Cuba - day 5 (part 1).
Woke up and headed to the rooftop to eat breakfast and enjoy the sunrise.
I got a couple of nice pano shots too!
Click on the image to see it full size. Hopefully the quailty doesn't go to crap when LJ uploads it.
Anyway, all the images that I've posted here and more have been posted to my tumblr account so you can always go there.
We were able to have the option to leave our larger suitcases behind and just pack an overnight. The Hotel E Imperial hooked us up! Hurray! (I think I forgot to mention something about the water running out on one of the other nights. I'll edit that info back in when I get to transcribing my hand-written journal notes).
So onto the bus for the ride east, past Guantanamo, then south and east along the coast to Imías and then north on La Farola! The government under Batista may have made promises and started it but it's the revolution that got it done! In 1965 Baracoa was now accessible by land! I've been on some sketchier roads but this one definitely has some spots worth watching out for, especially if you're on a large bus. There are also bicyclists that use the road too! Some spots have very steep falls and some of the road is worn. It's going to be a road you want to use during the day time. Plus you get to see great views while cruising through the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains.
But first we stopped at an overlook that gave us a view of Guantanamo. Sometimes I wonder how the locals can be so nice and open to us when they find out we're from the USA. Granted we as individuals didn't open up the base and we as individuals aren't refusing to close it and give their land back and give them back the access to the water and the sea!
The town of Guantanamo is poor and because of our branding, tourists don't really flock there as they would other towns. But tourism is what they need to get some money flowing through.
We actually didn't make a stop in town on this trip, but drove onwards. Another day in the future we'd be visiting though!
That's the base in the distance and the mouth of the giant harbor that the locals don't have access to.
And once again onto the bus after a quick break and along the underdeveloped coast towards Imías !
I slept for most of the journey but during this part I woke up because it was so nice to see the blue of all that water!
After Imías the road turns north and heads into the mountains. We were given some gorgeous views and some slightly more sobering ones. Some of the road was a bit worn and we could see where the rockslides could ruin a commute. Also, we were able to see some traces of what Hurricane Matthew left behind.
Here's a video on the history of La Farola:
As we made our journey through the mountains, and climbing in altitude, the bus started to strugle so we stopped and gave it a little break. It was a nice pause and we were all able to get out and have a little walk around. We bought local items from the house we stopped in front of (water, cocoa butter pots, and yummy coconut wrapped in leaves). There was a fresh water stream and I got a photo of me in front of it. I look like a slob.
Almost there!
Photo Dump !! OMG I love Baracoa!!! AIEEE I wish we had more time to spend here. I would definitely come back to this place omfg. It's not that it was particularly luxurious, or anything. The place just had a feeling and although I took a lot of photos, it's not really something you can get out of my fast shots.
Lunch was pretty nice. I forget the name at the moment. oh. El Buen Sabor. It had all sorts of stickers on the window for Yelp, n Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor n stuff. Then we ended up meeting our hosts for the night and visited our casa particulares for a little siesta before the scheduled evening activities!
I got a couple of nice pano shots too!
Click on the image to see it full size. Hopefully the quailty doesn't go to crap when LJ uploads it.
Anyway, all the images that I've posted here and more have been posted to my tumblr account so you can always go there.
We were able to have the option to leave our larger suitcases behind and just pack an overnight. The Hotel E Imperial hooked us up! Hurray! (I think I forgot to mention something about the water running out on one of the other nights. I'll edit that info back in when I get to transcribing my hand-written journal notes).
So onto the bus for the ride east, past Guantanamo, then south and east along the coast to Imías and then north on La Farola! The government under Batista may have made promises and started it but it's the revolution that got it done! In 1965 Baracoa was now accessible by land! I've been on some sketchier roads but this one definitely has some spots worth watching out for, especially if you're on a large bus. There are also bicyclists that use the road too! Some spots have very steep falls and some of the road is worn. It's going to be a road you want to use during the day time. Plus you get to see great views while cruising through the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains.
But first we stopped at an overlook that gave us a view of Guantanamo. Sometimes I wonder how the locals can be so nice and open to us when they find out we're from the USA. Granted we as individuals didn't open up the base and we as individuals aren't refusing to close it and give their land back and give them back the access to the water and the sea!
The town of Guantanamo is poor and because of our branding, tourists don't really flock there as they would other towns. But tourism is what they need to get some money flowing through.
We actually didn't make a stop in town on this trip, but drove onwards. Another day in the future we'd be visiting though!
That's the base in the distance and the mouth of the giant harbor that the locals don't have access to.
And once again onto the bus after a quick break and along the underdeveloped coast towards Imías !
I slept for most of the journey but during this part I woke up because it was so nice to see the blue of all that water!
After Imías the road turns north and heads into the mountains. We were given some gorgeous views and some slightly more sobering ones. Some of the road was a bit worn and we could see where the rockslides could ruin a commute. Also, we were able to see some traces of what Hurricane Matthew left behind.
Here's a video on the history of La Farola:
Click to view
As we made our journey through the mountains, and climbing in altitude, the bus started to strugle so we stopped and gave it a little break. It was a nice pause and we were all able to get out and have a little walk around. We bought local items from the house we stopped in front of (water, cocoa butter pots, and yummy coconut wrapped in leaves). There was a fresh water stream and I got a photo of me in front of it. I look like a slob.
Almost there!
Photo Dump !! OMG I love Baracoa!!! AIEEE I wish we had more time to spend here. I would definitely come back to this place omfg. It's not that it was particularly luxurious, or anything. The place just had a feeling and although I took a lot of photos, it's not really something you can get out of my fast shots.
Lunch was pretty nice. I forget the name at the moment. oh. El Buen Sabor. It had all sorts of stickers on the window for Yelp, n Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor n stuff. Then we ended up meeting our hosts for the night and visited our casa particulares for a little siesta before the scheduled evening activities!
