Trinidad, our first day

March 24 -  Camaguey - Trinidad

The only bus that goes from Camaguey to Trinidad stops in Camaguey at 2:45 AM.  There was no way we were going to take that bad boy.

Roberto and Aneli arranged for a cab for us to take us to Trinidad at 11:00 AM this morning.  We packed and gave them our final parting gifts.  I was genuinely sad to leave.  It was such a wonderful time and Aneli and her dad were such wonderful company and individuals.  The best news was that Aneli had just found out she was pregnant and expecting the baby in November.  

It was so joyful to see her excitement and pleasure in that event.

Bumping along the highway toward Trinidad left me lots of time to think.  The rural landscape is so reminiscent of the rural high plains, Wyoming, in particular.   Scrubby low growing brush with ochre tinged with red soil.  The cattle munching away at whatever they could find to eat of the new growth and the goats milling about seemingly happy.  When a dwelling would appear, there were the inevitable chickens and crowing rooster running about the property.  

We were going to have to go over the mountain range that was looming near by.  More like foothills here in the US, but rugged as the roads were only so-so.  The air cooled a bit, vegetation got thicker, and bananas were everywhere.

Trinidad was a town below the Valley de Los Ingenios, or the Valley of the Geniuses (Wits).  This was a big cane production center.  The valley, as production became more and more mechanized, became the wealth center of the city.  Trinidad is the city that cane built.

The town/city is heavily cobbled and a maze of one-way street.  Our casa was pedestrians only, which was a relief as I know how noisy cars can make the streets in Cuba.  Our host family, Lazare and his mother and father were, again, so sweet and nice.  The room was on the first floor, had a private fridge, bathroom, 2 fans, and an AC unit.  We were so happy.  

The front room of the house appeared to be an art gallery of some sort, but I never got the full story on that!

The main touristic area was just outside our door, turn right, head up the steep hill and at the plaza, you are in tourist central.  There was a casa de musica that was on the steps leading to a museum.  It was a nice place to stop for a beer before heading around town to get our bearings.  We had a couple of beers, and enjoyed the sun.  Behind our chairs were 2 street dogs.  Neither of them moved a muscle when we sat down.  We were careful not to disturb them as they looked so peaceful.

We wandered up and down street, everywhere people doing commerce.  Whether that was picking up fares in their bicitaxis or in their US cars, selling bread, selling lechon, selling cebollas, etc. there was money changing hands.  

This photo to the left is a shot of the main square, just south and west of the touristic steps.

We headed back down toward the center of town to try to find a place to eat.  We were most fortunate in that it was relatively early and there was space in La Redaccion.  

Did I mention that there were tons of tourists in Trinidad? This really threw Bill and I for a loop.  We were really hoping for another Camaguey experience.  In fact, we decided that Camaguey was what Trinidad used to be like before all the tourists.

There are some beaches near Trinidad which pulls in some travellers, there are other activities which we took part in, more later.  Back to Redaccion.

This was a big 2 thumbs up restaurant.  It is run by an Irish woman and her Cuban husband.  The food was excellent.

The physical space used to be a print shop or newspaper and that is the reason for the placemat.  If you look, you can see a clear plastic sheet over a sheet of newspaper.  Judging from the remnants on the plate, Bill had the seafood pasta.  I am drawing a blank on what I ordered. Could have been the predinner drinks!

Back to the casa and much needed sleep.