The Heads adventure, first stop Matanzas and Cienfuego

The Melia Peninsula hotel were Amanda’s parents were staying was at the opposite end of the peninsula to the marina and as this is over 10 miles long our best option to get there was the open top bus which runs the entire length.  We weren’t exactly greeted with open arms by the hotel staff, it was a challenge to even make it past the gate house and we were limited to sitting in reception but after not seeing Amanda’s parents for over a year we were happy just to see them and catch up, we were even able to share some Christmas presents.

Dad with Cheers glass all th way from Boston

The next few days were spent locally in Varadero and Santa Marta, we ventured to a Paladar in Santa Marta – a restaurant served from someone’s house, where we all sampled a rum cocktail.

Salut

We then had a car hired for a week so that we could get out and about, our first trip was to Matanzas.  Varadero is in the province of Matanzas but the capital of the province is also has the same name.  On route we stopped at the Canimar River which is where the manatees live unfortunately no sign of them but we did meet a guy with a lovely Hawk which was more than happy to have it’s photo taken.

Dad made friend with a beautiful Hawk

River Canimar

We continued into Matanzas with no aim other than to see a bit of ordinary Cuban life.  Matanzas is a really busy city with lots going, so we spent half the day wandering around just absorbing the sights.

Lovely 1950´s car in Matanzas

Square in Matanzas

Matanzas is the known as the hanging city because of all the bridges and sits on the huge Matanzas Bay so there is lots of fishing activity.

One of the many bridges in Matanzas

Small fishing boats on the river

Fire Brigade in Matanzas

Look at the scaffolding!

The bike has an engine!

To top off the day we took the main coast road heading west and stopped at a fantastic view out to sea on one side and then over a beautiful valley full of palm trees.

We had an epic day out to Bay of Pigs and Cienfuego, the journey was almost indescribable due to the duration and the road conditions.  The first hurdle was driving through Cardenas which is a large town around 14 miles from Varadero. In the 1940’s  Cardenas was a vibrant city with 2 car ferries a day arriving from Miami with the rich Americans spending their money in the casinos, that time has long past but Cardenas is an interesting place to drive as the bikes and horse and carts out number the cars.

Main road in Cardenas

We were driving between villages on what was mapped as a main road but they werel full of pot holes with a larger number of bikes and fewer cars, often lined with sugar cane plantations or fields growing a variety of crops often with some elaborate irrigation but being farmed manually.

Sugar cane fields

The places we passed through like Perico, Maxima Gomez, Colon where usually the main street is around 1 mile long with a few cafes and fruit and veg stalls operating either out of people’s homes or on a cart at the side of the road. There would be small side streets leading from the main road although small they always seemed like a thriving community.

Playa Larga is at the northern end of the Bahia a Cochinos, there is very little there so we drove through quickly, at this point we had been driving for over 2 hours and we were keen to push on.  The road here runs along the coast on the Bay of Pigs which was the location for the CIA invasion of Cuba in 1961.  Playa Giron which is at the south end again is very small with a few houses, a hotel mainly for divers and a couple of restaurants/bars, plus a small museum which we did not have time to visit.

Next stop after another hour of bumpy road was Cienfuego, this is a UNESCO site and a very pretty town.  Lots of the buildings have been beautifully maintained and the village feels relaxed without too many people bothering you to buy from them.  The sailing club is quite a spectacular building although we never had a chance to actually go in.

Beautiful Plaza in Ciefuego, love the seats

Beautifully maintaim building along sea front in Cienfuego

Another cool car

 

Sailing Club in Cienfuego

View from Ciefuego

The drive had been worth the effort and the return journey was a race against time, again we passed through some lovely countryside, the view over to the mountains was fabulous and we passed over lots of little streams, occasionally with people bathing in them.

The last hour and half of the drive was done in the dark which is not recommended in Cuba, there are no street lights but the main hazard is the unlit people, bikes and horses and carts it is mayhem! Oh almost forgot the majority of the cars have very poor lights or they turn the lights off to conserve battery! It was pretty scary and we felt under pressure to get back as soon as possible.  One of the most interesting parts of the journey was a guy on a horse stopping the car in front on us, there were people and horse everywhere, someone had been knocked off the horse, so 3 guys grabbed the injuryed person and threw him into the back of the car and then all piled in behind him along with the person that was already in the back of the car so it was a bit of a squeeze, they then sped off in front of us to hospital. We were glad to reach Varadero with the non bumpy road and street lights!