Traffic

Today was an interesting and far more upbeat day in Playa Larga in comparison to yesterday. I have to tell you that it is considered winter here at present, but it's over 30 degrees every day, it only drops down to about 25 late afternoon, and today I even managed to see some lightening after sunset, but no rain yet. What? Winter? I am led to believe that this is not tourist season down here where I am, but it hasn't seemed to stop the Western Europeans from coming. Having said that, German winter currently is probably a lot worse than this is. I seem to also be the only solo traveler on the island. It does seem people come in twos, whether partners or just friends. In the place I am currently sitting having dinner there are two tables of four and four tables of two....and one of three, my new neighbors, who I haven't yet met. Today I met a man called Miguel who has a taxi business, taking people anywhere they want to go, Havana, Santa Clara, Santiago De Cuba. It's called a share taxi and the fare is split by how many are in the car, the more there are, the less you pay...and I guess one has to draw a line somewhere in that equation. He drives a big old American car, so I also guess it's a comfortable four across the back seat... He told me all sorts of interesting stuff about Cuba and is quite a linguist. He spoke French, German, Spanish, Italian and English. I love that. People who have been so controlled for so long here have still managed to learn so much and progress themselves in so many ways through their own devices. He didn't have email though, which was odd. He assured me that the way I was going, towards Trinidad was beautiful and safe for wild camping on the beach. The manner in which Cuban immigration keep tabs on where the tourists are, through the control over the Casa Particulares taking all ones details, whenever one stays at one, was also quite interesting, and so they generally know where all their visitors are all the time...unless one goes off the grid like I plan to do.

Later I met another man called Julio. He rode up next to me on the equivalent of a Dutch 'Oumasfiets' and started chatting to me. He showed me a cafeteria where I could get cheap beer and food and we chatted in our limited ways about life in Cuba, his businesses and bicycles. These two individuals really opitimised the Cuban spirit for me, although with my sceptical African guardedness, always on the look out for an underlying side trick, but to my complete and utter glee, one never materialized. He had a ten and a twenty rand note in his wallet, adorned with Madibas face, from a friend in South Africa. He told me he had spent some time in Angola too, probably during our bush war. Amazing to think that at the time I was doing National Service we were possibly enemies who would have killed each other without thought, but here we are, 30 odd years later, randomly chatting as friends in some far away land. The world sure is amazing, and that just highlights how stupid wars are, and indeed people who set them off. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, soaking up much needed rays. My arms and a portion of my legs are brown, somewhere from my knees to around a third of the way up my calves. The rest is in need of some Vitamin Sunshine. It's amazing how one feels so much healthier with a good dose of sun on ones body, but thankfully I had, and used sunscreen, otherwise may have been paying the price for that tomorrow. Wait, I thought it was winter? The job is half done, so tomorrow I will dig in again and try it once more. The beach sand is harder than ours and the sea is like a tepid bath and looks like cola tonic. Apparently it has something to do with a certain plant in the bay which colors the water. There are numerous palm trees for some shade if one so chooses. I tried a bit of meditation, but the cross legged thing didn't make for such good walking afterwards, so will need to practice that a bit still....the crossed legs, not the emptying of my mind, that bit was easy! I am actually really enjoying this part of Cuba and feel good about my decision to stay here longer, incredible how that just came to me without any consciousness at all. It goes to show one should really just trust the universe and it will bring you what you need and deserve, depending on the purity of your heart and the purpose of your journey at the time. Faith is always associated with religious connotations but I assure you this is not the case. My faith and that of a person who believes in God are the same thing, they are just labeled very differently and I don't need to waste my Sunday mornings, showing other people that I have some. My hair and beard are nearly long enough for putting beads and other artifacts in, perhaps dreads, perhaps a man bun...just to make those who know me well enough, cringe at the thought. I will definitely put a picture of that up on Facebook when it's all good, platted, 'bunned-up' and ready. Love and light all you lovelies...I miss you all. Everybody dies not everybody lives, make sure that you have at least one parrot and a shiny mushroom at one point in life, fried, not grilled and on a 1 Dollar pizza...