Santiago de Cuba

I have to say the bus was quite comfortable but after 15hrs I was ready to be off it forever. I immediately scored a taxi (after haggling on the price $7 CUC) to my Casa Particulares that I booked via AirBnB before I left and it turned out to be an absolute gem. Jose and Mercedes have a beautiful home 5 block to the city center and has a fantastic roof deck to enjoy the sights and sounds of Santiago.

Santiago de Cuba is  full of sights and sounds it’s an amazing city, one I felt instantly connected to, that is so very different from Havana yet so similar. For one the city has been dolled up, I learned that they repainted in 2015 for its 500 year anniversary. Walking around the city you get a sense of the very proud people that inhabit the space. I also notice a lot more music in Santiago, Clubs, venues, streets performers, and a plethora of Rumba and Salsa schools pepper the city spicing up life in to a whirlwind of frenetic energy coupled with the smile and laughter of its inhabitants.

It’s a very walkable city with quick access to number of sights including the starting point of the revolution the Cuartel Moncada, where Fidel Castro led the charge in what would be the overthrow of the Baptiste regime and the dawning of a new era in Cuba. Aside from the political sights there are numerous parks, shops and squares to enjoy while listening to the infectious music wafting from the nearby homes.

Of all the things that are unique to Santiago besides the rich dance and music culture is the motorcycle taxis. For one they are everywhere, 1000’s of them! All swarming around the city at once picking up and dropping on passengers. The pitter patter of late model Jawa’s is everywhere and unfortunately with it comes an epic amount of pollution that tests your lungs while it hover in the narrow streets for an extraordinary amount of time. There are no stop lights other than at the large intersections so you get these cars and motorcycles flying down the road beeping their horns and hoping another bike or car is not coming the other way. Absolute chaos, but there is an infectious beauty watching this city operate.

Tomorrow I will start my long journey back to Havana. First stop Holguín. I initially planned on stopping half-way as the road to Holguín will be the biggest climb of the trip, but was advised by my Casa hosts that there is no place to stay or camp along the way. So plans changed I will make the 90 mile ride in one go. Hopefully…