We arrived at the bus station by tricycle for our first time on a Viazul bus … a long journey of 5.5hrs … so fortunately the bus was comfortable and the roads reasonable!
We drove eastwards, along the line of the Sierra del Escambray mountains until Sancti Spiritus where they stopped, and from here on the country was completely flat, with grazing and agricultural land, farms and the odd town. We stopped halfway for 30 minutes to stretch our legs and arrived in Camaguey at 15.30. A taxi collected us and took us to CasaAlta, where Orlando and his wife, both professors, were waiting for us in their lovely colonial home and showed us our huge comfortable room. Obviously fans of modern art they have a picture by Wilfred Lam, a famous Cuban artist born in 1902, on the wall in the lounge.
They prepared us a lovely meal of eggs, prawns, salad and rice and beans, and later we had a couple of mojitos while listening to the band at the Case de Trova.
Camaguey has a maze of narrow cobbled streets, built in an attempt to confuse marauding pirates who plagued the rich city, including Henry Morgan – the terror of the Caribbean seas – who actually occupied the city for several days and locked the town elders in the cathedral to starve them into revealing where there riches were hidden.
There are a couple of churches, each with creation legends. One day a cart got stuck in the mud and in an attempt to free it, a box fell off and smashed revealing a statue of the Virgin and Iglesias de la Soldad was built on the very spot.
As for Iglesias Nuestra Senora de la Merced, it just emerged one day, shimmering from the lake, complete with priest beckoning from the portal! It stands in a plaza with a ceiba tree outside.
The town’s main social centre is Parque Ignacio Agramente, named after one of the local heroes of the first War of Independence with the Spanish and the palm trees in each corner were planted as a secret tribute to him and three of his compatriots.
On one side of the plaza is the Casa de la Diversidad, yet another pretty colonial building!
We also wandered through Plaza de Los Trabajadores …
… to Plaza de San Juan de Dios, a very pretty square surrounded with pretty buildings, a church and the old Hospital de San Juan de Dios, now a museum.
There is also quite an arty vibe in town with an annual film festival which explains cine everywhere …
… and studios and galleries, including Magdiel which had huge wooden sculptures including a musical box and something a little ruder. Unfortunately even the little hummingbird was $250 so did not become part of my souvenir collection!
Have you spotted the pots? Tinajones are symbols of the city and can be seen everywhere, in parks, gardens and courtyards. These large jars up to two metres tall are made of local clay and were introduced by Catalonian immigrants for water collection and storing food.
They were first used in Camaguey to collect water beneath gutters during a water shortage, and soon every home had one, and size and quality started to matter as they became status symbols.
We have had less than a day here are we are back on the bus this afternoon … eastwards again!.
Off Travelling Together 