Within two hours of sitting on the grass outside Barracoa airport we had been fed chocolate from the factory in town, given a lesson in Espanol and had the low down on the best beaches, bars and casas in town. Barracoa is the oldest settlement in Cuba and my favorite by far. It is small, about 50 000 people and with narrow streets running down to the ocean. We danced salsa and ate fish minutes out of the ocean. We soon found out that buying individual Cuba Libres was ridiculous when for $5 you can buy a full bottle of excellent ron and a litre of cola! El Ranchon was the busiest nightclub in town, perched on the side of the hill about 150 steps (risky business after a few Cuba Libres!) Everyone here is born dancing and they are all incredibly patient with foreigners born with two left feet! The next day I was shown the beach at the end of town and drank coconut milk freshly macheted in front of me (with rum and lemon naturally). We walked to the Playa Blanca and ate cucurucha - a local blend of honey, coconut, mango and banana - wrapped up in banana leaf like an icecream cone. There is so much food here - I was invited to a family home for dinner - incredibly fresh fish, rice, beans and fried banana chips .. then more salsa to try and negate the effects of the overwhelming hospitality. The next day I caught the bus out to Playa Maguana .. and drank Malta - a non alcoholic drink that tastes of malt and honey. I promised my Ylena - my casa mama that I would be back ... and I will ...
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