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Cuba: Camagüey

A tinajón in the garden of the church of San Juan de Dios
An old tinajón in the garden of the church of San Juan de Dios

The casa of Ricardo and Gladys was as delightful and friendly as that of José and Daisy. The Cubans are such welcoming people, and Gladys's evening meals of pork, chicken and top quality home cooking were simply delicious. Without a doubt, eating in private houses is the way to go.

Nuestra Señora de la Soledad church, Camagüey
The ancient brickwork of the Nuestra Señora de la Soledad church

Plazas and Casas

A dust-covered statue inside the church of El Sagrado Corazón de Jesus
A dust-covered statue oversees the renovation work in the neo-gothic church of El Sagrado Corazón de Jesus

Camagüey does have its charms, though, even if it wasn't quite enough to hijack our itinerary. Its main draw card for tourists is the proliferation of plazas dotted throughout the city, some of which are rather pleasant and some of which are completely forgettable. We spent a very hot morning and afternoon wandering round the best of them, taking a long break at lunch in a pretty little restaurant which emptied of tourists as soon as we arrived, only to be replaced by what I can only assume were local girls having photographic makeovers.

Plaza Carmen, Camagüey
Plaza Carmen is clean, painted and a typical example of a Camagüey plaza – there's no shelter from the sun
A view over Camagüey
The view north over Camagüey from the roof of the church of San Juan de Dios

Pros and Cons

A street in Camagüey
The streets of Camagüey

One of the biggest problems with Camagüey's squares is that they're empty, turning them into ovens at midday and giving you nowhere to pause. It's almost as if they have been designed to concentrate the heat; trees would transform them into oases, but trees just aren't the thing round here (though not because of a lack of water, as palms thrive happily all over Cuba). Some of the squares, such as the Plaza San Juan de Dios, have cafés with tables outside, but this is the exception, and even in San Juan it was far too hot to sit outside in the shimmering cobbles, so we ducked inside and sat out the back. Cuba excels in hidden little restaurants in pretty backyard settings, but this means the squares themselves are rarely places to enjoy; this is not the country for sitting in squares, sipping a coffee and watching the world go by. The world is generally inside, sweltering, and I can only assume that things get worse in the summer.

The necropolis of Santa Cristo del Buen Viaje
The graves in the necropolis of Santa Cristo del Buen Viaje go on forever...
The necropolis of Santa Cristo del Buen Viaje
At times the necropolis of Santa Cristo del Buen Viaje looks like a miniature city
A statues in the necropolis of Santa Cristo del Buen Viaje
Some of the graves in the necroplis are works of art