A Cuban victory – we managed to get some cash out from the bank this morning. A great start to the day. We set off at a reasonable time towards Cienfuegos – south west of Havana.

Pretty good National Highway – 3 lanes each way– hard to stay awake though while driving and avoiding occasional potholes big enough to swallow the car because the road is flat and dead straight for kilometers on end.

About 150km out of Havana we stumbled across the town of Australia – no joke. 

A dry, hot missable place with a small stall selling trinkets and beer but no coffee (which the Lonely Planet book had teased us about). We took some obligatory photos ………

…… and then set off on  a detour south to Playa Larga. This small beachside town looked pretty dry, hot and miserable but after too many hours in the car we decided to stop. Opening the car door we were met with 34 degree heat but also the sound of loud Cuban music and we wandered down to find an amazingly cool Caribbean beach full of locals having a great time.

We then drove along the coast to Playa Giron - previously known as The Bay of Pigs, famous as the landing site of the 1400 exiled Cuban mercenaries sent in by the USA on April 15, 1961 during the attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. Castro, prewarned about the attack, easily defeated the invading force, strengthening his hero status in Cuba.

Playa Giron was a pretty unimpressive place but a needed stop for lunch. We found a local restaurant and the pizza looked good at $1.50 each so we sat down in the airconditioning. We are getting used to a Cuban trademark now - waiting. The pizza arrived about an hour later – but it was tasty. We made a quick trip through the local museum commemorating the Bay of Pigs fiasco – the propaganda was very entertaining but also a bit thought provoking - and then back on the road.

After driving for many kilometers over a red crusty road (I thought it was crushed seed pods from surrounding trees) we pulled over to have a photo stop at a beautiful Caribbean beach scene. We were quick to discover that the red crusty stuff on the bitumen was crushed crabs – my the millions. 

There were crabs everywhere - thickly coating pretty much everything in site. They are able to crawl up the walls of buildings and into the trees – pretty amazing. Jacqueline declined to go for a swim there!

We arrived in Cienfuegos late in the afternoon and after stopping to as.k about a dozen locals for directions (there are no street signs anywhere) we found our Casa Particulares. Casa’s are a Cuban specialty - private homes where locals rent out rooms in their houses for tourists – very much like B&Bs. 

When you pull up out the front they look like decrepit, run-down, abandoned dumps (mum seemed quite anxious) but we were met by Ibis and Pablo who showed us to very nice rooms – one for me and one for mum and Jacqueline. They were well appointed rooms (including aircon!) but there was only one bed in each. Mum and Jacqueline shared a double bed - Jacqueline slept like a log but I don’t think mum got much sleep………….

It has been REALLY hot and the beach beckoned for a swim. We set off to Playa Rancha Luna - about 15min along the coast - to a local beach for a swim. Best description is warm, salty, seaweed and stones - we are spoilt with our local beaches.

We had a nice walk through the town at dusk.

Dinner was arranged at a local family restaurant. A pothole ridden street with rundown house fronts and a small neon light identifying a long driveway to a restaurant – the sort of place we would never venture down on our own. The setting was unexpectedly superb, the food was similar – a real Cuban experience.

Charly has provided regular amusement including his literal discussions around swearing and insulting people in Spanish. Mum has learnt a few new phrases – I’m sure if you ask ,she will be delighted to fill you in – Thanks Charly!