marcelo was of course the most talkative and he really tried to make the conversation. We did answer to him, but in 6 hrs drive we all spoke surprisingly little. We had very good sleep in the car and I listened to the musicJ And we had few stops, for the toilet, food, drinks, souvenirs... 6 hrs passed pretty quickly. The nature changed as we left Vinales and arrived in Trinidad.

The lady of our casa was waiting for us, she ran to greet us and told the taxi driver how to go to the next casa. Then she said again hallo to us and asked his brother to carry our bags. He took both packbags! They were not very lightJ. The room was upstairs as well! The room looked nice, but just in case we said that we will stay for 2 nights, maybe more. After the casa in Vinales we were really careful. The lady did not speak English, but his brother did a little bit and they said that her husband speaks English. We were relieved, but we didnt know then that he is most of the time away (and works in the hotel). The brother we met only once more. So we had to manage in SpanishJ, but of course it was really good for my languageJ.

On the bed there were 2 swans made of the towel, obviously they know the hotel thingsJ. Also there were pink covers on the pillows. We just chilled a little bit and then went to the Bar Daiquiri. Before we left, the lady of the casa Ana, told me that on the corner there is a great place to take as a sign where the casa is and the place was Bar Daiquiri! We knew it was close, but not that it is so close!:) We didnt tell her that we are heading right thereJ. But we did not in fact drink there, because it was closed or something. We did not even understand, the doors were closed, but people were sitting on the patio. Anyway, we went across the street and took our mojitos in casa Artex! We also tried to get some ice-cream, but the fridge was broken or something, we did not understand the spanishJ, but we didnt get the ice-cream, just mojitos.

There were 2 couples (tourists) learning salsa. Good music and it was interesting to watch, even if we didnt see much, cause they were a little bit away from the bar. The teacher saw me looking at his direction with smile on my face (unintentionalJ) and winked for me. Later he asked us to come and take salsa lessons. The other teacher saw us then as well and did „mammamia!“. They seemed ok and we decided to come back some other day, because we had planned to take salsa lessons in Cuba. We have learned a little bit salsa in Estonia in bailatino classes and love it!

Then we went back to our casa to have a dinner ��" it was shrimps. It is true that in casas food is delicious and this casa was the best! The only problem is that as I mentioned before, the meals are huge huge huge! We never ate lunch because of itJ. The natural juices are really delicious, specially in that house ��" orange or orange-pineapple. The shrimps were absolutely delicious, some were peeled, some not. Ana came to ask from time to time: „good?“ And it was!

Later we decided to go to the Bar Daiquiri and after that to Casa Artex, cause there was a music show that night. The family went to the casa de la musica! In Bar Daiquiri at first we ordered daiquiris, but they were not so good (later we discovered daiquiri frappe and this is the best drink ever!), so later we took mojitos. The guy working at the bar was really friendly and at first he was ok, we were just beautiful girls. But even after we had told him, that we are from Estonia, not Holland, he asked us if we are from Holland, from where in Europe: Spain, Canada? He was the only one who had no idea of the geography. Canada was Europe!:) Usually people even knew where is Estonia, because they studied it at school (Soviet Union). And their education seems to be really good, at least geaography (as it was in Soviet Union I must say, and i am not Soviet Union`s fan at allJ).

Then he brought us flowers because we were the most beautiful girls in the world and tried to put mine to my hair! I did not allow him to do that, cause it had ants on it! And he thought that we will go to casa Artex with him. So we had to run away and thats why we couldnt go to casa Artex this evening. He had ruined our mood for partying! We went to listen afro-cuban music, but were a little bit late, so we heard only one song, then the band stopped. We went to the square of casa de la musica. It was really crowded and we looked how people danced, but soon we went home to sleep.

Earlier in the day, we had went to the terrace and were surprised by 2 dogs! They were our neighbours dogs and fortunately they calmed downJ. And across the street on the roof was a cute puppy. He didnt know how to go down anymore, but he didnt cry, cause it was really interesting for him on the roofJ.

Getting to Trinidad from Cienfuegos was mildly eventful. The booked 11.00 am bus didn´t turn up. The Cubatur rep hurried us off in her dad´s ancient Lada (no taxis) to another bus station to catch the 12.50 Viazul service bus. At Trinidad, Romanita was due to meet us. No Romanita. Mike went to find her casa . Full. But Miriam, 3 doors away, had rooms. Meanwhile Hil was left with luggage at the bus station. When approached by 2 strange men saying EE-lar-ee, she just followed with a porter wheeling the bags on the 15 min walk to Miriam´s. Trusting as ever! Maria had made a few phone calls and fixed it. ¨Tranquilo, Michael, calmo", she repeated to me. It´s another friendly family casa where we´ve booked evening meals. First night lobster! Then pork, fish, shellfish, beef. Mmmm.

Trinidad is old. Cortes set out from here to conquer Mexico. In the 18th century, sugar harvested by slaves led to great wealth. Now in the old town there are fine mansions and beautifully restored houses. But as in Havana the back of town is rundown and in need of lots of work.

One day we wandered the town and did the museums. Another, we took a trip to the Topas de Collantes hills and hiked an 8km round trip through lush vegetation to a lovely waterfall and pool. The poor roads meant the journey there was by lorry with plastic seats! A third day took us to the former slave plantation area, now a peaceful valley. And we finished with a trip to the sea at Playa Ancon, everyone´s Caribbean dream beach of silver sand and palm thatched sunshades.

Tlme warp Cuba again. Plenty of horse transport for locals,and a 1950s Ford Consul and Standard 10 among the Chevvies. A tourist train steam engine lurks idly in the sidings. No spares. The boys next door do weightlifting using a home made wooden platform and using old cogs as weights. Men play dominoes in the street, children attend large afternoon chess clubs, and judo. Our host´s daughter, 23, recently graduated, earns about $12 equivalent a month, and her shoes cost $5! Living at home is the only option for her. Then in the late evening in the Plaza Mayor the tourists - us too- listen to great music, pay $2,3 a drink and watch some older women get picked up by Cuban men who can dance beautifully.

This is definitely the best casa particular we've been to, and we've travelled all over Cuba. The house is impeccably clean, the rooms are spacious and have been professionally renovated and nicely furnished. The food is... Well, let's just say the lady of the house should have her own cooking show. The portions are humongous, too! But you should not visit because the house is beautiful - visit because of the hosts. They are both very warm people, quick to give you excellent advice, and what is very important they do not treat you like a wallet - they treat you like a family member, which means their advice will help you avoid hustlers on the street (or anywhere for that matter), visit the best places in town and see everything that needs to be seen. We are absolutely going to go back when we return to Cuba! Eli and Tamara PS> they also have a car garage (which you won't find almost anywhere else in Cuban city centers)

By taxi back to Havana, a more interesting journey avoiding the autopista and along the north coast, badly affected by the summer hurricanes. Lots of houses were still under repair.

Candida is away at her daughter's in Germany. A new casa 100 yards away was found and we booked in at Milagro's. It's a large flat, up steep marble stairs, in a 19th century colonial building, with huge high rooms, double doors and a chandelier in the bedroom, all with a faded elegance. But signora has recently travelled in Europe, found London horrendously expensive and "preferred the socialist system." Again her "help" arrived in the morning to clear up breakfast, and clean and tidy.

We decided to catch the hop on/off tourist bus but after 90 minutes wait in glorious sunshine as the queue ebbed and flowed, we guessed it was off today. We walked idly along the Malecon instead. We whiled away time on the terrace of the Hotel Nacional, forcing down a pina colada and a ron collins, and a sandwich lunch. We then hired a 1950s convertible open Ford, pink and white, to take us back to town. Silly but great! Calling at the tourist office, Hil discovered that the tour bus wasn't running because of a major youth procession commemorating the 8 medical students shot by the Spanish in 1871. So we went to watch. The crowd stood to attention as the national anthem played over the sound system. 7 goose stepping USSR style uniformed youngsters led a huge parade of 1000s, with their flags, banners and revolutionary placards. The loudspeaker extolled the country, the leadership of Fidel and Raul, the Party and 50 years of Revolucion. It's easy to forget that Cuba is still a communist country. Here was evidence, but as the youngsters passed they were clearly having a great day out too.

So our last few days in Cuba. Friday out to the palm fringed beaches of Playa del Este to top up the tans and to see the all-inclusive tourists from Hotel Atlantico with their bracelets giving access to the hotel restaurant, the free drinks, the pool, while we looked over the fence, and ate our biscuits! Saturday, the hop on/hop off was working, so we toured through upmarket Vedado and Miramar, with some buildings that wouldn't be out of place in central New York, and others on Miami Beach. But maybe a bit more dilapidated. We reached the Marie-Celeste like Marina Hemingway, and so hopped straight back on the bus to go and have a last look at Havana Centro with its bustling crowds, life and crumbling buildings.

Problems with the Viazul bus booking system meant we travelled from Santa Clara to Havana via Varadero and not directly. Two hours more, but really interesting, through towns and villages and not on the motorway. Varadero was very much Cuba lite with its lawns and tidy streets. One night spent at Candida's in Havana then westwards to Vinales. It's a small but tourist-popular place, famous for its limestone karst scenery (one for the geographers!) There are amazing views over the town and of the surrounding hills and mogotes - limestone mounds. We moved in to another friendly casa - Mirtha's. She arranged a guided walk for us through the local countryside. The September hurricanes here - two in one week - caused much devastation still in evidence. The banana crop was wiped out. But we saw tobacco planted, beans, sweet potatoes, yucca, pineapple, malanga, tomatoes, rice in lush red earth. Small farms with clapboard buildings were dotted around with pigs, hens and goats. Men - the campesinos - ploughed with oxen, cut with sickles and machetes, and threshed by hand. Their houses were linked by sandy tracks, they used horses for transport. The scene was timeless but the work still back-breaking. And this being Cuba, these men were well educated - but not allowed to move to towns.

We clambered down to a cave, cool with a freezing stream, then back through the fields, vultures flying overhead, cows grazing and men working.

On to Santa Clara, a provincial capital and dedicated to the memory of Che. Much less touristy, much busier than Trinidad with a largeish University. Cari met us at the bus station and we taxied 2km to her casa, a well kept house near the centre. You only scratch surfaces and fully understand little. Her married son lives upstairs and teaches English. Thursday he didn't work and Friday he went to the Uni to improve his English. We were not properly introduced to his wife, but did meet his beagle!  Cari's daughter works in Nicaragua on a Cuban government scheme. A nephew studying sports science lives in the house. Another nephew, a lawyer, lives nearby and comes every eveinng to help her cook our meal. In the mornings a woman in her 20s comes to help with housework. Indeed Miriam in Trinidad and Anita in Ciefuegos had help too. On Saturday, Cari went to buy fruit and veg for friends in Trinidad where they are scarce, as a car was going to Trinidad.

Friday we took a taxi to the delightful one horse colonial town of Remedios. The taxi driver told us proudly of Cuban achievements, and how after the fall of the Soviets the US had expected Cuba "to wave the white flag," but how it did not and would never give in. And Toe-nee Blay- ear had been mad Bush's lap dog. The town centre is very clean. No cycling it says in the main square and cyclists do get off and push their bikes very obediently. In the mornings, classes of young schoolchildren do their PE exercises in the town square. On Thursday evening there was a free concert by the Provincial Chamber Orchestra in an Empire style salon, with great plaster swags and fine acoustics but naked energy saving light bulbs. The musicians were good.

At the cigar factory while no virgin's thighs were on view all the manufacture and labelling is by hand.

Santa Clara is the city of Che. One of his great military victories was here, capturing an armoured train of 400 troops with only 18 men. The train is kept pristine as a monument to the achievemnet. Among the exhibits is a spoon used by the guerrillas!

Out of town is the Che memorial. His remains were brought there from Bolivia in 1997 where they'd lain in an unmarked grave after his abortive revolutionary activities there in the mid 60s and assassination by the CIA. A huge statue of him in combats together with great concrete blocks inscribed with his writings dominate a huge square. Below is his grave with those of his Bolivian platoon, lit by an eternal flame. Next door is a museum.  There is the chair he used at his grandmother's. But there are also some amazing iconic photos of him and his compatriots on guerrilla activity. How did they look so insouciant? A DVD showed Fidel addressing the crowds as the remains were interred, with great ceremony. A young girl gave an impassioned speech, "with Che in her heart."

It's all an impressive example of the cult of personality and in Cuba, Che , not Fidel, is  the personality cultivated.

Fascinating.

Cienfuegos, about 250 km east of Havana, has a huge sheltered harbour and is the main oil port for Cuba. Venezuela sends 8 or 9 tankers a day, happily hidden from the town. The town is very attractive, with hundreds of late 19th century buildings, many beautifully restored. The pedestrianised main shopping street has some better stocked shops. Anita, our hostess, is lovely and provides a delicious breakfast of tropical fruits, fresh pressed orange juice and eggs. We booked a boat trip round the harbour. The crewman spoke good English, learnt he said from the Cuban OU equivalent. He had an MSc in engineering from Leningrad, where he'd studied in the 80s for 5 years. All expenses paid. His stopovers in Shannon had allowed him to visit Limerick! He also spoke Russian and German. Now he made a better living in tourism than engineering. The return trip across the wide bay to the narrow harbour entrance took a couple of hours. At the harbour mouth by the old Spanish fort a large slogan said Bienvenido a Cuba Socialista. Pelicans and cormorants dived, a few fishermen in small boats gathered shellfish, clapboard houses stood at the waterside among tropical vegetation. In the distance, the Sierra de Escambray rose up. Truly a Graham Greene scene.

On Thursday we visited the lush botanic gardens outside the town. Both afternoons we'd spent at Punto Gordo, a spit of land at the south of the town with a mirador giving views all round the harbour and with a lovely breeeze to cool us as we read.

The town, like the rest of Cuba, is in a time warp. The traffic is very light, and the driving is slow and careful. The few town buses are crowded, but many horse drawn taxis ply the streets on regular routes. 8 people sit on benches in the back, and another up by the driver. Bread is delivered by horse and cart. Cycles are fairly common, with a friend perched on the back. Cycle taxis for two can be flagged down. Motor cycles and side cars, all users wearing helmets, are also very common. In the country, lorries double as buses. Only tourist hire cars or coaches are new, while beautiful 50s American cars are lovingly looked after.

We took a horse taxi back to town. He clearly wasn't registered to take foreigners, as he was warned of a police check and took us along back streets watching out at each junction.

In the evening, over coffee, a Cuban joined us. He worked at the power station and got paid in national money the equivalent of about £7  a month. Even the boss only got about £10 a month. Streets were safe, schools good, medical services good, but life was hard.. One day , in the future....

On to historic Trinidad.

Havana City has bought job lots of buses from around the world. Some have Dutch signs, some Basque or Korean. There was one in Arriva colours! Big yellow school buses must have come from French Canada- Arretez Ecoliers it says on the back. The city bendibuses are like the Northern Line in the rush hour.

Over the harbousr in CasaBlanca, the Hershey train goes - allegedly- 5 times daily to Matanzas. It is a 60 year old overhead electric railway, originally built by the US sweet giant, Hershey, to take workers to his huge sugar mill. The midday train arrived 40 minutes late. An engineer went round the whole 3 carriages making adjustments to the wheels, brakes, electrics. He'd turned off the current from a simple lever on a telegraph pole. The platform is a couple of concrete mounting blocks. The train left an hour late and was only going half way. It edged through the street along a grassed over track past shops and houses.

Cycle taxis ply the streets, rather better engineered than Indian rickshaws. They are used a lot by Cubans.

The kids are beautifully turned out in school uniform - red or light brown trousers/ skirts, white shirts and red or blue kerchiefs for the young ones. Candida told us that many in years 10 - 12 board outside Havana Monday to Friday. All expenses are paid by the state - they can study for the A level equivalent away from the "city distractions". We saw dozens of smartly uniformed teenagers carrying a supply of white shirts on hangers and protected in plastic bags boarding their school buses outside the Capitolio on Sunday night to set off.

Candida has a daughter in Germany. On our last morning with her, she'd plugged in her laptop and was skypeing her daughter. We guess this is probably still very unusual. It is actually rare to see even a mobile in use in the street.

So we set off to Cienfuegos in our plush air conditioned tourist Volvo coach along the main Autopista Nacional. Pretty well maintained, there's minimal traffic. At important junctions cycle taxis and horse drawn carts wait to take people into towns. Others hitch towards Havana. The countryside is lush with palms, bananas and sugar cane. We occasionally pass farms and men on horseback, and a few herds of cows. We turned off the Autopista through villages of clapboard or concrete houses, often with people on rocking chairs on the veranda. Then we reach Cienfuegos, and Anita meets us off the bus. She's lively, friendly and has a fine house about 5 minutes from the centre. Same price for B and B as Candida - about 18 pounds a night.