The bus is again over an hour late arriving in Holguin which makes our arrival in Bayamo equally late. Regardless the casa particulare arranged bici-taxi is waiting for us. Cost 3 CUC. Casa Hostal Bayamo is a clean, neat, family home on the second level of a shared building. A different family lives in the street-level apartment. Up steep narrow steps to the entry door, then steep narrow steps to our room on the 3rd floor. Not for everyone. The room is large enough, freshly painted and nicely decorated. The shower has a real shower head (!) with decent pressure yet tepid “hot”. 25 CUC / room / night. It’s dark outside and late-ish by the time we’re settled so locate a nearby restaurant for dinner and call it a night. Breakfast is decent, standard 5 CUC / pp. While the reservation website says it is located in the “heart of the city”, it’s not; the main street is a 10 minute walk. Again not a problem for us, however not for everyone and not as advertised.

It’s Saturday, the day Bayamo hosts a Fiesta de lo Cubania, per the Footprint travel guide. “The whole of General Garcia fills with stalls, ad hoc bars, pigs on spits and the restaurants all put tables on the boulevard.” (Guide printed Sept 2013.) It’s why we’re here, in this small low-key town on a Saturday.

Turns out this doesn’t happen anymore. Major bummer! Well.., we’re here, let’s see what there is to see.

Most of the main street, General Garcia, is an art-filled pedestrian street now, and the place locals come to do their weekend shopping. We walk the length of it to the central park at the end. Dotted around the park, locals show handicrafts for sale on small tables. Nothing of interest to us. We sit in a cafe drinking coffee to watch the morning unfold. One of the things that stands out is almost everyone is carrying an umbrella, and quite nice looking umbrellas, more for shade than for rain. We stand in line to enter several shops, mostly because I’m curious what’s available. There’s a line for every shop, some quite long, not because the store is full of people already but to keep the store relatively empty so that each shopper can be watched. And then bags and receipts are presented to the guard at the door before you can exit. One store sells toiletries, water, rum, crackers & cookies. Another offers clothes and shoes. A third fresh meat, eggs. A fourth bread, cakes and milk. And so on, each tienda offering a few items for sale. Only one is a touristy shop; arty dishes, cups, and those umbrellas. Aha! We stop for cold beers at one of the many restaurants and bars. We visit the Museo de Care (Museum of Wax), entry fee for foreigners 1 CUC pp, which is surprisingly interesting. Twenty or so amazingly life-like wax statues of important historical figures - you really get a sense of their personalities - are displayed in a small room. Each has a information plaque. Poet liberator, musicians, an actress / singer, even one of Hemingway. We’re their last mid-day customer so have the place to ourselves. Outside again we see that every single shop is closed and locked. They take their lunch siesta seriously here! With nothing more to see until late afternoon we walk back to the casa for a cool-down. That’s when Yillian, our hostess, tells Jerry about an orchestra concert tonight at 9pm. Their late-teen-aged daughter plays the oboe. We do not need tickets, just arrive at the location early enough to get a seat. After a leisurely dinner at La Bodega we join the crowd hovering outside while the orchestra warms up and practices behind closed doors. When the doors open, everyone rushes for the plastic chairs set in rows. We take two near the back close to a wall as it’s clear most concert attendees are family with cameras in hand and snapping away. When everyone has finally settled into seats, the two conductors for the evening are introduced. Clapping subsiding, a choral group assembles to the side of the orchestra. The program is unexpected; a score from a Harry Potter movie (Hedwigs Theme), Bond’s 007 Skyfall, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966 movie), a compilation of music from Pirates of the Caribbean, one from the Gladiator, and a bit of Fantasy of the Opera - two soloists, tenor in the requisite white-mask. Everyone gives the performers a standing-ovation at the end of the program then remain standing to talk with their neighbors and friends. An unexpected Bayamo treat.