We were all packed to start our journey to Jibacoa. The only thing left to do was shopping for some food in the morning, as we were told by our hosts that it is not that easy to get food around the campismo. Now I wish we did take advice a bit more literally. We did get a few things, but it turned out that even bread is difficult to come by in Jibacoa.

At 12 in the afternoon we took a taxi down to Casablanca train station, we actually had to explain to the taxi driver how to get there as he didn’t seem to have a clue. We made it there just five minutes before the train was due to leave. This train track was buit by a french chocolate company in order to improve sugar logistics from Cuba. Now it is just used as a passenger line connecting Havana and Matanzas.

To our great surprise and contradicting all of the guide books, the train, tiny thing with just one carriage, was already at the platform. We grabbed tickets and got in, the only foreigners there. The train stopped approximately every ten minutes in places which we were surprised had a station at all. At the stop where the sugar factory used to be we had a long 15 min break. At the platform people were selling food and drinks and nearly everyone on the train got a snack. At that stop we picked up quite a few school kids travelling back home. Everyone on the train was extremely friendly and it was really a nice experience.

When we arrived at Jibacoa we found ourselves practically in the middle of fields, hills and nothingness. To our luck a few school kids got out with us and showed us the direction we needed to go to reach the campismo. It was probably about 7 – 8 km away from the station which is a big distance if you have backpacks to carry. For about 15 min the only person we saw there was a guy on the horse whom we asked, how far is the campismo and he said, very reassuringly, far! For about 10 min we didn’t see anything and then there was a truck! They stopped and kindly offered us to climb in the back where normally tar was transported. This was our first hitchhiking experience in Cuba. They took us almost all the way to the sea. From there on we had to walk for about 2 km more. On the way we met a guy on a small motorbike who straight away offer us snorkeling equipment and also kindly took me to the camping site on the back of his bike, poor Alex had to walk.

It took us a bit of time to register and get keys for our cabana, as about another 20 people arrived with a bus just before us. When we got our little house we were pleased to find it neat clean and with working aircon. After settling down we went on to explore the local beach which was just perfect! The exhausting journey was really worth the first swim in the ocean.

Today we started our day with taking a walk through old Havana (Havana Vijeha) towards the port where we have spotted an internet access point the day before. On the way we found a very nice local restaurant with delicious ice-cream.
Our main mission of the day was finding out the name and location of a place which was recommended by the Cuba junky website, a paladar which is holding an open stage performance for locals on a roof top terrace every first Sunday of each month. In a short hour of internet we managed to locate the place and even updated the blog. Overall the internet experience wasn’t as bad as it is portrayed in the guide book.

From the port we took a taxi to Vedado where the paladar was located. The taxi driver turned out to be a real Cuban gentleman with smoky voice, sounded like he had a few cigars during his lifetime.

The open stage was brilliant, salsa, reggae-ton and even some stand-up comedy which unfortunately we couldn’t quite understand, great nonetheless. At the party rum, pineapple juice and even some food were provided free of charge, pretty amazing after all the tourist traps we have been through. There was a box where you could leave your contribution to the cancer research project. Apart from us there were only two other foreigners, a couple from Switzerland, who came with their Cuban friends. The place is really worth visiting!

After the show which finished at about 6 pm we took a walk through Vedado and on the way as I like staring a lot, I decided to stair through the fence of one of the buildings. The guard asked us what are we looking for, and we said nothing in particular, just wondering around. He turned out to be a very nice chap and explained to us that this building used to belong to a very rich Cuban who fled Cuba during the revolution and now this building is a cybernetics institute. He even suggested that we should think about studying in Cuba :) When we told him that we are looking for park Lennon, he recommended us a bar called yellow submarine. Unfortunately we nearly run out of money by the time we got to the bar, so we made a promise to return there when we are back in Havana. Instead we returned to, by now our favorite bar Madrigal for a nice evening cocktail.

Today we finished what we started by getting an unofficial 1950s Ford (with a guy who looked like Vin Diesel as the driver) to the travel agency where we finalised our booking for the campismo in Jibacoa for 80 CUC over 5 nights so that’s about €13 per night (two people) for a cabin with aircon, kitchen/living room, bathroom, bedroom with double, small covered terrace and breakfast included.

We then went directly to the iPhone repair shop where we got a quote for 20 CUC (€16) to swap out the module for the WiFi and speaker. The parts required were not in the store so they had to get it delivered. We decided to leave it for now but perhaps fix it when we come back to Havana. If its just a dodgy connection with the module, I might just try and fix it myself while im here.

Following that we took a taxi to the main train station in central Havana where we took some pictures and then headed towards the port where we found a market selling various goods and with access to the internet for 6 CUC (€5) / Hour! Pretty steep if you ask me. We carried on along the port until we got to the local ferry service that provides access to Casablanca and Havana Nueva. We took a ferry for 0.10 CUC (€0,08) over the harbour to Casablanca. We wanted to find out about departure times of the Hershey train which is the only electrified railway in Cuba. This would eventually take us to Jibacoa station where we will spend 5 nights from Monday in a campismo.

After finding out the information, we took a look around Casablanca and while doing so we asked a guy if there was anywhere to eat around here. He immediately said yes and grabbed his car to take us to a restaurant where he claimed he works at, which unfortunately happened to be right in the middle of a tourist spot very close to the fortifications on the east side of the harbor  The restaurant was nice but very expensive… well for us anyway. We decided to stay as I really needed to eat before I collapsed. We settled for a couple of starters as they were the cheapest items on the menu. Mushroom soup and a prawn cocktail with a bit of bread. Quality was ok, but not worth the price. All in all with drinks it set us back about 17 CUC (€14). On our way out we saw a local bar take away which would have been perfect for us for a fraction of the price we paid. Ahh well, you live and you learn.

We did a small tour around the outside of the fortifications and found a display of weapons supplied by the USSR in the good old days. Planes, rockets, AA Guns and many other items were on display. We got dismissed from taking closeups as we should have had a ticket to the fort which we didn’t have, so we quickly left and headed towards the casa de Che where he lived for a while. Opposite was also a huge monument called Cristo de La Havana. It was currently being renovated but the view from there over Havana was great.

In the evening we went back to the wonderful Castropol where we shared a glorious pizza and crab salad together. A perfect finish to a fulfilling day.