sloths go west: chocolate central

Baracoa harbour - in the whole of Cuba we never saw a boat with an engine - either because it's illegal or because they've all departed

After the arduous ride here, we decide to spend a few nights in Baracoa. The town was the first Spanish settlement on the island and is also thought to be the place Colombus first set foot. The town remained quite isolated, hemmed in by a mountain range through which a road was finally built in the 60's. In this area they grow bananas and cacao and when we cycle into town we pass the chocolate factory. It's not the stuff of Willy Wonka.

eating in a house-front restaurant called paladars, after a restaurant featuring in a popular Brazilian soap opera

beer colder than your ex's heart

The town is now a popular tourist destination for anyone willing to make the journey this far east and there's signs that the lovely old houses are being renovated, although, as with everywhere in Cuba, you really do feel like you're walking through an open museum. So many of the old towns feel like they are caught in a different epoch, not necessarily of the 1950's. Here the town might have looked much the same in the 1920's. Out by the sea wall are two hideous concrete appartment blocks being demolished. It's hard to know why these have not stood the test of time when all around are wooden houses in various states of decay. Last year's hurricane did hit this side of the island very hard, and we've been told the lack of fruit was caused by hurricane damage.

concrete appartments being demolished

more traditional houses

The main plaza is a small traingle connecting the church to a pedestrianised street. There's sometimes a crowd here, but that's because the town's telecom office is here and there's always a queue for internet cards. The only other crowds we see are outside the shops that have a chicken delivery. The small supermarkets all have a security guard inside the door. He's usually just minding people's bags and checking receipts when people leave. The assumption is everyone will shoplift if they get the chance. Presumably this is one hangover from the Special Period. Often shoppers open the door and just shout in "Hay pollo?" Is there chicken? But if there's chicken in the deep freezers then there is always a queue out the door.

music students perform in the main plaza

We find the best-stocked supermarket in Cuba here. This probably reflects the level of poverty in the town, more than good management or supply chain. Most of the products have come from Spain. So the puzzle is, how come some things get through the US economic embargo? The notion of good management is quickly dispelled. Unbelievably we discover in one fridge display, the place usually reserved for Le Vache Que Rit (or is it Le Vache Que Mourit?) and bright red and pink sausages of dubious provenance, an entire Grano Padana cheese. It is probably about 40kgs. Who in Cuba is going to buy Grano Padana cheese? Well, us, obviously. I ask the man behind the counter if I can buy 100gms. He smiles, laughs, and says no. No, you must buy the whole cheese. It's only 811 CUCs/dollars. So, who in Cuba is going to buy an entire Italian cheese that costs nearly three years average salary? A mystery we never resolved.

who will buy this cheese?

selling homemade cakes on the street

The town has an easy-going quiet rhythm. In mid-afternoon when it is hottest the town seems to doze. At night we can hear singing and bands playing from our rooftop balcony. But this isn't rumba or ha-cha-cha. It's gospel or rock and it's coming from a clutch of small churches dotted around the neighbourhood - Methodist, Baptist, evangelical. The congregations are not huge but they're all well-dressed.