Camaguey

We had very little time in this city, just enough to get a sense of it. It is the artistic centre of the country and has a focus on the classics: ballet, painting, theatre. It is certainly the most wealthy city we have been to and the status of women is different. They drive taxis, ride around on bikes and just seem more able to transact daily business. Camaguey is different to other cities because, as our tour guide explained, the life of the city is inside the houses not out on the streets.

Juan Carlos, our tour guide was hilarious and told many jokes, some of which got lost in translation, some of which mystified us. He offered to take us to a comedy club and sit and translate each joke from Spanish into English for us, I was tempted because it was such a bizarre concept, no one else was even interested in trying it. He went to a fantastic old bar with a tattooed toilet and hand basin. There is a guy who sits outside the toilet who seems employed solely to open and close the door.

The absolute highlight is that we got to visit the home-gallery-studio of Joel Javier. He was adorable, the house was amazing and the art was gorgeous. Up to that point in Cuba, I had not seen anything, modern, traditional, craft or art that really grabbed me; but his stuff was really wonderful. So, I parted with a lighter wallet and a heavier bag. Getting the export permit was an ordeal in itself, but well worth the experience.