If you ever make it to Holguin, there really is no good excuse not to visit Gibara. Gibara is the cutest little town, only about 20 miles northeast from Holguin.

The surrounding area is gorgeous and the town is absolutely adorable. According to Wikipedia, it was Christopher Columbus who stated, upon setting foot off the shores of Gibara: “it is the most beautiful land that human eyes saw.” He then quickly proceeded to annihilate the entire native population.

The town is well maintained and constantly under improvement, mostly thanks to the film festival, which takes place here every year.

It is the International Festival of Poor Cinema. Now, even though it may sound like “poor cinema” means “horrible”, it actually means low budget… It usually takes place at the end of April. We weren’t there for the festival. The town was quiet and not very crowded during our stay.

This picturesque town sits on a little bay.

It’s small and walkable.

I stayed in one great casa with Mtn Val and Nedene and Jo stayed in another cute centrally located casa. Stuart found his own accommodations in town as well. There are plenty of casas here, because of the demand during the film festival.

There is a nice walkway along the shore and some beaches.

And lots of statues!

I really enjoyed my stay here. I’m sorry we were only here for one night! It seems like a very relaxing little town, which would be perfect for a waterfront vacation. No big resorts in the immediate vicinity, which makes it even nicer.