Santa Clara

We were expecting our driver at 10.00 but he appeared at 9.00 and we were very happy with this arrangement as it was a 4 hour drive to Santa Clara. It was our driver from yesterday, a very pleasant person but almost no English. The journey was mostly on the main highway, making very good progress except for slowing down for the odd bump in the road. It was very quiet and we have found all our drivers to be very cautious, especially at junctions. We did stop at a cafe/ road stop on the way where we had very cheap coffee, good toilets and souvenir shops. The Hotel America in Santa Clara was pleasant and roomy. We were advised where to look for a restaurant and booked it for later. We wandered round the main sites which Santa Clara is famous for. Che Guevara is particularly remembered here as he planned the attack against Batista's troops here. The Battle of Santa Clara involved the derailing of a troop train with a bulldozer. Four of the carriages and the bulldozer can still be seen alongside the present day railway line. The soldiers fled and that was the beginning of the end for the Batista regime.

A dip in the pool appealed but there were about 20 young men watching football, Manchester City v Barcelona in the Champions League. They were all very excited, noisy and dominating the pool once the match was over. Most of them were supporting Barcelona who won the match.

The restaurant was fine though the music did not match up to previous experiences. There was a large Dutch group who were celebrating their last night together in Cuba.