Trinidad, Cuba

We left Cienfuegos and its thunder and lightning for Trinidad. We passed a few sugar cane plantations and drier fields of grazing cattle.

We had booked with Luis, Rafael in Havana had rung him to make sure he would be meeting us at the bus terminal. As the bus arrived up the cobbled streets of Trinidad I was able to spot Luis's casa and spotted him with a sign behind the chain fence at the bus terminal.

Luis lived on the ground floor with his wife, a doctor for the elderly, and his young children and parents. He took us up spiral stairs to a terrace and our room. It was a long room with three beds, TV and its own bathroom. At a separate entrance there was a second room but we were the only guests once again.

Our first trip was to change more Euros to see us through our final days in Cuba. It is preferable to wait in the smaller queues, in the towns  outside of Havana to do such necessary tasks. This bank was air conditioned and modern with a display of currency exchange rates that would not be out of place in Europe, and not a queue in sight.

We passed a modern French styled bakery that had an internet area to one side, a real internet cafe. We passed on the pastries as we are putting on weight but managed to send an email to our daughter which we had not been able to do elsewhere in Cuba.We checked our emails and found that life had carried on regardless without any emergencies.

The upper terrace where we had breakfast

Luis has a second terrace above our room and served us breakfast up there. By looking around we could tell he had skills in electrical work. He had infrared security cameras on the terrace and had adapted halogen light covers to take curly cfl lightbulbs and even had a street lamp pole on the upper terrace. When we finally got to chat to him he admitted to being an electrician. He said he had trained with 15 women and 5 men as the work in the factory was repetitive and light enough for women to do. He was happier to be running a casa while his wife worked as a doctor for geriatrics. He also had a taxi business so we did not see him that often.

Our long room

the terrace outside our room

In the city plaza dominated by the Santisina church we bumped into a large group of American tourists. They were a part of the first group of Americans to fly into Cienfuegos under the special tour groups negotiated with Obama. We chatted to some of the couples from Boston. They had flown in with American Airlines.

It was so nice to be in the plaza where there were no vehicles. There are many bars, cafes, and restaurants as well as several tourist shops. It is popular here to sell embroidered fabric and lace work.

It didn't take long to find the favoured spot in the shade of the arbour where the locals and tourists could get an internet connection.

The local retired men came out to smoke their cigars and ogle the young girls in skimpy gear until they had to head home for lunch.

Street food

Rafael has a few casa owners that he has never met but puts them in touch with people looking for guests outside Havana. He gave us the address of his friend Margarita as a back up if Luis did not show for us. We decided that we would visit her and say hello. She was very chuffed that we had called in. She was busy cleaning up the dust left by the tradesmen who were renovating her place so she could host more people. We had a lovely mango juice and a nice chat. She recommended a friend's place to eat and we went with her suggestion and met a lovely young student. She was interested in languages and decided against going to university as she wanted to do some hospitality courses so she could work as a licensed tourist guide in the future. Such occupations mean that you can earn 25 times more than any job that pays Moneda Nacional.

Trinidad is quite hilly and all the streets are cobbled which is quite unlike any other places we have visited so far. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. There was a bit of lightning and thunder and the drains overflowed into the streets. Being a bit higher than Cienfuegos it was also a bit cooler and quite pleasant.

Tourists listening to the musicians in the outdoor restaurants