There is really only one reason most people visit Santa Clara and that's to see the Che Guevara memorial. The town itself is pleasant enough, although nothing special.
Catching a bus at the terminal in Havana, the ticket lady asks if I have somewhere to stay in Santa Clara. I have barely said no when she produces an address and tells me that I'll be picked up at the bus station.
Following the three hour journey true to form I can see someone holding a piece of paper with my name scrawled on.
The Che memorial is two kilometres out of the city centre and includes a large bronze statue of Che, a museum about his life and a mausoleum where his remains are buried. Nearby is the eternal flame lit by Castro in 1997 when Che's body was recovered from a secret mass grave in Bolivia and returned to Cuba. The mausoleum is respectfully done. In Cuba Che is the embodiment of third world freedom. Whatever political leanings you may have, it's difficult not to feel affection for such an icon.
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