Michael Gage

Cuba: Day 4

10 February 2007

Parque Céspedes, the main square in Santiago, from the roof of the Casa Granda Hotel. From left to right: Cathedral tower; a modern bank building; the oldest house in Santiago; and the town hall, with the balcony from which Castro announced victory of the Cuban Revolution and the birth of the new republic on 1 January 1959.

Mausoleum of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí, at Cementerio Santa Ifigenia. The changing of the guards takes place every half-an-hour. Numerous streets are named after Martí, as well as Havana’s international airport, and every town has a Plaza José Martí with a statue.

Lighthouse at the Citadel of San Pedro de la Roca.

Streets of Santiago de Cuba

Cuba: Day 3

09 February 2007

Valle de la Prehistoria

Cuba is a bit short of tourist attractions. Here’s a mammoth at the Valle de la Prehistoria near Santiago de Cuba. The mammoths are showing their age: the plaster is falling off, and you can see the chicken wire underneath. But perhaps that’s not surprising for a ten thousand-year-old animal.

National Motor Museum

Cuban music hero Benny Moré’s 1956 gold cadillac.

Santiago de Cuba

The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción from the roof of the Casa Granda Hotel.

Cuba: Day 2

Urban sketching in Cuba.

Guardalavaca: One of several places that claims to be where Columbus first landed on Cuba in 1492.

But even he was too late to get a sunbed.

Twenty-four hours trapped in an “all-inclusive hotel”... Armed guards patrol the boundaries... to keep the Cubans out, or the tourists in? Pool games: The overexcited compere exhorts the holidaymakers to “Scream for competitor Number Five!” I filled my water jar from the pool, and hid in the shade of the palms.

Guardalavaca harbour, looking south

Further along the beach, we reach the edge of the hotel complex...

Guardalavaca harbour, looking west

Escape! Past the guards, over the bridge, and into real Cuba. A last glance back at the hotel, now on the other side of the water.

Holguín, Parque Calixto García

So hot that even the cyclists need a sunshade.

Cuba: Day 1

08 February 2007

Urban sketching in Cuba.

On the beach

8 o’clock the first morning. Straight down to the beach for a first glimpse of the Caribbean: the blue sea and white sands at Guardalavaca. The name means “Save the cow”, supposedly a common cry from the days when pirates haunted this coast.

House and goats

Chicken crossing the road

Circulo Social

Volcanic rocks on the coast

Taíno village

Reconstruction of a pre-Columbian Indian houses. The large circular buildings (bohio) are made from straw and palm leaves, and each was home to several families.