Gibara 2

There was absolutely no need to sightsee anything in Gibara, so breakfast was leisurely. The Dutch couple and I agreed to hire a car to Playa Caletones, about 17 km west of Gibara. The dueña made the arrangements. While waiting I went to get some bottled water for the trip. The queues at the shops were long, but the friendly locals pushed me to the front. At 1100 the Dutch turned up at my casa, with L, who had just arrived from Holguin, and we set off.

It took ½ hour to reach the playa along a gravel road. It was a tiny bay in front of a small village but it had very fine sand and a few thatch shelters. The constant breeze evinced by the coconut palms in the pictures kept the heat under control. I had forgotten to bring my towel but I dried quickly in the wind.

There were kids fishing in the water, and at one point a family of pigs trotted past. Some goats browsed near the beach. I joked to the others that I had approached a goat to get his opinion on Cuban politics, and all he said was bah! There was also a French couple at the playa; they were driving from Baracoa to Holguin.


The excursion cost us $15 split 4 ways. We returned to town quite satisfied.

In the early evening, we ascended to the mirador again and discovered that there was a restaurant in the building. They said that yes they served dinner so I made a round-trip to the casa to tell the dueña not to make me dinner. We dined to the sound of the wind rustling through the palms. The prawns they served were fairly good. The one disagreeable aspect was the filthy state of the toilet, due the shortage of water in the building. Not something you want to think about over dinner.

Down in the town again, we bumped into the student from the night before. He took us to a heladeria for some good tubs of ice cream. There was a rap concert in progress near the huge marlin shaped portal at the harbour. We went to the casa de musica to listen to a crooner singing boleros but I think the Dutch were bored by the old-fashioned music. So it was back to the main stage where the flamenco performance finally got going. The Canarian bore from the night before was still hanging around. Late that evening the student touched us for 50 cents to buy some cigarettes.