waste o time place

Woke up in Baracoa on March 16 to a lovely breakfast made by our hosts.
It was even better than the ones we'd been getting at the hotel - more selections! (Not much more but hey, they had hot chocolate!).

Trying to get through this so quick summary of parts.
Back to the city center where we got a lecture on the local history from the local historian. He was pretty awesome. He knew a lot about the area and spoke about his attempts to carry his suitcase museum to other more remote areas to share and collect information. He's also got the title of historian of the country or something like that. I'll edit when I get the better details.

So the church we met at is the Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. The Cruz de la Parra is located here too. It's supposed to be one of the last remaining 29 crosses erected by Columbus in 1492 - or so they say. Now after carbon dating they realized that the wood doesn't seem to come from Spain so who knows what's really the truth? Regardless, the church has gone through some renovations but it is the one of the oldest - remember, Baracoa is also known as the first city of Cuba since this is where Spain is thought to have landed.

Facing the church doors with all his pride is Hatuey - the first rebel of the Americas. He seems to have been a pretty bad ass guy. Unfortunately he was betrayed in the end - isn't that how it always is? - and he got caught by the Spaniards and was burned alive. When he was asked if he wanted to repent, confess and get the chance to go to Heaven, he asked the priest if there Spaniards would be there too. The priest said yes and so he said he'd rather go to Hell.

"Here is the God the Spaniards worship. For these they fight and kill; for these they persecute us and that is why we have to throw them into the sea... They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters. Incapable of matching us in valor, these cowards cover themselves with iron that our weapons cannot break."

He's also known as "The Indian" and Cohiba as well as some other brands use him as their logo. They couldn't have picked better. I started reading up on the guy. I'm surprised there isn't a movie out yet. I guess Columbus makes for better box office figures. And so Hatuey faces off in the town square against the Church and all it stands for. I really, really like everything about it.

We then wandered over to the local gallery where many of us bought pieces of art. I did too. It was a really nice gallery!





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The Baracoa visit was one highlight after another. We stopped off at an old hotel owned by a woman from Russia and got the history of that - I was paying less attention here. And that was followed to a visit to the Museo Matachin for our next bit of entertainment.
We got in a bit too late the night before and instead of getting two bands, we only got one. The one that was about to play was pushed back to today and wow, we were all so thrilled not to have missed them! They were my favorite of the entire trip and yet they didn't have any CDs for purchase. Luckily I've already found them on Spotify and Amazon too!

Maravilla Yunquena

Just going to drop the music right here:








The rest of the Videos are at my VIMEO page.
Just watching these over again make me feel really good. I really did like Baracoa and I need to plan a return that lasts a few days longer!


Then on to the next stop and lunch. That goes in the next post.

Woke up and headed to the rooftop to eat breakfast and enjoy the sunrise.
I got a couple of nice pano shots too!







Click on the image to see it full size. Hopefully the quailty doesn't go to crap when LJ uploads it.
Anyway, all the images that I've posted here and more have been posted to my tumblr account so you can always go there.

We were able to have the option to leave our larger suitcases behind and just pack an overnight. The Hotel E Imperial hooked us up! Hurray! (I think I forgot to mention something about the water running out on one of the other nights. I'll edit that info back in when I get to transcribing my hand-written journal notes).

So onto the bus for the ride east, past Guantanamo, then south and east along the coast to Imías and then north on La Farola! The government under Batista may have made promises and started it but it's the revolution that got it done! In 1965 Baracoa was now accessible by land! I've been on some sketchier roads but this one definitely has some spots worth watching out for, especially if you're on a large bus. There are also bicyclists that use the road too! Some spots have very steep falls and some of the road is worn. It's going to be a road you want to use during the day time. Plus you get to see great views while cruising through the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains.



But first we stopped at an overlook that gave us a view of Guantanamo. Sometimes I wonder how the locals can be so nice and open to us when they find out we're from the USA. Granted we as individuals didn't open up the base and we as individuals aren't refusing to close it and give their land back and give them back the access to the water and the sea!
The town of Guantanamo is poor and because of our branding, tourists don't really flock there as they would other towns. But tourism is what they need to get some money flowing through.
We actually didn't make a stop in town on this trip, but drove onwards. Another day in the future we'd be visiting though!









That's the base in the distance and the mouth of the giant harbor that the locals don't have access to.

And once again onto the bus after a quick break and along the underdeveloped coast towards Imías !
I slept for most of the journey but during this part I woke up because it was so nice to see the blue of all that water!

 

After Imías the road turns north and heads into the mountains. We were given some gorgeous views and some slightly more sobering ones. Some of the road was a bit worn and we could see where the rockslides could ruin a commute. Also, we were able to see some traces of what Hurricane Matthew left behind.

Here's a video on the history of La Farola:











As we made our journey through the mountains, and climbing in altitude, the bus started to strugle so we stopped and gave it a little break. It was a nice pause and we were all able to get out and have a little walk around. We bought local items from the house we stopped in front of (water, cocoa butter pots, and yummy coconut wrapped in leaves). There was a fresh water stream and I got a photo of me in front of it. I look like a slob.



Almost there!

Photo Dump !! OMG I love Baracoa!!! AIEEE I wish we had more time to spend here. I would definitely come back to this place omfg. It's not that it was particularly luxurious, or anything. The place just had a feeling and although I took a lot of photos, it's not really something you can get out of my fast shots.






















Lunch was pretty nice. I forget the name at the moment. oh. El Buen Sabor. It had all sorts of stickers on the window for Yelp, n Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor n stuff. Then we ended up meeting our hosts for the night and visited our casa particulares for a little siesta before the scheduled evening activities!

Wow. We've done so much and we're only 4 days into this trip.
Today was full of more music and dancing and history and culture and art.
And we even ended up half-deaf after doing the conga too.
:-D
A lot of bus riding today but we got out often because everything we saw was in Santiago.

We started out at the Casa del Caribe - currently celebrating 35 years - and found a bunch of seats set out for us. Lecture time!
Lots of history though, and lots of information. I'm really enjoying it though again, I wish I had a better background of it.


 

From there we walked over to the Casa de la Religiones Populaires. Basically it's a living shrine to mulitpe religions where people can come and practice whatever they want.
We got a presentation by Abelardo Larduet and after that, the Grupo Abburreyé performed for us. They were good!

  

 

I told wrayb to copy the lady's pose. I realized after he mentioned it that it wasn't a lady.











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From the journal:
Later start. The Casa de Caribe. Got more history and background of Santiago and other things including Haiti and the influx of tons of other influences. My book is full of notes and I can't read any of it. I think I was trying to write it on the bus.

Returned to the hotel last night to find the water working :-)
There was no need to switch our home for the night. Hurray for being able to be lazy for that evening. Now there's no need to pack until tonight. I think tomorrow we head off to Baracoa where we will stay in private homes - casa particulares. Right now watching members of our group dancing to La Bamba sung by a woman and her guitar in an Italian resto where we've just had lunch. Dessert tasted like bazooka joe in ice cream form.
And once again into the breach!
(I mean back to the bus!).

Day 3 in Cuba. We had a pretty full schedule set for today:
Sanctuary of LA Caridad del Cobre
the Momument to the Cimarrón
the house of spiritist Juan González Pérez "Madelaine"
and saw the groups Cabildo Cimarrón and Voces del Milagro.

(I don't remember these details. It's what I took off of our info FAQ of the tour).

So then, started off with breakfast at the hotel. I really like breakfast. Plus, we get an awesome view of the city from the roof top.
This is looking SW. The harbor would be a bit to the left in the image.


So then, off into the bus and to El Cobre. It's about 30 minutes west of Santiago in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra. Nearby are the old copper mines. It's supposed to be the most important church in Cuba where people come from all over to pay their respects. Inside is the Virgen de la Caridad - the protector of Cuba. Her parallel figure in Afro-Cuban worship is Ochún, goddess of love and femininity, who is also dark-skinned and dressed in bright yellow garments. The place was built in 1927 and has a super long name: El Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre.









From the parking lot area of this church we could see our next destination: the Monument to the Cimarrón.
When we got to the monument, I decided on not climbing up the stairs in the heat and staying below with the metal man (statue).
The photo of the monument is from wrayb cuz he climed up those stairs! Later during our trip, we would meet Alberto Lescay - the sculptor and visit his workshop too!

" “El Monumento al Cimarron” (the Monument to Runaway Slaves), a towering sculpture created in bronze and iron, was built on a hill near the town of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba Province, to honor one of the earliest slave revolts that took place in the country.

This region, with its great tradition of struggle, was the scene of many acts of insubordination and mass slave escapes in the years 1673, 1691, 1731, 1737 and 1781. But the uprising of July 24, 1731 qualifies as one of the most important slave protests in Cuba, noted by historians for its character and importance.

The work that marks this revolt was produced by artist Alberto Lescay Merencio, a sculptor and painter highly recognized in contemporary international and Cuban visual arts. He wanted to pay tribute to this event in history, so in 1997 he constructed the monument." (Source)






Below where I waited was a sculpture that surprised me when I got closer. I didn't realize he did't have pants on n stuff. From here though, you can see the church in the distance.









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From the written journal:

To the bus! Went tto the Sactuario del Cobré. Walked around it. Saw religious stuff. Ran away.
Back on the bus! Idid not combust.
Some pretty spots inside of there but those kinds of places to not make me feel comfortable.
Went to a monument accessible by stairs. A lot of stairs. Skipped seeing the monument. Took photos of the art piece with a big dick.
Back on the bus.
Then into town to see the spiritist and dancers. Fun. Everyone danced.
Not me. I don't dance.
Now at Los Morros taking too long for lunch. This is cutting into my sleep. Already nodded off on the bus on the way here. Supposed to check out the castle. It's over there. Checked it out.
Boom. Done.
Irritated. Easily irritated. Want to explode. Or implode. Or something. Had to step away.

We got in the bus and headed into town to the Restaurante Avilés.
It was really nice for our first place and there we met the local historian/musician who gave us a history of the restaurant, the building itself, and some local facts. After we ate, he took us to the space next door to show us the room the band practiced in. The Orquesta Hermanos Avilés was founded in 1882. After that we moved to a larger space and the band performed for us. The private concert was finished off by everyone dancing.

 


 

 

Back to the hotel and bed to prepare for the next day.

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From the written journal:
After a nice nap we headed off for dinner.The place was aptly named Restaurante Avilés. There we were given an opening introduction of the history of the place and a drink. I ended up getting one without the rum.
For food options there was a choice between marlin and chicken. I had the fish. Sides for the main was rice with a lot of beans. Ick! There were multiple courses though and then there was ajicao which was different from the one I've tried at home but still very good. Dessert was flan! :-)
Next door to the restaurant was an open sapve where we were given another history lesson by the local music historian of the area. The space was the practice room of the Orquesta Hermanos Avilés which was founded in 1882 originally.

We all piled into the bus once again and headed to a space that looked like it functioned as a children's day care or play space. Either way it was quite sparse. We watched the band play for about an hour or so. It was great. Most members of the group took photos or videos and danced.

The journey starts tonight on a redeye to Florida followed by a mornng flight to Holguin.
It'll be my bday in one week.
And the tentative itinerary says Ruta Chan Chan to Cueto before returning to Santiago for the festival de la trova.