Well, here it is, our beloved and faithful companion, rain. With each passing mile from Trinidad to Santa Clara was getting more darker and in the end the rain finally caught us when we were walking to our casa. And no, it wasn’t just a quick shower, but it rained for almost 2 whole days, so our plans literally fall in water.
Nevertheless, we manage to see the statue of Che Guevara, his mausoleum was closed due to rain or moisture until next sunny day. Cuban logic 😁 You all probably know this person, if not from elsewhere, you definitely saw him on a shirt worn by one of your classmates in high school. Che is still worshiped as a god in Cuba; in honor of him, they named streets, build statues, post jumbo posters along the highway with his portrait and his famous slogan Hasta la Victoria siempre! The story about him is complex, so we will not talk about it… but you can always check some history textbooks if you are interested in those stories.
Santa Clara is after the Havana second largest student’s city on the island. Many young people successfully resist country’s closeness and conservatism. In the city, as they say in Lonely Planet, is even miss transvestite and metal festival… the only music we heard so far was salsa, so it is hard to imagine that some Cubans start to headbanging on metal music.
City also have one of the largest and most famous cigar factories on the island, called Fabrica de Tabacos Constantino Perez Carrodegua, workers here twist cigars with incredible speed and they produce around 15.000 of those per day. Some of the most famous cigars like Cohiba, Montecristo, Guantanamera and others are made here. Employees should be extremely careful, because each cigar is weighed, measure and even checked if it can be smoked, before they pack them. Workers work here for 8 hours a day and all the time their associate read them newspaper, books or just play them some music. Tickets for a factory cost 4 CUC per person, the guided tour then last about 20 minutes. We would also attach some photos here, but it is forbidden to photograph and film inside. Unfortunately.
Until now we were pleasantly surprised over the casas in Cuba, but in Santa Clara we didn’t had a lucky hand. The location was excellent, but there was a neighbour, who had a rooster tied up on a terrace. In addition, this rooster started to crow each morning at 3 am and did not stop until 7 or 8 am. This really sucked.
Of course, the last day sun finally get up and this was just about time, because we are going to the sandy beach in Varadero. Leisure mode is on.
S & B
