Days: 154
Total distance travelled: 33,214.3 kilometres (20,630 miles)
We had suspicions that we’d be met at Camaguey’s bus terminal by someone representing the accommodation we’d been told to seek by our hosts back in Trinidad.
40 minutes later however, as we stood waiting for an apparently indecisive local who couldn’t decide if Wednesday or Friday was her best day to travel (we were in the queue for the Viazul ticket office, wanting to reserve tickets for the following morning), we wondered if they’d have given up, assuming we’d opted for elsewhere.
We needn’t have worried.
With tickets confirmed for the following morning, we were met as we wandered out by a man bearing our names, or at least it was something similar to my name, ready to ferry us into town in an awaiting taxi.
True, the service wasn’t gratis, however at least we definitely knew we were headed to the right place!
By this stage, we were all pretty hungry, in truth, bordering on ravenous, also a little tired and more than likely all a little grumpy!
So off we set, seeking somewhere to satiate three appetites.
A nicely appointed glimpse at a grand past
Opportunities seemed few and in despair we settled on a place full of locals where we each ordered a pizza and a beer and sat, in anticipation, ready to gorge.
Beer and pizza, a truly wondrous combination back home, however here in Cuba they fall a little short of that mark.
The beer is okay, but the pizzas usually lack a few key elements, namely toppings!
Still, they filled a hole, and as it was a local haunt, all the prices were in local pesos and came in at around $3.50 Australian. Not bad for three pizzas and three beers!
We paid them $5.00 CUC, after some generous rounding up of the bill by our waitress, and used what was left of the afternoon to have a small explore of the town.
There wasn’t really a whole lot to see here, many of the other towns sporting much grander architecture and touristic sights.
That’s not to say the place was a waste of time, there was the odd gem tucked away in random locations, one of these being some of the best street art we’d ever seen!
True artistic talent!
Our travels did also help us find a place we would later return to for dinner, the only disappointment being that it also appeared to be the place we’d later find all of the patrons of the Cuban tour buses.
I guess with few options in town, everybody would ultimately gravitate here.
Camaguey still had some gritty charm of its own…
We spent some of the afternoon back at our casa, which was one of the more impressive was again another former colonial gem.
The eagerness with which our host pushed us to try and give her a good plug on Tripadvisor something of a surprise, as we hadn’t really imagined it having much of a presence/impact here given the cost of locals using the internet!
After much pleading, we promised to do so, but obviously not until we were back in a country that would more easily give us the privilege. Besides, we never promised we would be anything but honest when we did so (most of the hosts are so eager to please, it would be difficult to give a scathing review in any case).
More faded charm in our latest casa
Dinner in the plaza turned out to be another delicious affair, candlelit tables and three plates that we again shared between us, as usual washed down with a couple of nice cold beers was a pleasant way to round out the day.
A musical trio only added to the atmosphere.
It also meant we’d leave Camaguey with full stomachs and better memories than just pizza and beer, although as already noted, pizza and beer is usually a happy place!
Our final glimpse into Camaguey life: Some serious domino play!
Notes:
* Our Viazul coach to Camaguey cost $18.00 CUC per person (we made our reservation the day prior to, but paid on the morning of departure).
* Our room at Casa Signora Misleydi Fuente Pérez again cost us $25.00 CUC for three people.
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