Hershey Train

So this past weekend the plan was to go to Isla de la Juventud (the Isle of Youth) which is of the southern coast of Cuba. Unfortunately, there was a significant price hike in September for ferry tickets. They went from being 17 CUC each way for both the bus to the ferry and the ferry to the island to being 50 CUC each way for just the ferry. So we basically decided that it was a little ridiculous and therefore attempted to get tickets in Cuban pesos despite no guarantee. However in typical Cuban fashion our carnets (temporary resident cards) could not be used at the location we were at but instead could only be used across the city at another bus station. We were then told that it was highly unlikely that we could get tickets and that we should have booked ferry tickets a month ago. After this fiasco we thought it was best if we gave up and just planned a last minute day trip.
Last Friday we therefore took a mini trip to Matanzas and Varadero. Our journey began at 7:30am when we left for the Hershey Train. The Hershey Train was built by you guessed it the Hershey Chocolate Company around 1920 and was used to travel between Casablanca (across the bay from Havana) to Matanzas, the next port city east of Havana. Of course along the way there is a small village called Hershey where a series of gardens were built by the company. Today the train is the only electric train in Cuba and still uses the old train cars. Unfortunately these train cars have not been restored to their former beauty and remain in disarray. The train ride is supposed to take about three hours give or take a few hours. The train pulled into the station which consisted of a few small benches and a platform, looking as if it was probably best if we did not ride it. Being in Cuba we obviously took the risk and decided adventure was the theme of the day (we had no idea how adventurous it would be). As we boarded we realized that the two train cars were really not enough for the number of people on the train. Between us we had 2 seats and therefore we were forced to share them or stand. Within the first 15 minutes the train clamored to a hasty stop. The workers immediately moved to where the two cars connected and looked up towards the electric lines ahead. It was not clear what had exactly happened but we got the feeling it was not a good thing. One of the workers asked if anyone had a knife. Now we all thought that if anyone had a knife that it would a pocket knife. Why would have otherwise? We were therefore shocked when an old man sitting in front of us volunteered his kitchen cleaver, which was conveniently tucked in a sheaf in his pants. Interesting choice of tool to carry, a machete we could understand but a kitchen knife seems a little strange even for Cuba. Minutes later this knife had somehow saved the train and we noisily continued our journey. As the train continued it looked as if the back car was about to become detached from the front car. It shook from side to side as we traveled. I think we were all glad to be in the front car. About an hour and a half later, and a few seat switches we arrived in the dusty town of Hershey. Sadly there were no roller coasters or boxes of Hershey bars to meet us. Suddenly the worker who had miraculous fixed the train told everyone to get off the train and to wait because our train was being retired and a new train would come in a few minutes. So everyone evacuated the train only to sit on the few benches and wait. Now remember we are in Cuba and a few minutes can be anything from a few minutes to a few hours. As we sat there many Cubans who were riding the train left the platform to we could only assume hitchhike the rest of the way. Since the theme of the day was adventure we decided to wait. A short time later (one hour) a new train arrived. Only one car which appeared to be an old subway car, as there were a series of doors on the sides which slide open with the push of a button, had arrived. We all climbed aboard to continue the journey. As we continued down the tracks a number of interesting things occurred: Someone fell onto the moving train (it was strange), a man with a few machetes tied to his belt came on, a man with potato sack pants appeared, and finally produce and chickens joined us for the ride. As we stood near the door we started to hear clucking and glanced over to a rice bag which a young man was carrying. After a few minutes he opened the bag to reveal a fighting cock which obviously needed air. The next hour on the train involved us hoping that the rooster did not somehow escape the bag and attack us. The mix of people and things on the train made it one interesting ride. Finally we arrived in Matanzas at just about 1:30pm. I was definitely relieved to get off the train and to have arrived without any large incident.
As we walked through Matanzas looking for the guagua (public bus) to Varadero we happened to come across a runaway bus which crashed into a building about twenty yards in front of us. The whole thing happened in slow motion. The empty bus rolled down the small hill with a man, I could only assume was the conductor, ran towards it. Just as the bus was about to hit, the man jumped inside in hopes of preventing the inevitable crash. He failed and the bus hit the corner of the building. As the man backed it up, a rather large chunk of plaster had been removed from the building, but the bus remained untouched. This incident just added to our already very eventful day. We finally made it to the bus where we had to talk our way on. We obviously appear to be tourists and therefore were not allowed on the bus; fortunately we were able to use our carnets to gain access. As we stood on the bus we realized that we had no idea when to get off. Varadero is a rather large peninsula which juts into the Atlantic. It is one of the largest tourist areas in Cuba and is rumored to have the best beaches. Eventually, only after most of the Cubans had gotten off we decided to get off the bus. We needed to find the bus station in order to buy tickets home, so we eventually found a hotel where we could get directions. We learned that it was about 3km back towards Matanzas. We realized that it would be best to just play on the beach for an hour and then head towards to bus station via taxi to go home. As we walked onto the beach I couldn’t help but think that it looked almost the same as Playas del Este (the beaches near Havana). The area was clearly more developed and covered in European and Canadian tourists, and the sand was finer, but other than that it was essentially our beach. A slight disappointment, since I was expecting something that would put our beach to shame. After our hour we went to the bus station which turned out to be only about ten blocks away. As we waited for the bus a young man approached us wanting to know if we wanted a ride back to Havana. We at first agreed to go with him but then his ‘ride’ never showed up and we decided to take the last bus back to Havana at 6. We boarded the bus and without incident arrived back home about 2.5 hours later. It was a long, hilarious, and adventurous day, but we were glad to be back in Havana.