Today, all of the group except for Rob and I headed off on a tour around Trinidad and surrounds to see a sugar mill, some sights in the town and the beach. We’ve been to lots of old mills and beaches in the Caribbean, so we took the opportunity to explore for the day by ourselves at our own pace. We felt like we hadn’t really had a chance to just wander around anywhere here yet.
Thanks to a map my friend sent me, and a Lonely Planet guide we found at our Casa from 1999 (we figured not too much would have changed!) we were equipped with enough information and directions to head out.
In 1988, Trinidad was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO and has often been referred to as a living museum, as well as the best preserved colonial city in Latin America. The town was founded in 1514 and was the third settlement established in Cuba after Baracoa and Bayamo, so it’s even older than Havana. Originally cattle ranching and tobacco were the main activities here, but in the early 1800s, lots of refugees fleeing Haiti arrived here and set up more than 50 sugar mills in the local area. Sugar was then the most important product, with Trinidad producing about 1/3 of Cuba’s sugar at the time. The boom ended after the wars for independence, and apparently Trinidad and its beautiful buildings have been caught in a time warp ever since.
We started our day with a quick look in Plaza Carillo, where the city hall and its clock reminded us of ‘Back to the Future’. Then we needed to get some money out at an ATM. This is where our ‘goose chase’ began. The bank Carlos had shown us had ‘sin communicacion’ on its ATMs, with a HUGE group of people outside. We took that to mean the bank systems were down. We went to another bank and no one spoke English, but here we saw a French couple asking in Spanish where they could get money, apparently their systems were down too. We quickly followed them to bank number three, but again the systems were down. Finally, the four of us found a bank at what looked like a house in an area off of my map. There were lots of people queued here too. The French couple were lovely, and the lady chatted to me with the little English she knew. It turned out they were from St Malo in Brittany, which I visited over Easter by myself in 2015. So we chatted about where I had been in France and then finally had some luck getting money out. Fun and games!! But all a part of the adventure.
Rob and I then went to the Casa del Alfarero. Along the way we saw everyday life happening in front of us, which was the advantage of having to go to an ATM out of the way. We saw people queueing at the hospital, children going to school and a canal. We even saw people carrying water in huge buckets to their homes. People waved at us and said “ola!” along the way, and a woman even helped us find where we were going next. The Casa del Alfarero is a ceramics workshop, and a man named Azariel Santander was creating beautiful pottery that the region is famous for. We watched him for a while – he was amazing. The things he was creating with his bare hands were beautiful and he made it look very easy. I bought a ceramic magnet here, as well as a beautiful vase that was just 6 CUC ($9 Australian). It had paintings of the town on it. Hopefully it doesn’t break on the way home!
We were then on our way to Plaza Santa Ana, and along the way seeing run down looking horses attached to carts and dogs tied up in the sun made us feel sad. I don’t think the animal rights movement has really made it here yet. People also keep canaries inside tiny cages. I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with the horses and dogs being tied up if it was in the shade, but they were all in the baking heat. The church in the square was abandoned and dilapidated which made it beautiful in its own way, and we also saw the former prison building which is now an art gallery.
Then we climbed a small hill to a viewpoint at the site of a former Spanish hospital. We could see most of the town and out towards the ocean. The weather was nice again today so we enjoyed clear views. On our way back down, we began to see some quirky lizards running through the streets with really curly tails!
We headed through the main square, Plaza Mayor, and went to a handicraft market where we bought a couple of treated wooden musician sculptures. Again, hopefully they make it home OK! They were just 5 CUC in total.
We stopped for a moment in a square and enjoyed a music group playing. I gave them a couple of CUCs, and once they finished one of them came over and thanked us in English. Once we told him we were Australian, his face lit up and he kept coming back to us and singing Bee Gees music. Very random, but he gave us a laugh!!
Our next stop was at the Santería Temple, which is a temple for a religion of African origin. We saw a slightly creepy alter with a doll and offerings, apparently to Yemaya the goddess of the sea. Then we walked past the Iznaca Palace. The Lonely Planet guide from 1999 had told us this was under construction, and we had a good laugh here as it was STILL under construction 21 years later!! But we were able to go into the church off of the main square, the Church of the Holy Trinity.
We had lunch at the restaurant Carlos took us to yesterday, and then walked through the streets to the National Museum of the Bandits, housed in the former convent of Saint Francis of Assisi. My Spanish must be improving (yeah right!) because the lady on the front desk charged us local prices when I asked for “dos, por favour”. Nothing was in English, but from what we gathered the museum was about the struggle with various counterrevolutionary groups from 1960 to 1965. We saw part of a US spy plane that had been shot down over Cuba, as well as a boat and a truck. The highlight of the visit though was climbing the bell tower, which offered beautiful sunny views over the main squares and coloured buildings. In true me form, I smacked my head on one of the bells. I think I’ve done this in about ten countries by now!
Back down from the tower, we managed to get some money at a different ATM (there was a limit on the first one). We also saw some kids in the street making kites out of newspapers which was really heart warming. Rob and I reflected at this point on how lucky we were growing up in a time when we didn’t have smart phones and iPads. While they’re useful, I feel that some kids today don’t have the same experiences making friends and making their own fun that we used to. I used to love flying my kite as a kid!!
After a quick stop at Etecsa for a new internet card (no queue – score!) we headed back to the room for a couple of hours’ rest. We checked out the terrace on top of our accommodation which had a nice view. Then about half of us did a cocktail making class, where we each made a mojito, a Cuba Libre and a canchanchara. Canchanchara was created during the Wars for Independence here, and is a mixture of rum, honey and lemon. It was used to keep the soldiers warm, and help their sore throats.
We had a group dinner and Ben and I each ordered a seafood paella. When it came out, it was black with squid ink. It stained our lips, teeth and tongues black!! Carlos particularly thought it was hilarious. Then we all went to a bar before heading to the Disco in the Cave. Yes, it was exactly what it sounds like! It was a nightclub in a cave. It was really cool, and we had lots of fun. I had a laugh at the screensavers from Windows 99 being played on the TV screens. They had a DJ, toilets, a bar and everything down there! We left at 1.30am and walked back to our accommodation. Trinidad has lots of cobblestones, which made the walk home in the dark interesting. Apparently these were stones that were used to weigh down European ships when they headed over to pick up sugar. They unloaded them here and slaves were made to create the cobblestone road. It is said that if a slave died during the creation of the road, they were buried right underneath it. Luckily we had torches on our phones, or I think we would have done a couple of ankles on the stones!
Love to all,
Claire
Xoxox
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