3 hours away from Vinales is the Dive Resort of Maria La Gorda. It’s almost the furthest west you can go on the island and to call it remote would be an understatement. I haven’t dived for 2 years but I’d heard the reefs here were good and it was a cheap day trip so why not. The boat only had to go out about 1km to the reef and we all geared up pretty quickly. Looking down I could see that it was special and when I jumped in and put my eyes under the water I couldn’t believe it, the visibility was insane. We all descended to about 25m, popping our ears and adjusting our buoyancy then leisurely floating around a huge coral wall amongst shoals of blue and yellow fish. When you dive normally visibility is reduced by suspended particles in the water and obviously the murkier it is the less you can see. Down here though it was pristinely clean and you could see for over 40m in places, which was very surreal – it felt like being in a fish tank more than the sea. Turning on my back I looked up at the waters surface, a shimmering blanket of silk with 8 sets of bubbles shooting 25m upwards like ethereal stacks of diamonds. It was so beautiful and when we were back on dry land I felt very grateful to have experienced it before it is overrun by hotels and dive centres. If this were in Thailand, Egypt or Australia it would be hugely popular. One dive master there said the diving here is the best he has ever known.
The next morning I awoke to the sound of a pig being slaughtered. When pigs get fed they make a similar noise so I presumed it was in fact feeding time but no, just 10m away 3 men were crouched around a large pig, one with an axe, chopping the animal into segments. I was curious to go over and watch but thought the sight of intestines being pulled out and a ribcage torn open might spoil breakfast. After a paid my bill for the last 4 days I said my goodbyes and my “nice to have met yous”, bought 10 cigars for £2.50 and was on my way to San Diego de Los Banos – “Cuba’s premier spa resort” where you can go for hot mud massages and brief soaks in thermal waters, rich in salty nutrients. I got a taxi there because there is no bus and the journey was grand. The scenery and mountain villages on the way were more beautiful than the Valle de Vinales itself, I thought, but not on the tourist circuit. I got dropped off at a nice casa in the spa town and very quickly went for a walk to acquaint myself, feeling relaxed and looking forward to 2, maybe 3 days of indulgence. As it was the whole complex was closed for the new years holiday so I was pretty gutted. Despondent and in a quandary I dragged my feet back to my room only to be accosted by a man called Luis, wearing a bright hat and brandishing a large set of binoculars – the combination making him look like a simple man, with dreams of wild adventures, explorations into the unknown. He said we could walk together to a nearby park I had read about. So we did and I had a really good day that made me forget all about the lack of mud baths and thermal waters. We drank copious amounts of neat rum and he was very willing to be photographed in the desolate remains of a once magnificent set of sculptural gardens – one was a relic of a Japanese garden and it must have been a wonderful place. We walked to a military restaurant up the hill – one of the nicest buildings I have ever seen, and up a spiral brick tower to the top where we looked around the hills through his binoculars. On the way back we stopped to listen to some impromptu music event that I did not understand and thought sounded offensive to ears. Really quite drunk we walked the 4km back to the village along the main road, hoping to get a lift but being unsuccessful the entire way. Partway we ran into a really nice couple (Tony y Barbara) and their newborn son Tonyquito. We talked about all sorts but mostly family and what I was doing in Cuba, and then I took a photo of them where we forked to our different destinations. They gave me their address to send them the photo one day – it was something along the lines of; Tony Manuel Gomez, half a mile from SD d Los Banos, Cuba. For the last stretch of the journey our conversation was reduced to drunken ramblings and singing. He asked me to sing something so I sang the Smiths-Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. I didn’t consciously choose such a moody song but I like singing it, and he couldn’t understand English anyway. He was so drunk he just joined in with some salsa-esque beat – not a good combo. That night I sat alone in the Hotel Mirador opposite the hot springs. I drank a Mojhito and I watched a small boy play with a balloon. Then I realised it wasn’t a balloon but a blown up condom. I laughed and went to bed.
The next day was New Years Eve and I had a sudden compulsion to return to Havana 3 days early and celebrate with my friends. There were no official buses so it was either pay 60-80 CUC for a taxi or hitchhike. So I chose the latter which turned out to be considerably easier and less ‘gritty’ than I had expected. I wanted to be shoved in the back of a rusty Cadillac or in a sidecar but it was much less cool than that. I ended up catching 2 local buses to the outskirts of Havana and a taxi to my house. But it was fun and my 5 days of independence were over in the blink of an eye. That afternoon, sitting back on the Malecon in the golden light of 4pm I felt a lot of love for Cuba and the people. I’m halfway through my time here and I still feel like I have a lot to learn. Its sunny and beautiful, a bit fucked up but very proud. Viva La Revolution!
