"Chilled" Remedios by tobhamor

We arrived in Remedios hot and dusty and were directed to Casa Barcelona where Haydee took us in and fed us icy mango juice. What nicer introduction to a town could we expect?

The town was buzzing with anticipation of its birthday festival.
We sat on the square with rum cocktails at sunset and watched the world go by.

Synchronised acrobatics

There are some fantastic people in Remedios -
Haydee and Juan Carlos, our hosts at Casa Barcelona;
the English-speaking guy who works in the secure car park (sorry we didn't catch his name);
the quality control guy at the cigar factory who gave us the tour;
all the children who smiled at us without actually pestering us for presents;
even the guy in the barber coat who tried to sell us cigars while we were having our cocktails was amable.

Pony cycles for hire

The fiesta was taking place all day and all over town.
In the central square the kiddies could have rides on hire bicycles or take a seat for a goat cart ride. It looked like fun, with the promise of some candy floss to come after.
In the evening in a corner of the main square there was dancing.
Amanda and I wandered down, thinking about having a go.
Then we saw how the locals moved, and walked away, feeling embarassed for ourselves and envious of the locals who moved with such freedom and grace and speed.