Cuba
La Media Legua

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    • Day 8

      Days 8 & 9: breakfast at Trinity's

      December 8, 2019 in Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      A colectivo takes me the 1 1/2 hour run to Trinidad. This one has additional sideways seating behind the passenger row. The inscription reads "May God multiply everything that you wish". In this spirit, because the roads in the town centre are too bumpy for transport, the driver walks me to the casa particular. And what a casa it is! In this Colonial mansion the ceilings are over twice the height of a person and the rooms are stacked with all kinds of antique appliances (see typewriter). Anita and her husband are charming hosts. Breakfast is served on the balcony with a fine view of the old town and the distant Caribbean. And it's as healthy as it gets with a wealth of tropical fruits---bananas, pineapple, papaya, and guayaba (guava), full of seeds but the pulpy juice served separately is delicious. No missing out on one's daily five here.

      Trinidad was a 16th century backwater until a sugar boom in the 18th century. The cobbled streets of the old centre are a bit chocolate boxey for some tastes but the street life is active. There's a lot of pride in the African heritage from descendants of the plantation workers and the thumping drums from santeria ceremonies is hard to resist. So are the ice creams served by these ladies in green (although their companion on the right seems camera-shy). Oblivious to everything except their game, these domino players (domineros in Spanish?) choose a shady spot.
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    • Day 10

      Days 10 & 11: Trainspotting in Trinidad

      December 10, 2019 in Cuba ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      What better innocent pleasures are there than trainspotting? For 15 CUC/US$ there's a day rumbling along the line that connects the old sugar haciendas (estates) with Trinidad. The original early 20th century locomotives lie rusting in the goods yard. Today's engine runs on diesel but the way it rattles along the line at a contented 20 k.p.h. suggests more leisurely times. Not that it was like this for the cane cutters, who were mostly slaves. There's a steep climb up the 18th century observation tower which casts its shadow cast over the estate.

      Back in Trinidad, a discarded carton on the cobblestones reveals one of the chief end results of the sugar. The town has several tourist-friendly bars; I perch at a place with a lively 6-piece son band---increased to 7 when business is slow and the waiter joins the rhythm section. I decide to do some research on cocktails, starting with a mojito and going on with a cubata, a daiquiri and finally a Cuba libre. And the measures are not the thimblefuls you might get in a London bar; the barman sloshes it in regardless until the glass overflows. Fortunately it's only a couple of hundred yards to Anita's.

      The final photos show a traditional weaving style, a calm Caribbean beach a few miles out of Trinidad, and another rooftop scene at sunset. The four days in Trinidad have passed effortlessly.
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    • Day 3

      Cienfuegos and Trinidad de Cuba

      December 17, 2017 in Cuba

      We just arrived in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The ship is in the bay and we will take a tender into town. This morning we heard two very good lectures, one on Cuban music and dancing, and another on the revolution of Fidel Castro. After catching the tender, we passed through a health and passport scan before taking a bus to Trinidad. Our first stop in Trinidad was called Sugar Valley. We went into the landowner’s house, which has been converted into a museum. In the yard was an old sugar press. We saw a museum made from an old palace that belonged to the Cantore family before we had a rather compulsory visit to a lady’s house that doubled as an art museum. There infrastructure of Cuba is crumbling. In the town there is only water for an hour each day so while we were at the artist’s house no one could use the restroom. Finally we walked around the streets of Trinidad and had about 45 minutes free time. The plaza by the cathedral had a salsa band that was playing beautiful music. The whole town gathered and just sat around the plaza. Just before we went to the restaurant, a man came up to me, offered me a cigar and told me that he was a former Canadian who had moved to Santiago de Cuba. I was a little suspicious of him but very soon Glenda rescued me and told me that we had to meet with the group. A restaurant Los Conspiradores, or the conspirators, served us broiled snapper, vegetable soup, bruschetta and rice pudding. The restaurant was named for a series of meetings that were held there during the revolution of 1846. Finally we rode the bus back to Cienfuegos, got on the ship, cleaned up, and went to bed. Tomorrow we have an overnight trip to Havana.Read more

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