Islazul Hotel Colon Camaguey

14-12-2008: omstreeks 16:00 pm aangekomen in Camaquey waar dezelfde taxi-chauffeur me stiond op te wachten als de vorige keer en tesamen met twee spaanse dames richting centrum gereden. Eert de dames afgezet en toen werd ik afgezet bij een andere casa waar ik heen wilde. Dit scheen de casa van haar broer te zijn ende kamer waar ik oorspronkleijk heen zou gaan zou al bezet zijn door twee ...

... en dankt zijn naam " de legendarische" evenzeer aan een traditie van heldendom en patriottisme als aan zijn architectuur. Camaguey heeft een groot historisch centrum in koloniale stijl en het onregelmatige stratenplan had een defensieve functie. Hier tref je o.a. het Plaza de Juan de Dios en de Iglesia de Carmen aan.

... best omelette ever! Simple things for simple people, so they say.. Anyway, we got the girls there in plenty of time (just), so Emma you really didn't need to panic hun! After we said our goodbyes (it was emotional), we ended up heading into the Centro Historico with the aid of a demon bicycle jinetero who sorted us out an awesome casa amongst the labrynth of streets! After a kip (Ben had done **** loads of driving) we ...

... Anna, Odalys and Mario and Fabiola in Havana, and Hemil, Marie and Eddy in Santiago. We also had good hosts in Camaguey about halfway between Havana and Santiago. I'm mentioning this because the other people we came into contact with in shops, banks and street stalls couldn't give a damn about foreigners and clearly showed their contempt for us by ignoring us or by their actions, eg them dropping menus on our table and walking away, we asking for the cheque and being ...

... to the resort...I wasn't too impressed with the clouds, rain and complete isolation. The streets were empty, and there was nothing Cuban about the place. Around the corner we saw the big, decaying blocks of flats where the hotel and resort workers lived. I guess seeing this really made me appreciate the fact that I was living and traveling in the real Cuba most of the time. Cubans aren't allowed to visit tourist resorts such as Varadero, Santa Lucia ...

Due to slow and very expensive internet in Cuba, these entries are under construction... I hope to fill this big gap once I get home in december. Cuba was difficult to understand, as there as many layers for every aspect: social, political, economical ...

... Not explicitly said, of course. At that hot point we got involved and explained the guy that we had not told the lady that we had considered going to casa something, so she had nothing to do with it. Ok he says, but now that she knows that we were supposed to go there, she has to send us there. Not even "let" us go there, no: "SEND" us there. Gosh. There we explained him that it was our decision to stay there, and final. Such a baaaaad look at our casa owner. And she did not look ...

... intricate it appeared. A mix of hypocrisis, pride and shame on the part of the Cubans, and a blindness from the foreigners. Blindness explained by the fact that when you understand that someone might have been fooling you for hours or days, generally you want to keep playing the game and end it, rather than face what really motivated each party. When you weight the motivations of the cubans, you can easilly imagine a win-win situation: they are so nice, why not ...

"You're travelling with a baby and a little kid!? To Cuba!?!" Old aunts and people who don't know me well tend to have this reaction to our upcoming trip. Over the Christmas holidays I'm riddled with questions and burdened with the concern of various relatives. Where will the kids sleep? What if something happens? Is it safe? Maybe I'm a literalist, but when I hear that the government is willing to pay me to take ...

... Brisas Santa Lucia was a definite step up. After an enjoyable 1 1/2 hour bus ride through the countryside and a couple of small villages, we arrived at the hotel and found our room in one of the numerous 3-story high groups of units placed around the grounds. The hotel had been closed for 2 months over the hot, low-tourist season and our group's arrival marked 're-opening day'. Whilst we were there the hotel remained only about 1/4 full which suited us just fine.