I slept surprisingly well last night! My ear plugs must be good. We had a group breakfast this morning and then set off towards Trinidad.
Carlos took us to the Bay of Pigs Museum in Playa Giron as our first stop today. None of the signs were in English, so he took us around showing us army tanks, photos of Cuba throughout that time and artefacts belonging to Cuban soldiers that died in the invasion. It was very interesting.
Then we continued towards central Cuba, and watched a video about the wildlife of Cuba along the way. I am super impressed with our transport here. The bus is an import from China and is very comfortable, and our driver is the most beautiful man.
Along the highway I enjoyed watching lots of people riding horse and carts down such a major road. Our next stop was Cienfuegos. It is the only town created by the French in the Caribbean, and was founded in 1819 when 43 people from Bordeaux arrived and asked if they could settle here. And seemingly, the Spanish said that was fine! As a result, the architecture here was vastly different to any we have seen so far. It had a beautiful French style with lots of pretty colours.
During our quick stop (we could have done with longer here!) Rob and I explored José Martí Square, named after the famous writer who was important during the War for Independence here. We saw his statue, the theatre, city hall, college and a church off of the main square. We went into the Museum of Arts and climbed a very narrow, windy and exposed tower (Ian – it freaked me out a bit so you would have hated it!) but it was worthwhile because the view was nice and they had a free toilet (that’s a big deal here!). Then we walked up the main boulevard and had a quick look in the church.
We had a quick group stop to look at the Palacio Valle, a building made of materials imported from Morocco that was definitely built in the Moroccan style. Then it was time to continue to Trinidad. Along the way, we had beautiful views of the bay and the Topes de Collantes Mountains. We went for an orientation walk as a group and saw the main areas, but Rob and I will explore more tomorrow. It’s got a really cute charm with colourful buildings and cobblestones. We enjoyed a group lunch at a restaurant before heading to our casa. Ben, Rob and I are staying with a man named Pédro who is really sweet, and our room is huge with an air conditioner and a really clean bathroom. I’ve been so impressed with our accommodation in Cuba. All the hosts we’ve had have been absolutely lovely, and all the rooms cool, clean and comfortable. I don’t know what the brochure was talking about when it said not to expect much!
At 6pm we had a group salsa lesson which was a lot of fun. We learned a few basic steps that Rob and I “mastered” (as much as two people terrible at dancing can!) and then had a group dinner. Most of us then went out to The Steps and the live music venue there called the Casa de la Musica. The live music was fantastic and we even put some of our salsa moves into action. We then headed to a smaller salsa club before coming home.
Love to all,
Claire
Xoxox
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