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Awoke early in the morning to the sounds of cockerels and tractors passing by. After breakfast we walked to the local primary school and denoted the pens we had bought - communication was difficult with the teacher we met due to the language barrier but she appeared to be pleased with our donation. Then caught a taxi to Pinar del Rio, 27km south, the private taxis are big business in Cuba as the public transport is so poor, they are usually the same price or cheaper than the tourist bus. We'd intended to hire a private car and head further west to a secluded bay (Playa de Maria Gorda - Fat Maria's beach) for a couple of days but there was only one place to rent cars and his rates were more than we could afford and he wasn't willing to negotiate. Our plans changed and we checked into a recommended casa particular and set out to explore the town.
Our afternoon exploration took in the rum factory and local shops - where we purchased a compilation of typical Cuban music and arranged for a private taxi to take us to Habana tomorrow at less than the cost of the tourist bus. We had another good eveing meal prepared at the casa and then took off for the casa del la musica for a night of Cuban music and dance. The music was African based and influenced by the santeria religion with strong singing, drumming and percusion and dancing all very impressive. The locals were out for good time and insisted that we got up to dance - not too impressive but quite amusing.
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