Day 6 - 1st March 2017 - Cienfuegos - Trinidad.

After the usual good breakfast we did a walking tour of Cienfuegos and then had coffee beside the theatre. Cienfuegos is called "The Pearl of the South" because of the beauty of its bay. The historical centre has been declared a national monument for its patrimonial value. In 1819 French colonists settled in Cienfuegos and the French influence is evident in its architecture. It even has an Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe - there is no other building of its kind in Cuba.

Palacio Ferrer

Collegio de San Lorenzo

Teatro Tomas Terry

Teatro Tomas Terry is a really grand old theatre. It opened in 1895 with a performance of Verdi's Aida.

Some of the famous who performed in Teatro Tomas Terry.

Jose Marti was a writer, poet and revolutionary philosopher.

Benny More was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. He composed a song called "Cienfuegos"  because of his love for the city. Alexis played it for us on our way there.

Palacio de Valle - a really beautiful building. Inside was very beautiful

After a cuba libre we boarded the bus for a journey of one hour fifty minutes to Trinidad. Following a really awful lunch (strange tasting cheese) we did a walking tour of Trinidad. This included a visit to the Santeria Priest. Charlotte and Sarah were a bit spooked by it but I found it really interesting.

As we were walking through the streets Alexis told us that there was a house that sold cigars at a good price (black market/grey market). Now Jim and I were not interested in buying cigars but we thought we would take a look anyway. We followed a man down a rickedy cobbled street and into a house. We were led into a bedroom where the bed was covered in cigars and large boxes of cigars. Some of the others were interested in buying but Sarah, who did want to buy cigars, wasn't with us. Nor was Charlotte. We went back up to the corner hoping to join them but Alex told us that Alexis had gone to get them into their B&B as neither was feeling well. We were told to wait there for Alexis to return. He was ages and when he got back he said Sarah was so ill she had to to the Clinic. We then had a further hour to wait before checking into our B&Bs so beer was needed to cool us down. It turned out that Sarah was dehydrated and had a chest infection. She remained in hospital for 5 hours where she got the best of treatment - no trolleys there. She had a nurse assigned to her and was taken somewhere else for an xray accompanied by the nurse. We caught up with Charlotte at the base house and then got checked in to our accommodation. Alexis had recommended Restaurant San Jose which is very popular in Trinidad. He warned us to get there around 6pm as it was usually very busy and didn't take reservations. However, Sarah wasn't out of hospital and we knew she would need to eat and we didn't want to go without her. Using my poor Spanish I managed to discover where the restaurant was and Jim and I decided to try and get a reservation for 7.30. The waiter wasn't keen until I explained how Sarah was ill. Then he gave me a card and wrote 7.30 on it. Sarah got back at 7.20 and we had just 10 minutes to wait for a table. Sarah and I had very good pizzas, Charlotte had paella and Jim had fish. The food was good there.

After dinner Sarah and Charlotte went to bed but we went off in search of nightlife and Jim, with his usual "good" sense of direction had me traipsing through Trinidad in search of the steps at Plaza Mayor. We finally found it and, in a state of exhaustion, I required sustenance from a strong cuba libre!

Day 5 28th February 2017 - Bay of Pigs and Cienfuegos

Today after a good breakfast we headed towards Cienfuegos taking in the Bay of Pigs en route. This was a long travel day and was quite an experience at our comfort stop! When we stopped for lunch there was a rush for the loo. The first disconcerting thing was a few men coming out of the ladies. I took my place in the queue behind Sarah and we gradually moved forward. When Sarah moved forward to be first in the queue I noticed her give an involuntary exclamation and wondered what had caused it. I soon discovered. There were 3 cubicles, sin puertas! Without doubt my worst nightmare but what could one do!!

During the journey Alexis told us lots about Cuba, its history, its economy, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara etc. He also showed us a video about Fidel Castro. There is a lot of uncertainty as to what will happen after the Castro family.

Seemingly it is more expensive for Cubans to rent a car or stay in a hotel than it is for tourists. And to buy the smallest old car could cost 70,000CUC - and this has to be paid in cash!

Before 1959 people could buy houses. Since 1960 there was no more sale of houses. Why? Just because. If you questioned it then you were against the revolution. in the 70s the government built eastern block constructions (lots derelict today). Then you could swap houses but only of the same size. Nowadays they can buy and sell houses. In Havana a very small old house is 100,000 to 200,000 CUC, again cash transaction. Can you imagine trying to hoard such an amount!

Cienfuegos is by the sea and the journey there was quite nice.

Modes of transport for Cubans to get to the sea.

We stopped at the Bay of Pigs for a swim but everyone found it too stony underfoot and I don't think anyone got in.

Then we went to the Giron Museum which shows the story of the landing of the Bay of Pigs. It was all in Spanish so I could understand very little of it.

When we got to Cienfuegos we were allocated our B&Bs. We were in Yanelis & Kik Hostal. I was relieved that we did not have to go upstairs but then we discovered that we had several flights to get to the breakfast room!

These photos are of the daughter of the house on her 15th birthday.
















We had dinner in Casa Chango. I was a bit surprised to see a huge religious statue in the entrance. I think it was Santa Barbara the Catholic saint associated with Chango in the Santeria or Afro-Cuban religion. Practitioners of Santeria might describe themselves as Catholic, attend Catholic masses, baptise their children as Catholic while also practising their African based religion in  their own homes. They know that the Catholic saints and their African based saints are not identical but they find similarities between them. Chango is the owner of fire, lightning, thunder and war. He is also the patron of music, drumming and dance. He represents male beauty and virility, passion and power. His colours are red and white. Chango is synchretised with Santa Barbara because she is perceived in the Catholic religion as a fiercely independent and brave woman holding a sword and wearing a crown and dressed usually in red and white.

The decor in Casa de Chango was red and white in keeping with its name. The music was good - I got a CD. Sarah thought the fellow in the centre was a mango!

Ever since our salsa lesson Andrea has been dancing - in restaurants, on the bus, on the beach, even on the street. Here Alexis took pity on her and partnered her. She has been great craic!

When we got back to our B&B we went up to the roof terrace and our hosts opened the bar so we could have some Cuba Libres. We had a great night's fun!