Today we took a taxi to a beautiful beach; "Playa Maguana". Especially Gwen was craving for a day on the beach, and Greet and i surely felt like it as well. The way to and from the beach was also fenominal. Playa Maguana is located 20km outside Baracoa.

As soon as you leave Baracoa, nature here is overwhelming "Green – green – green". It all looks very ideal. Houses with thatched roofs surrounded by palmtrees and banana-trees... however- we don't réally have a clue how people really live, but it looks like " a paradise in the movies". You see ox-drivers, horseman, loads of bycicles... We get a vieuw over "El Yungue" and ride over the River "Rio Toa"...

We where afraid that this beach would be loaded with people, but there where only a handfull other tourists and locals and that was it. Ah, our own little paradise, just how we like it ;-)

Playa Maguana is a large beach with nice soft yellow sand, beautiful blue sea, surrounded by palmtrees...
Lucky us, a whole day of rest and relaxation! We chilled in the shade of a palmtree, did some reading (well i studied further in my diving course), cooled down with a swim, went for a little walk or stared endlessly at the waves of the sea...

An older Cuban man walks arround asks if we feel like eating some fresh 'pina" – pineapple, only 1cuc. Well, of course – "Si senor"! He goes and gets us a fresh large pineapple, takes a large knife he cuts the pine-apple in peaces and brings it on a little plate... "Grazias grazias senor". We are so spoiled, i'm ashamed, but the pine-apple is deliceous – the juice drips down my hands and elbows... Ah well, we just 'swim the sticky juice off'.

By the way, playa Maguana is a paradise for everyone... even for dogs, chickens and pigs!!

We have a lovely meal in our Casa; fish in a cream sauce of coconutmilk and tomatoes, rice, baked bananas and fresh tomatoes – mmm we are sooo aware that we are spoiled again. Food in Cuba is delicious, especially in the casas.

Tomorrow we are leaving in the direction of Santiago and from there to Trinidad... What a pitty, being in Baracoa is great. It would have been a pleasure to go to the Mountains, the national park, El Yungue & arround the River Toa...

So Baracoa is in my personal top 10 of most beautiful places around the World. If i ever come again, i will have to stay here 4 or 5 days...