I finally arrived at Santiago De Cuba at 6am after a gruelling 12 hour overnight bus ride from Santa Clara. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to get myself a bottle of rum before boarding the bus so I only managed to catch a couple of hours sleep.
After some confusion about my bags I was collected at the bus station by the Casa. I checked in, had breakfast then set out for a walk before it got too hot. Something I noticed instantly was that this end of the island has a lot more inhabitants originating from Jamacia, so I was stopped constantly to bump fists and chat with rastas along the way.
I was stopped by a rickety old man along my trail who offered me everything from a Casa Particular, to girls, cigars, gambling, drugs, or anything I desired. He was really hard to understand and pretty annoying so when I could finally get a word in I politely took his card and said I would contact him.
Not even 2 minutes later I was approached by this guy, who’s name is Hohare. His english was more audible and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He ended up giving me a small tour of the area we were in and told me how he had traveled to several countries to play chess tournaments, so after the tour he took me back to his place to meet his family and play a few games of chess. After kicking my arse 3 times and a few rum’s he insisted I had to stay for some food, but by this point I was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep I had on the bus and it was getting pretty freaking hot. I promised to return later in the evening to say hello and have a drink.
After a siesta I went for an evening walk. I was invited to drink and eat with several more locals, stopped by a doctor and his 5 year old son and the father asked if I could ask his son some questions to practice his english (the second time that exact scenario has happened actually). I was also asked by a waiter in a restaurant if it would be possible for me to photograph him, and use social networking to find him a wife in Australia so he could work in a hospital there (he has studied to become a doctor for the past 5 years).
Then I returned for some dinner at my Casa Particular and a siesta. When I wake up its 2am, shit. Sorry Hohare. Now I think my jet lag has returned. Dagnammit.
