Monday November 3, 2014

We had a lovely breakfast at the casa and left at around 8:30 and headed out on the Central Carrereta to Pinar del Rio. Ralf stopped about 10kms out of Isabel Rubio to check we were on the right road. He had expected the Carrerata to be a major highway – No, it was a two-lane road with a little better road construction than the other roads we have been on. The road map book we have been following stated that the central highway “considered one of the wonders of Cuban civil engineering”. Its construction began in May 1927 and ended in February 1931 – we are not sure that much has been done to it since then! That is rather harsh, but there were times today when we wondered if there had been any renovations done to the road surface since 1931. Today was the first time in a long time that we had a headwind and it was a brutal one at that. I guess we will just have to accept this wind for a few more days until we get up to Matanzas, then I think we should get a bit of tail wind or at the very least a cross wind from the Ocean.

We arrived in the very large city of Pinar del Rio. It is big and busy. We found the Casa after a few wrong turns and even then we weren’t sure we were at the right place until the owner called Carmen and confirmed we were in the right Casa. We didn’t want to stay at a casa that we hadn’t reserved, while the casa we had reserved was waiting for us.

After settling in we went to the TelepunktOffice and I waited in line to get inside the Telepunkt office. There seemed to be a bit of jostling around where people jumped the line and told the people in line that all they wanted to do was ask the “guard” at the door a question. They then seemed to jump the queue completely and manage to get inside the building and have to wait again to get served. However, they were inside the building and getting service quicker than the rest of us outside waiting in a version of a queue. Well, I pushed myself to the front and asked the “guard” if I could get internet here. Yes and she let me in the building! When in Cuba! I then waited inside and the “guard” came up to me directed me to the correct line up and told the lady that I was next. To access the internet in Cuba (other than in a hotel) you buy a card and then use one of their computers to access the internet, ensuring access control by the government.

The “guard” is basically a security guard/door person who allows a certain amount of people into the office, bank, or building at any one time.

We had a wander along the main street, it is a long street with lots of commercial stores. Not like any major shopping area such as Toronto, New York or London. However, Pinar del Rio is a major commercial centre for the region.

As such it was a good place to people watch and they of course they watched back. I heard one girl comment on my shoes, she looked at my Keene sandals in horror. How could she be so cruel about my wonderful comfy sandals!!

We stopped at the InfoTour Office to get another map of Pinal del Rio, so that we could find our way out of the City tomorrow. He asked where we were from and was very amused that we were Canadians travelling independently. He kept telling us that we should be in Varadero as all the Canadians love Varadero and the beach – they never see the rest of the country. We took his teasing half-heartedly knowing he was right. We have been asked many times if we are German, as they seem to be the ones that travel independently most often.

When we got back to the Casa we had a lovely dinner of fish, rice and black beans.

We also discovered that there are four generations living in this Casa. We met the grandmother who was 97 years old and very much all there, she chatted to us and spoke to us slowly so that I could understand a little of what she was saying. Ralf was stroking her dog (Lolita) and she was talking about her dog. I wish my Spanish was better so that I could have asked her how many changes she had seen in Cuba and how her life had changed. According to her grandson she has had a good life. Her life before the revolution was well-off they owned lands in the Province and always had enough to eat. After the revolution she was still looked after. Now she is well looked after because of the socialist systemand because she lives with her family.