I was pleased that there was an EGREM shop in Holguin. I had accepted that there might not be one when I did not buy CDs in Havana, to travel lighter. However many of the artists or recordings that I sought were not available, and those on sale were a bit unfamiliar. I picked out a handful of CDs and another two from Artex nearby. But the cigar shop we had visited on the first pass was closed due to the freeze. Apparently the freeze was in response to recent US belligerence. Maybe the shop at the airport might be open. Worst come to the worst perhaps I could get some in Schiphol airport. Wow, I thought Cuba was getting boring and this happens.
The other shops in the plaza had queues of Cubans outside, waiting to stock up. I got a bottle of rum from the counter at Rumbos. I carried the booty back to the casa, then walked to the foot of the hill to await the Swedes. They were quite late. Apparently they had overslept, they had no alarm clock, and the landlady didn't rouse them.
The steps up Loma de la Cruz were unergonomic so the climb was tiring but there was a good view of Holguin's surrounds from the top. There a church at the summit, as the name suggests, with residues (candle wax, devotional objects, etc) left by visitors. In a small cavern was an art gallery run by a local artist.
The Swedes couldn't change their tickets so they were committed to leaving for Santiago de Cuba the next day. They paid for their lunch with a whole mess of coins. They complained about running out of money, yet they seemed nonchalant handling it. I hoped that they would be more sensible with money for the rest of their holiday. I gave them my contact details, we parted at the natural history museum then I went back for a siesta. In the evening I had a good final dinner in Cuba at Restaurant 1720. I could shop for the rest of the souvenirs the next day as the flight was for late afternoon.
Graphic deficiency warning: there are only a couple of photos left of Cuba to present, and none for today. I must have been really weary of Cuba and yearning to go back to Europe.
I reminded the dueña that she had promised to show me where the barber was, so she asked a kid to take me there. I had probably the cheapest haircut in my life. The official price according to the notice on the wall was 2 pesos, but he charged me 3 and I gave him another as a tip. That came up to under 16¢ at the official rate of exchange.
At 1230 the taxi came to take the three of us, the Swedes and I, to Holguin. It cost us $18 because the driver had only $2 change. Somehow I think that was not a coincidence. We went to the first choice of casa in the guide book. There was no answer and I soon realised that they were not operating any more. At Isabel's, L's former casa, it was full house. We tried another one from the book. They wanted $25 for only one night and we declined. I decided to try Hilda, the former dentist while the Swedes tried a neighbour of Hilda's. The neighbour sent them to another casa so we parted and arranged to meet that evening. I waited for a while but no sign of Hilda. I went back to Isabel who sent me back to the first offer. This time they agreed on $20 as I was staying two nights.
Later that afternoon, I discovered the probable reason Hilda was out was that the government had suddenly declared a freeze on the sales of dollar denominated goods. So people were out stockpiling. I wondered if it would affect my plans to buy cigars and a bottle of rum for K back in Heemstede.
We had dinner at Rumbos; that place was getting to be a regular haunt. Afterwards we had ice cream, but there were only sticks left, no cones.
I think this was the day I spotted a stretch Lada and regretted not taking a photo of it. (But if you do a search on "stretch Lada" you will find some specimens.) It was a superlong Lada, made by welding sections together, like how they make stretch limos. I supposed that it was used for weddings, etc.
The film at Cine Frexes was cancelled. I wondered if the dollar goods freeze had anything to do with it. Oh well, an early night then. I would shop for the cigars and rum after breakfast, then meet the Swedes to climb Loma de la Cruz which overlooks Holguin. When we first arrived from Baracoa, J had confused loma (hill) with lomo (pork) while reading the guide. Huh? Pork of the cross?, she had exclaimed.
