Sunday, July 27, 2014

Cuban Blog Day #13 Ask the Right Questions

I took a $15 CUC taxi back to Holguin from Gibara. I had just missed the bus to take me to Camaguey. It was very disappointing as it meant I had to choose between waiting for three hours or taking another taxi and spending more money.  I’d asked la dueña and some other folks around Gibara what the schedule was, but nobody knew it.  Viazul is a bus mostly for tourists. It is much more expensive and nicer than the busses for locals. Because of this, most locals do not know the schedule.

I decided to take another taxi the three hours north to Camaquey.  I didn’t want to waste any more of my precious little time left in Cuba.  I was already freaking out about getting to any place where I could dive, and already felt a sense of time running out.  I still had ten more days.

I drove in a taxi from the bus terminal to a baseball stadium where there was a van waiting to take me to Camaguey. This was odd, but, what are you going to do? Inside already was a very friendly deaf couple and air conditioning.  I expected a pleasant ride.

It was pleasant for the first hour and a half or so. Then the driver began stopping and picking up pretty women from the side of the road. He would drop them off 10 or 30 minutes later, sometimes going out of our way.  At one point, the entire van, which previously only had four passengers, was pack to the brim with some sitting on the floor.

I was not happy, but there was nothing to do. What was supposed to be a 3 hour trip turned into nearly five rather uncomfortable hours, and I began to wonder if I’d have been better off waiting and taking the bus.

Once I arrived at the bus terminal, I gave the man less money than he’d asked for and explained to him that I was very misled. He put up no fight about the decrease in his pay.  I was immediately hounded by touts coming from all directions.  Funny, because when we pulled in, I could see none.  I managed to keep my wits about me this time and checked the schedule for the next bus I would need.

It was later than I really wanted to leave the next morning, and I let a tout convince me to take another taxi. He promised he would be at the casa at 8 am and he promised he would go direct and he promised there would be no other passengers and he did it all with a straight face.

This same tout took me to a casa which happened to be in the guide, the first one.  It was in a good part of the city and I was happy just to be somewhere. It was raining and I’d already lost two hours of my one day in Camaguey, so I immediately took a bicitaxi to the market I’d read about in the guide.

When I arrived, it was pretty much closed, all the vendors had gone.  I do not know why, neither la dueña nor the taxi driver didn’t bother to tell me this key bit of information when I was asking them how to get there.

The taxi driver had agreed to wait for me (I wonder why?) and I had him take me to a restaurant. Of course it was probably the most expensive restaurant in the town. I sat down at a table, took a look at the menu and promptly left.

I wondered around, coming upon a very cool little area with lots of movie theaters (apparently Camaguey is quite famous for these…) and sidewalk bars.  I kept wandering and happily discovered I was very close to my casa. I was tired and wasn’t all too keen on walking around a city which is famous for the maze of streets they built to keep invaders out.  How was a simply tourist going to find her way around?  Remember, no iphones with GSP for Americans in Cuba.

So, after visiting the Casa de Chocolate and indulging in two lovely scoops of chocolate ice cream, I decided to get a bottle of rum.  I sat at sideway café on a plaza and drank rum and cokes in a tiny plastic cup and people watched the rest of the evening.

 

 

Traveling Tip #15 and #16

 

#15 It is difficult when being accosted by touts from all directions upon arriving in a new town to remember all it is you should do before leaving the station.  Checking the schedule for your next departure should be top on your list. I had forgotten all the other times and was so glad I finally remembered to in Comaguey.  If possible also buy, or at least reserve your tickets if you know when it is you are leaving.  I suppose this is usually easier in other places that have fast and easily accessed internet, but in Cuba you should check before you leave.

 

#16 Apparently, along with asking where something is, or how to get there, you should also ask if it is indeed open or functioning.  This happened with the ferry in Gibara, which had been closed for nearly two weeks, yet neither the nice man in the hotel, nor la dueña seemed to know or bother to tell me, and with the market in Camaguey.

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