Today I took a break from diving to go for a half-day city tour. Four of us signed up and had a great driver named Fernando. Fernando served in the Military for 4 years. He was a transportation and intelligence specialist. He, unfortunately, damaged his back during a parachute accident so he has been doing tours ever since. He spent 3 years guiding the jeep tours up in the mountains so I felt like I was in safe hands. It was clear he was very well educated. His English was by far the best I’ve heard here in Cuba and he had a wealth of knowledge. Any question you asked he seemed to have a legitimate answer to. Dan was sitting up front and kept him entertained with questions, which actually turned out to be a very informative trip.
Santiago De Cuba has a very rich history. The hotel is located in the Sierra Mar valley, which was home to a lot of Pirates during its early days. The locals would help hide the pirates from the Spanish fleet. It had many shallow bays that gave the Pirates time to maneuver, coming ashore and hiding among locals before the Spanish army could find them. From the sounds of it, the locals were very helpful toward the Pirates and the local economy thrived on piracy. It explains a lot of what I witnessed throughout Santiago De Cuba. The mountains are also very famous as it is where Castro’s army hid out during the revolution.
Fernando took us to the Rum factory for a tour and tasting so that we could try some great Rum and also purchase Rum and Cigars. Sadly, due to Fidel Castro’s passing, the Rum factory was closed for mourning. There is no drinking in the city during this time. We got a brief history of the building. Just down the street was the storage warehouse, which was massive. It is actually the oldest Rum factory in the world. The first rum was produced there in the early 1700’s. Above the buildings, there were catwalks for transporting rum from building to building. I imagine this helps reduce clutter on the street and also reduces the chances of any of the rum going missing. We drove down a little bit down the street to a park where we saw various different types of architecture and the harbor which the Chinese are helping build for bringing in their massive transport ships. A very friendly local approached us trying to sell us Cigars but our Cigar expert Jared quickly pointed out all the flaws in the authenticity of the Cigars. Needless to say, we stayed clear. Fernando also helped to explain to the local that he is not going to let his clients buy fakes.
We took a scenic drive up the coast where we drove through a more industrial side of the city. It was really neat to see how self-sufficient Santiago De Cuba is. We passed everything you could imagine from refineries for fuel, to grain silos, and even cement factories. Along the way, we passed very new-looking houses and apartment buildings. Fernando explained that these were government subsidized housing as an effort to relocate people from dangerous areas such as places with little infostructure/health care and even moving people away from the sea to reduce the destruction hurricanes bring. The government covered 60% of the cost and the rest of the house price was deducted from their monthly earnings. He explained a bit about the economy informing us that people make roughly 30 CUC (30USD) a month salary and it is hardly enough to live. This has spawned a massive black market where people are selling goods on the side to build their wealth. Essentially you have a huge middle class growing from criminals making money from bootlegged items like cigars, rum, and other supplies.
As we made our way up the coast we stopped off at the beautiful Castillo De San Pedro De La Roca. This fortress was quite a spectacular sight. It had the most incredible view of the narrow bay that the Spanish navy occupied during the Spanish-American wars. It was a very well-protected fort. Unfortunately due to the narrow bay, it ended up backfiring on the Spanish as when the Spanish fleet tried to exit the bay, the American ships picked them off one by one. The fort was well preserved and the inside had been converted into a museum. We entered into the fort where we explored various sections. There were muskets, cannons, ammunitions, and various other artifacts on display from the Spanish-American war all the way to the days of the Buccaneers. An interesting fact, a lot of pirates were actually bi-sexual. All that time at Sea, they had to make due with what they had. There were 4 female Pirate Captains, two, which were known to be lesbians and the other two were suspected to have been bi-sexual. We learned briefly about Captain Morgan and other various historical pirates.
Our next stop was the famous San Juan Hill. This is where Teddy Roosevelt charged his army up the hill and thousands of men were slaughtered in an attempt to seize higher ground from the opposing Spanish Army. At the top of the hill, there were trenches dug by the Americans for defenses and monuments to commemorate both the Cuban and American’s who fought during this battle. There were plaques on the wall with the names of soldiers who lost their lives during this battle. A lookout post sat at top of the hill with cannons and monuments surrounding it. Short ways down near the road sat a large naval gun. It was pulled directly from one of the ships and mounted at the memorial. The size of the gun was massive. We were tight on time so we quickly headed off toward the downtown area of Santiago De Cuba.
Making our way through the city we came across the Bacardi family’s Palace. This was quite an impressive sight. It was a massive palace that faced the street and had very nice grounds. Out front sat a MIG-15 from the Korean war. It goes to show just how lavish this place was considering their decoration was a fighter jet on the lawn. As I was taking pictures, a local who had carved a small dolphin from the bark of the tree approached me. He handed me the dolphin and at first I refused knowing he was just looking for money. He insisted and started having a conversation with me. I heard Fernando honk the horn at me and at that time the local then asked me for 1CUC. I knew what was happening and honestly wasn’t too upset so I gladly handed it over and went on my way.
We made our way to the downtown core. A lot of the streets had been blocked off in preparation for the ceremony that will be held at the Cathedral for Fidel Castro on December 3rd. Fernando dropped us off and we arranged to meet back at the location in 30 minutes for our ride back to the resort. The 4 of us walked the streets; it was overwhelming at first as there was so much going on. From tons of locals flooding the streets to cars/scooters whipping up and down the streets, to the breathtaking architecture that brought the buildings to life. We made our way to the main square where there was a sea of students lined up to pay their respects to Castro. From what I could gather, they were entering one of the government buildings and paying tribute to Castro. I saw a lady selling roses so I imagine some people were laying down roses as a sign of respect. The Cathedral was right in the center of the Square. It was a very impressive sight and I would have loved to enter into it but due to the tight timing and the crazy amount of people at the square, it wasn’t possible. There must have easily been over 300 students lined up plus all the locals walking the streets. I must say it was a unique experience and for sure a once in a lifetime opportunity. You could tell just how much the people of Cuba praised and loved Fidel Castro. The way Fernando explained it to us was that Fidel was considered the Father of Cuba. He valued and gave birth the Cuban culture. Many consider Cuba to have been nonexistent until Castro came into power. Raúl, Fidel’s brother, was considered the “older brother” of Cuba. There was and still is a lot of loyalty among the Cuban people to the Castro name.
On our way back toward the resort, we passed a huge monument. Santiago is famous in Cuba as it is considered a very heroic City. The monument consisted of 23 large machetes in the ground with the commander on his horse. It is named Antonio Maceo Revolution Square. The statue was looking backward on his horse in the direction of the sun. It symbolized the light fighting the shadows, which I had thought was very poetic and creative. The 23 machetes symbolized March 23 1878, the date when the independence fight was renewed after the Protesta de Baraguá. After passing the monument, we headed through more apartments that were built by the Russians for workers in the 1970’s. Once Fernando pointed out that the Russians made them, it was very obvious. It looked like scenes buildings that you’d see in places like Chernobyl.
Our last sight to see before heading back to the hotel was the Cemetery where Fidel Castro will rest. It was closed off as they are preparing for the burial of Fidel Castro so we could only see it from a distance. Everyone was busy working away trying to repair and fix everything so that it would be perfect for the burial. I still can’t believe I was able to witness such a historic moment in Cuban history. It all seems very surreal.
Today was a very enlightening day and I feel like my brain was crammed packed with history of Santiago De Cuba. I apologize for the extremely long read but I really wanted to try share as much of the amazing experience as I could. I hope you enjoyed reading about it all and on that note, I’m heading off to bed. Tomorrow will be our last full day at the resort so I’m planning on getting in two more dives before heading home Wednesday afternoon. Until next time!