I was trying not to end on a negative note yesterday, but we were going to Cienfuegos for one day and ended up here for three already. We were running out of money, had no place to go really, and no way to get there if we did. When we went to bed last night we were basically stranded here, but I tried to not let it get to me and told myself that sometimes you just have to float on a breeze.
When we got up today, Camillo and Daysi basically saved us from disaster. They made us a nice breakfast, cleaned up the table, and then Daysi sat down at the kitchen table and said "OK, my office is open." We were trying to go to Viñales, because we already had a place there on Friday and thought maybe we could go a day early. Not so much. Daysi called everyone she knew there, and then called everyone they knew, and they were all full. No rooms anywhere. Her friend told her that 20 tourists slept in the park last night. I'm thinking if we had to sleep in the park I would probably hear about that at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and every other family gathering for the rest of my life. So to make a long story short, Daysi got us a place in Havana tomorrow, and a ride, we're going to stay here another night, and we go to Viñales on Friday. All doable on our budget if we don't spent more than $25 a day.
Let me add that Shari has been totally cool with everything so far. It could be argued that she is somewhat high maintenance, but she hasn't complained about one thing so far. OK, maybe no hot water in the shower, but that's totally reasonable. No, her attitude has pretty much been that she's not gonna panic about anything if I don't panic. She is totally rolling with everything. And I'm doing my best not to panic.
So with that problem finally solved, Camillo took us to a different Western Union and the girl there was much friendlier. She said they could do it two hours, easily, and gave him the info. Now it's hard to believe I'm telling the truth on this, but there is one spot in the center of the street in the center of town that you can get internet. So we went and stood there, and Shari sent her parents a text to see if they could send us some money. We walked around a little and then walked back to the spot to see if they answered. We sent them the info then walked around a little and then back to the spot to see if they answered. Then we walked around a little more and went back to the spot to see if it was sent. Sure, it sounds a little crazy now that I'm writing it down.
Well, we finally got the text but had to go back and get Daysi, because you could only send money to a Cuban and they had to have a valid ID, and apparently she was the only one in our little group that met both requirements. It was totally cute, she changed her clothes and was a little nervous. When they gave her the money, she wouldn't even touch it. Keep in mind it was more than a year's salary for her.
Now, basically, all our problems had been solved before lunch. It wasn't the trip we wanted, but it was the trip we had. Shari couldn't wait to buy souvenirs and I couldn't wait to get mojitos. And turns out we got plenty of both. We hit a couple stores in town, and then sat at a picnic table at a beachfront bar for a few hours drinking mojitos.
Our hosts wanted to make us dinner, and when we got back Daysi had laid out quite a spread. It is amazing, really, how much they do with how little they have. And Camilo had homemade mojitos with mint he grew on his porch, so we sat and talked and ate with our new friends for the rest of the night.
And I noticed I had a little cough right before bedtime.
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