Tuesday November 4, 2014

Our morning started off with greasy fried eggs, blugh. We were on the road at 8:30 into the smoky streets of Pinar del Rio. The spew of fumes coming from the trucks and buses was awful. We found our way out on to the Carrerata very easily and followed it almost all the way to San Diego los Banos.

We encountered the Cuban transportation system in all of its glory today. Cubans use a variety of transportation methods to get around. In the city they have city buses, bicycle taxis, bicycles, horse and cart and of course on foot.

Between towns they use a couple of methods: the bus or the Cuban bus which is an open back truck where they stand shoulder to shoulder and hang on as the truck zooms along at break neck speeds spewing diesel fumes out of its badly tuned exhaust.

We arrived at a cross-roads and proceeded to go straight through. A local told us we couldn’t go that way. Ralf stopped and asked why – he gathered that there was something to do with water – either the bridge was out or something else. They directed us along another road, which turned out to be a very nice road and shortened our ride by about 5kms. We found out later that the central carrerata goes through a lake! Through a lake actually it is a dam/reservoir and the road is unpassable.

We arrived in San Diego Los Banos from the opposite direction than we thought we were going to. We back-tracked and found the Banos (Spa). A gentleman approached us and asked if we needed the hotel, which was behind the Spa. We said we were o.k. as we have a casa. His name was Pilo and was a teacher at the local school. He proceeded to give us a bit of a history lesson of the town and told us about the tobacco drying factory and an old guy who makes cigars – artisan.He showed us to the casa and we chatted with him for a while.

Pilo told us about the road going through the lake,he didn’t seem phased by the idea that a main road would go through a lake. Well you can always use the Autopista or come through this way he said, no problem. Pilo asked if we would like to go to the hot pools later. “It is good for the skin, muscles etc.” We decided we would and he said he would pick us up at 4:45, that is when non-Cubans can go.

The Town was named after the thermal waters and the spa. The spa is a run-down facility that needs a lot of money to build it up to its former glory. When we went in, we discovered a very run-down facility, we went down about 5 storeys to get to the hot pools. We had it to ourselves, our own private baths. It reminded us of New Zealand where we walked to the natural hot springs and sat in old concrete baths on the edge of a mountain.

They have repainted the outside and say it will be open to tourists in a few months. There is no way that this facility will be ready for tourists in the next few months. The hot pools were clean but due to the sulphur build-up the tiles were falling away from the walls. None of the showers or toilets worked and when I turned a light on, it sparked and the changing rooms needed a complete rebuild.

It is such a shame – other Towns in this area survive on tourism, this one has been left to die. If only they could put some real money into the spa, and redevelop the spa, it is in a beautiful area. We both felt sad that this facility has been left to ruin, and the Town’s people have lost a great source of employment.

The only other visible employment we saw was the cigar factory. They separate the tobacco leaves from the stalks, bundle the leaves up to dry for about two years before they will be used to make cigars.

We were introduced to Papa Pedro who apparently is famous for the artisan cigars he makes. Margaret Atwood and her hubby and other notable people have come to this town to meet Papa Pedroand buy his cigars. A lovely old fella who was more than ready to show us his craft, but we had to meet Pilo and go to the baths.

Pilo was a very enthusiastic school teacher, he showed us the school library. The library looked as if it was in a garage. Ralf asked why it wasn’t in the school, but he said there wasn’t enough room in the school to house the library. There was one section of the library that had been donated by the Russian government in 1961. He had one section that was for the school that he taught at in San Diego, all in Spanish. Another section the books he had were in English, he used those for his University students (final year teachers). He had books that had been sent to him from Canada, England, the US he also collected books from the hotel that had been left by tourists. However, when he received the books from abroad, the Cuban government used to allow them in without import duty. Now if he gets a package that is heavier than 3 kilos he gets charged 10 CUC for every additional kilo. This is to stop goods being received by Cubans who sell things on the black market, but it does not take into account educational items.

Pilo had the opportunity to work in the tourist industry, but wanted to teach. He could have earned more money in the tourist industry, but chose his love of teaching and learning. He was a fascinating man who tried to explain to us his problems with the Cuban system, but quantified the problems with the fact that all education is free for everyone in Cuba.

I had wanted to stop here to see the Banos and maybe partake in the spa, but this afternoon turned out to be so much more than a quick dip in a hot pool.

So much is changing but so much is staying the same. Fidel and Raul are still in control.