Holguin, Cuba

Holguin, Cuba

So we left Havana to go east to Holguin. The hometown of Katja, Mikaels wife, to spend a few days there before I went back to Havana. Me and Mike took a night bus from Havana, a 12 hour ride with an air condition which held a solid temperature of 15 degrees celcius, damn it was cold. But we had a little something-something with us which held us warm the entire trip :-)

First night we got together with a part of Katjas family and a few friends of thiers and we went out for dinner and cabaret. Really good food, nice company and a spectacular cabaret, preformed in front of an audience of 20 people. It was a great evening to welcome me to Holguin. We got our own private chaffour, Katjas relative Omar, who was with us almost everywhere. We had dinner with him and his wife Merci one night, and after that we went out bowling, yeah, that you could actually do in this little town, I was suppriced.

Holguin is very different from Havana. The town, is much smaller, porer, more wrecked and there is not so much to do here if you´re looking for an active vacation. You could make a trip to the beach nearby, Guardalavaca, and check into a hotel there. The place is supposed to be beautiful but very touristy and expensive so we skipped that. When I travel I don´t want it the tourist way so Holguin was just fine for me a couple of days. The second day we chilled by the pool of Hotel Pernik, 8 CUC (65 sek) for 2 persons and that included food and two drinks each, nice!

By now my stomach started to feel funny and it lead to me, lying in the bed for two and a half days, not moving and only had one juice to drink. Not so interesting but all I can say about that is be careful with what you eat in Cuba.

One cool thing to see in Holguin is de la cruz. It´s a big cross on top of a mountain, where people come to pray. There are two ways to get there. Either by car or the 1000 step stairway which streches up on the mouintain. I wanted to try the stairs but beacause of my condition we took the car, i know, a bit weak, but next time I´ll do the walk.

One day Mike decided to buy a dog, so he could have someone to guard his house when it´s finished. It´s a concrete house, outside of Holguin. I wonder when that will finish? The dog got the name Rocco, and he looks like, well, take a look at the pictures and decide for yourselves.

So to sum up Holguin. It´s a lot smaller than Havana, but everything is cheaper and the people more relaxed. Not as much to do here compared to Havana but it´s smaller so thats the main reason. Close to Playa Guardalavaca, which is a big tourist area. Nice and cheap casas, I stayed at 2 different ones and they were both ok. Be careful with what you eat. A big cool stairway almost to heaven.

So if you want to see a normal little town in Cuba, and everyday life there and you´re not so sensitive about low standard living areas, Holguin is the place. If you go to Cuba and have some extra time or going to the playa, stop by in Holguin for a night or two and check in at Casa Mary or Casa Rosa. It´s nice to have experianced it.

Now back to Havana for one night and then to my next destination, Cancun, Mexico for only one night before I go back to LA and Lake Elsinore and Freefly camp skydiving for two weeks. Thats gonna be awsome!

So until next time my friends, Hasta Luego.... True Love / David