Che Guevara Mausoleum Santa Clara 16-2-20
Ernesto Guevara was an Argentinian who met Fidel Castro and through his skills behind the Cuban revolutionary movement rose to second in command and of course became world famous for the overthrow of the Government. He remains honoured in Cuba and this morning we visited his mausoleum. Santa Clara was important as this fell to the revolutionaries at the very end of 1958 and the head of the previous government fled the country the next day. Guevara then took various political positions but returned to direct conflict in the Congo in 1965, where there was no wish to fight by the citizens. During 1966-7 he was developing a guerrilla army in Bolivia being captured on 7 October 1967 and executed two days later. In 1997 his remains were removed from Bolivia and laid to rest at the Santa Clara Mausoleum.
Statue of Liberty of Remedios 16-2-20
Despite the antipathy to the US in some respects there are interesting nods to their near but much larger neighbour. The main parliament building in Havana reflects the style of the Capitol building in Washington and in Remedios there is a local version of the Statue of Liberty to reflect the freedom of the people following the revolution in Cuba. Remedios may be the second oldest Spanish settlement on the island with evidence of existing dating back to 1514.
Tren Blindado 16-2-20
From the coach we sped past the Tren Blindado hence this appalling shot of a view which I was did not previously record. We are nearing the end of our holiday and the hotels have been generally acceptable. This one had a problem with noise given the rooms were above the public area – but we still managed to sleep most nights and have generally been very looked after throughout.
A slight disclaimer, this has been written over 6 years after the journey concerned so is very much based around the photographs taken on the day.