Santa Clara and the infamous “Mausoleo Che” could be compared to what the St. Peter Basilica in Rome is for the Catholics and Mecca is for Muslims: A sacred place for Socialists. We spent our first day in Santa Clara walking to the mausoleum, about 20 minutes outside town, which is guarded by armed soldiers 24 hours a day. Beside the impressive statue and the remains of Che and his comrades, there is also a very interesting museum with a lot of great pictures (yes, there a lot more than just one!) and items such as his inhalator and weapons. The museum offers a very personal and intimate insight on Che and his time in Cuba. Among my personal favorites was a picture of a very surprised looking Che whith his mouth wide open while eating a sandwich. Another great one of him was taking up in the mountains of Sierra Maestra when one of his comrads was pulling a bad tooth out of Che’s mouth.
May 3, 2007, Santa Clara to Trinidad,
Before we left Santa Clare to go to Trinidad we went to the place where Che and his comrades derailed a train which ultimately led to the victory of the Revolutionaries. Feels great to experience the place first hand where such an important event took place.
Trinidad offers fantastic Spanish colonial architecture and was rightfully declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. The cobblestone streets can be a bit hard to walk on, but we got used to it after some time. As we were exhausted after the past few days of hectic travelling we decided to take it easy, enjoyed a lovely sunset above Trinidad and spent the evening smoking cigars and drinking.
