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| Transport is provided in many | .. places by pairs of bullocks | ..pulling well laden carts, | The alternative being the horse |
Having seen what the road was like north from Baracoa, we decided to rake the slightly longer way to get to our next stop - Holguin.
Guantanamo wishes you a happy journey!
Past Guantanamo again and a nod to George W, then past Santiago (navigation was a bit fraught at times here) On to Bayanamo and north to Holguin. About 6 and a half hours of driving, and was our longest day's drive. The hotel at Holguin was 10 km or so outside the town, and was easy to find off the "ring road"
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| Hotel Mirador de Mirabe, | .at Holguin. Known for is drunk | ..donkey, which happily we did | ..not see |
We stayed at the Hotel Mirador de Mirabe on the outskirts of the city of Holguin, on top of a hill, with sweeping views over the valley below. 24 air-conditioned rooms and swimming pool. Again a strange Cuban hotel, but to be fair we only stayed one night and there was bad weather around
Its main selling point appears to be a donkey that gets drunk on beer fed to it by guests - I understand they are now on their 4th donkey with the same name. Happily we did not meet the donkey - he may be in between incarnations at the moment. The hotel has wonderful views over the valley below, and a big swimming pool
The bedroom was "drab" and one of those "modern" buildings that the Cubans have put up (badly) 20 years ago, and to be fair was maintained, but not what you would describe as somewhere to relax in... The rooms do not look out over the view, instead facing the jungle, which was inches from our window.
Dinner was passable - we were the only people eating. By breakfast a few more guests seem to have arrived, but the staff kept the blinds down and we were not able to enjoy the view.
My verdict is that it was fine for a one night transit stop (avoided going into the town and was easy to find) but I would not have like to have spent any longer there. Unlike many hotels we stayed at in Cuba, it lacked "charm"