SANTA MARTHA

I don't have a lot to tell you about Santa Martha.

I originally thought that it was a suburb of Varadero.

It is in a way since it is on the West end of the bridge that joins Varadero to the main island of Cuba.

There are few stores in Santa Martha and not many more residences.

I thought that being so close, Santa Martha would be the bedroom for the people that work in Varadero. But, no. Most of the workers in Varadero commute much further. Large buses carry the people, standing, packed like sardines in a can, to towns such as Boca de Camarioca, Carbonera, and Cardenas.

I hired a small taxi to take me through Santa Martha.

MOTORCYCLE TAXI THAT I CALLED `LADY BUGS'

THE CAB DRIVER STOPED AT HER HOME IN CARDENAS,
ABOUT A 15 MINUTE RIDE FROM SANTA MARTHA.
HER HUSBAND IS WORKING UNDER HIS TAXI
WHILE HER SON SWEEPS THE DOORWAY

The cabs don't generally leave Varadero and it took a bit of sign language, and my poor Spanish, to make the young lady understand that I wanted to visit Santa Martha.

As it wasn't the heart of tourist season the barricades had been removed from the bridge and the few guards that would normally check people going across the bridge simply waved us on.

Within a few short minutes we had taken a side street and traversed the town, out to the water treatment plant,

SIDES STREETS IN SANTA MARTHA

MY REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR ON THE LADYBUG

MAIN STREET IN SANTA MARTHA

THE MAIN STREET THROUGH SANTA MARTHA	THE MAIN STREET IS THE HIGHWAY TO CARDENAS
COLOURFUL HOMES.

and back to the main highway.

CORN HARVESTING MACHINE
AS IN MEXICO, CORN IS A STAPLE CROP

ASHPHALT, CONDI, CRUDE??
I IMAGINE THIS TANKER HAULS SOME TYPE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCT

Santa Martha's main claim to fame is its oil industry. Though it doesn't have a refinery it has large storage facilities and a large oil field.

My driver suggested I might wish to visit the next town down the road and, with little prompting, I agreed to go to Cardenas.