Two nights in GIBARA report

I landed in Holguin, met up with my friend and decided right away that I wanted to visit Gibara again, after 2 years.

There were two or three things that stuck in me head about Gibara this trip. One was the breeze that shot off of the water and blew around the town seemingly at any time during the day or night. The feel and smell of the air was quite different compared to Santiago where we ended up near the end of my short one week trip. Santiago being about a 2.5 hour drive further south, on the Caribbean side, felt like a hot, sticky summer day even at the end of January compared to Gibara where at nighttime we had no choice but to wear long sleeves.

Something peculiar about Gibara was the fact that there seemed to be public telephones around very corner that we went. Sometimes 2 or 3 phones together in one location. Did the residents of Gibara at one time not have personal phones and had to duck outside to make a call? My Cuban comrade didn't seem to have an answer for it. Only a fraction of the phones actually worked though. It was a treat to be in a place like Gibara, where the usual people who made a living hustling tourists, seemed to be at a bare minimum.

After checking into the new Hotel Ordono (review later) we took a walk around, past the church, past the miniature Statue of Liberty monument replica, along the malecon and to Los Hermanos for lunch. This place gets some very high review ratings but we found the food to be not so special, although it came in large portions. After walking some more, we stumbled upon a joint called El Colonial where there was some live music, dancing and tasty cold beers.

For supper we ate at the Hotel Ordono restaurant which was extremely good. The hotel had a couple of gals in the lobby singing and playing some tunes on the guitar and keyboards. Myself and another tourist gent, gave them a tip after their performance, to which the girls seemed embarrassed to take and it took a while to convince them to accept it. This was their very first gig and the accolades of stardom were now upon them. That night we went with a Cuban couple to what was supposedly the only place open on a saturday night in this town, an outdoor disco behind the hostal Buena Vista on the waterfront. Although my comrade Ginger is a show dancer by trade, she was none too impressed. On way back to the hotel we noticed what seemed to be a big neighborhood party down by the boat docks with some makeshift lights and loud music. It was for young folk though and no cervesas were being served.

Free breakfast the next day was had at the hotel even though we came down past the 10 am scheduled finish time. Today it was some more walking and a hike up the steps to the look-out spot (sorry don't know the name). A blind guitar player serenaded in the bar and outside later while the rain started coming down. We sat outside, under a roof, drank some beers and did some dance and sing-a-long to his music. It was just down this upper road, where we found the restaurant where we would eat that night called "Vista Azul (Pelly). It had a great view of the town , the food was not bad but the soap-box love songs spouting out of the TV at high volume almost ruined it for me.

Gibara is a great little tranquil place. One of those "special little gems" of Cuba. The new Hotel Ordono is now one of my favourites in Cuba. It was surprisingly quite empty. I hope business picks up for them. I suggest anyone give it a try. Here is my review for the Hotel Ordono.

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g1826155-d3840074-r152011503-Hotel_Ordono-Gibara_Holguin_Province_Cuba.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT