Old FaithfulOld car, Caletón, Playa Larga. Matanzas, Cuba. When we returned around 1:30 my first task was to change money. I grabbed a tiny sandwich thinking that I didn't want to take to much time so that I could find a colectivo to Cienfuegos.  After a bit of waiting and asking around I realized that wasn't going to happen. I went back to the casa and left a note for my Italian friends suggesting we meet at the casa to go out for dinner. 

I walked back in the heat to the Kiki restaurant with the idea of having a coffee and relaxing for the afternoon. Much to my surprise, I found Giovanni and Delphina. I had my coffee while they had lunch. We spent a while there because it was very pleasant and they were enjoying the food. 

As we were leaving we made a reservation at the restaurant across the street for grilled lobster for dinner. We then walked down towards the end of the Caletón beach to relax. I found a guy doing massages on the beach, so I did 45 minutes for my back. Despite him telling me before we started that I want a strong massage, once he got me on the table he said that a strong massage was not good for the neck. I said I would prefer strong, and he attempted, but it was not very good and he didn't know his trigger points. 

We went around the corner from the beach to find piña coladas and discovered that the sand flies were just starting to bite, so we relocated into the restaurant. Giovanni is very inquisitive and talkative, and started talking to the chef, stuck his nose in the kitchen, and discovered some amazing lobsters. We were told that it would only cost 15 CUCs for a complete lobster dinner. We placed an order and Giovanni walked back to he other place to cancel. 

We were enjoying our drinks and talking, and eventually dinner was served. The lobster was prepared a la mariposa, split and spread out like a butterfly. They said it was 1 kilo for the tail, and it was huge, taking up ⅔ of the plate. I've never seen so much meat from one lobster! The only problem was that it was a bit tough and the natural flavor wasn't quite enough. Apparently it was cooked in butter, but I didn't taste much. 

As we were working our way through our lobsters, a group of musicians walked in and started to set up. After a few minutes they started playing, opening with Chang Chang. They did salsa cubana, son, and gurumba, or that's what I think the waiter told me. It was a lot of fun, and they were so enthusiastic. I shot some video, and realized as I was panning that the waiter was dancing with the customers and having a great time and was eventually joined by the chef. I took some stills as well. It was an awesome evening that I would have missed if I had found a ride to Cienfuegos. I love Cuba!