Santa Clara - Mojito

Well I have now arrived in Trinidad but have spent the last 3 days in a town called Santa Clara. I really liked it there, there was not much to do (there seems to be a lot of hanging out in the park) but I felt it was more like the real Cuba and not as touristy as other places. It was quite an important town in terms of the Cuban revolution as it is pretty much right in the center of Cuba so it was quite a strategic location. Anyway it was there that Che and his men, captured a train of Batista's army. There is a memorial for Che as well, as when his body was found in Bolivia it was re-buried in Santa Clara.

The thing I liked about Santa Clara is the public transport is horse and cart. This means you have to watch your step walking around town, but it is pretty cute seeing all these people taking the horse and carts.

So I visited the many museums and I had fun walking around the streets, met Pavel's brother Yuri we went and watched some little kids play a baseball game (I got a dink on his bike, I havn't done that since I was a kid it hurt more than I remembered)they were so cute! What was even funnier was the town drunk in the stand commentating the game and encouraging/yelling at the kids! Also in the stand was a famous cuban baseball player (I had no idea who he is, but Yuri told me he's Pavel's hero) whose son was playing.

The next day I spend lying on the beach at the Villa Clara keys, the sand is white, the water that aqua blue colour, I did nothing but lie on the sand and occasionally get myself up for a swim, finished the day of with a mojito. I hope you all enjoyed your day at work! After the beach headed back to Santa Clara.

Pavel's family lives in Santa Clara so now I can not complain about Cuban food (see last post)because his brother and I went out to dinner and it was pasta which was pretty good, and then the next night Pavel's mum cooked this amazing feast of vegies and fish, I ate so much I had to sit on the couch for about an hour before i could move. They also gave me this little souvenier botle of Ron (Rum) they are so lovely :)

I find Cuba to be always a country with a double edge, I complain about the machisimo (see last post) although I had today a guy ask if I wanted a boyfriend, and the hissing, here Cuban men will open doors for you, help you cross the street, pull out chairs for you and let you walk up the stairs first. My friend Jimmy was quite horrified to find that men in Australia do not do this, but one thing most guys I know in Australia can cook (cooking here is a ladys thing).

I have also complained about the double economy which I now kind feel guilty about after learning that a student here, although the education is free receives an allowance of 70 cuban pesos per month (that to you and me is about $2.80 US) but I feel that the double economy also works against cubans as many spend there time chasing the convertible peso. When the bus pulls up to the station desperate Casa owners chase alongside with photos of their houses for you to stay at etc. I don't know it is difficult to explain but I feel that in cuba everything seems to have a double edged sword.

Well I will write again from Trinidad soon, here it is beautiful but tourist city as well. Much Love Alicia