Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Mesoamerica 2019 - Day Eleven,Santa Clara


This is our last day of our guided tour in Cuba. What a great experience. I have learned so much. I have extolled the praises of our guide, LÍvan, I know frequently but he has been such a wealth of knowledge and so open about what was good and bad about Cuba (which is like all places right? Good and bad.) I’d have to rate him at the top of any list of guides we’ve experienced.

Today Wife was hurting from the climb up the tower yesterday and the long after lunch walk so we wanted to take it easy. After a few more pictures in Trinidad de Cuba, we headed for the inland town of Santa Clara. Once again we were driving through the Cuban countryside and through very ‘non-tourist’ towns. The combination of things that they have in Cuba (like free healthcare for all) and don’t have (much in the way of private transportation, people using so much horsepower for work and transportation, people constantly hitching rides all over the country to get around) makes you very aware that this is a different place.

Santa Clara is the site of the last major battle of the revolution led by Che Guevara against the forces of General Batista which culminated in the success of the revolution. It is also the site his mausoleum and memorial. You will see when I get in a position to post pictures, that the ideas of the revolution are still strongly extolled throughout the countryside. But here in Santa Clara, the full force of the importance of the revolution to Cuba today is felt.

We didn’t spend a whole lot of at the site. Wife and I are pretty tired and we had a three hour drive back to Havana. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we fly to Mexico City. After Cuba, I think it is going to seem like going back to normal!

1 comment:

alexis said...

sounds like you will both sleep well on the plane!