Breakfast was about the same as at the last casa though I indulged in the bread and honey since it was already laid out and this hostess did not offer onions in the “omlette” which I missed. We had a little time for editing photos which I enjoyed.
Then we hopped in the van for a trip to Valle Prehistorica, a park with lots of old statues of dinosaurs, mastadons and such. I found the texture of their sides most interesting to photograph but thought I might come up with something artistic using the more creative software and here a couple of examples using Topaz Glow. Possib
ilities still abound. I did some motion blurs with the horses and they almost look real but I need to take more time to work on them. I’m pretty
sure at this point Lionel was scratching his head as to what to do with us and I too was ready to leave Santiago and move on.
Next up was a trip to a car museum. Unfortunately most of the cars were victims of very bad paint jobs and far from complete restorations. Bu
t old car abstracts are one of my favorite things and the brilliant colors, though inexpertly applied did add interest to my photos.
Back to Santiago for lunch where we had our first truly disastrous meal. Some in the group had requested something light as we had been having large meals for lunch and dinner every day. First the local guide could not find the restaurant. The service was slow, the guy making out with his girlfriend on a couch turned out to be the owner, three people never got their meals, I never got my water and worst of all the restroom was out of order. Once again, the ordering was guess and by gosh. My Crepe with Jambon y queso turned out pretty well, though it didn’t seem all that light to me, at least I got food.
Some people in the group had expressed an interest in photographing sports so, after a short rest back at the casas, we headed out to a boxing gym to do some shots of fighters wo
rking out. It was interesting but not my style in the long run. Though I did get some decent shots. What I will ever do with them I have no idea.
We stopped to buy bottled water on the way home and the van ran over a broken bottle. David, bless his heart, tried to get us home before the tire went flat but didn’t make it. We could see the Cathedral from where we were and offered to walk home but Lionel, said no, just wait. As always, Santiago offered up some colorful images while we were waiting.
In case you ever wondered how many photographers 
it takes to change a flat tire the answer is 9. One to take the picture and eight to watch. It’s also helpful if you have a couple of Cubans, one to supervise and one to do the actual work. It turned out David had never changed a tire before but he got through it in spite of all the “help”.
Our farewell dinner in Santiago made up for lunch. A private restaurant in an old home with lots of wood paneling which had no doubt been very grand in its day. I had the lamb and it came with real potatoes, yeah! The flan was the best I have ever had. Lionel and Dr. Norm sprang for wine to test whether Chilean or Spanish wine is better. I preferred the Spanish but don’t tell Lionel. In general wine is hard to come by in Cuba and relatively expensive when you find it.