Saturday was the only day we ventured off the site. A really big deal is the excursions that are available. The tour companies go to great lengths to plan tours--not necessarily meaningful tours but rather those that will sell well--such as swimming with dolphins. Most are clearly marked as being not recommended for those with mobility issues, but we found one that advertised itself as being one that would cover the importance of the sugar industry to the economy of Cuba. The information was interesting, and mostly provided during the bus ride back onto the mainland. But when seen overall, the tour was a bit of a mish-mash of places and concepts. Regardless, we had a great day and saw some things that we wouldn't necessarily have seen otherwise. Our first stop ( Not counting the military check-point that checks traffic going on and off the causeway--a little scary) was a, now closed, sugar mill. The main market for Cuban sugar was Russia, and that market disappeared with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1998. It was such an important market, for may other things as well, that the economy of Cuba was decimated. This was the main impetus for the concentration on tourism that we now see, but that took several years to develop.
Here we were first treated to a a drink of "sugar water", which we saw being squeezed from sugar cane in a device that looked much like the wringer of a wringer washer but on a slightly larger scale. The cane was put through by hand. Then we saw a video about the history of slavery and such, before heading over to the actual de-commissioned mill that is now a museum.
To get there we had to cross a railway track that is still in use. While the mill has been de-commissioned, it still houses a huge storage tank for molasses--which are used in the distilling of rum. There was a train backing into the site along the track and while we watched it hit the main support of a large over head sign. Not too clear in the picture but there was damage to both the train and the support. And we got to see problem solving by committee of five men, at full volume and with much arm movement--all in Spanish
The museum wasn't really that interesting. Started with statues of more primitive methods, and then we were shown all sorts of equipment that was just sitting there--most of which was manufactured in Erie Iron Works
Then a bit of a walk across the site to the Railway Museum. Many old steam engines. I remembered Daddy telling us about the steam engines at Pointe du Bois, and saying that they were usually so well made that they would never wear out as long as they were used. Only rust and dis-use could destroy them. Most of what we saw was no longer running.
Finally with much noise and smoke our train arrived.
The three cars were open with just a couple of rails to protect us. And us included a couple of toddlers.
Our trip was through the country side for about 32 Km, to the next town. It was a ricked-y ride. The rails were just set into gravel--no railway ties for this country! Along the way were Cuban houses quite typical for the area we were in. Mainly one story, and what we might consider as dilapidated sheds. But then I think of the old kitchen at the lake and the building before we put in power and water--and we were happy and made out fine. The houses in towns are much the same but right beside each other in tight rows, and usually a little better finished--paint or a substance like stucco. Sometimes the better ones are two story, but often with two families living there.
The other town, Remedios-once we reached it, was a very old town--and quite colonial in appearance. We were dropped off at a cigar store and walked through a two block street market before ending up in a bar. You can see David buying beer--in cans--for us. You can see that even this regular building was ope air.
But the main reason to stop here was --ta-da--a washroom!
There was a huge town square with this church on one side. I'm not sure of this but I believe our guide said that this was the first church on the island, but that doesn't make sense to me, and he may have meant the first in that province.
Here is the view of the square from in front of the bar . The red roof you see in the middle is the bandstand
The rest of the trip was not much. We were taken back to Cayo Sta. Marie, to one of the other resorts, where we had lunch in the main buffet. Then we were taken into the resort Cigar Bar, and shown how to cut, light, and care for a cigar. But actually, for three bus loads, the room was so big and dark, that no-one could see anything much. I would rather be shown how a cigar was actually made (is the term rolled??). But we did come home with 2 cigars and I scored an empty cigar box. And then back to our resort for a swim before supper.
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