The first of the seven villages founded by the Spaniards was Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa, which was founded in 1511-12 and it was the first capital and archbishopric of Cuba. It's currently known as Baracoa, the town's name comes from an aboriginal word meaning presence of sea.
We came in Baracoa after being in Santiago de Cuba and we immediately liked this place. It’s quieter and the second evening we already had a street feast. We had here a great time and it’s definitely better to visit Baracoa then Santiago. Especially if you like to hike, you have here a lot of opportunities.
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Besides Baracoa itself, you can do some nice hikes in Yumuri and El Junci. These places are an hidden secret for most people.
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We wanted to take the bus to go on a hike in Yumiri, but asked a guy in a jeep if he could take us 7 into his jeep and that was no problem. We drove with him on a hilly road and always when he went downhill he shut off the engine to spare fuel. I will add more in a travelog about our experience.
Yumiri has a special meaning: in the time of the Spaniards, the original inhabitants the Indians were their slaves. A lot of them didn't like this way of life, which was totally different from their normal free life. They took their own life by throwing themselves from the rocks into the dept of the valley with the yell: Yumiri on their lips. This means something like I die or I'm free. I didn't find this translation in any dictionary.
And then you also have the table mountain El Junci, you can see him already from the harbour, but you can also go there and take a hike to the top. We almost succeded to find the top on our own, but .. we didn't. (read the whole story in my travelog)
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By Lucy is an casa particular. It's an very big house with lots of rooms and because the rooms are big they are also very cool in the hot weather.
She is also an very friendly lady and is always smiling and you will also have the opertunity to dance the salsa there.
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The Rumobos: In the evening we go to the Rumbos, the official bar of the tourist service. The band is already playing and there is a very good atmosphere here. We had good fun in this place.
An anecdote: in the Rumbos of Baracoa, we see again the European girl that we saw yesterday morning on that second bus to Baracoa. She has already a Cuban friend sitting next to her, seemingly the big love in her life. We call her Carla, because Carla is the feminine for Karl and with that an idea is born. (Karl also had some girlfriends during this trip) But she's not alone, we saw more women tourist hanging out with Cuban men and also the other way around, men tourists hanging out with young Cuban girls. Karl says this evening goodbye to his girlfriend who's studying in Scandinavia.
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I can certainly recommand going on a hike in Yumuri and El Junci.
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Published on Saturday February 21th, 2004
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