the helen update: cuba #day5

day 5:

the plan for day 5 was to head to the city of trinidad for 2 nights, stopping in cienfuego on the way. as a point of reference, vinales was 3 hours to the west of havana and trinidad is almost 4 hours to the south east of havana, so it was very logical for us to return to Havana and spend the night or we would have had a 7 hour drive that day! along with yaniet and our driver ernestoche, we left town promptly at 9 am, but we had another surprise for yaniet. we again decided to change the plan on her (poor girl) and we told her we would only stay in trinidad for one night so we could spend our last 2 nights in the suite havana - our favorite place of all. we presented this in such a funny way, that she could only laugh. how could she not love the crazy new yorkers? we told her she can come to the nyc and stay with us when she can get a visiting visa :) she broke the news about the shorter trip to ernestoche who took it with humor as always. we love him. tom took the front seat this time because the back seat was a killer on his back the prior day and this was about to be a longer drive. yaniet and I bonded in the back seat talking about customs of young people in the states, movies and of course music! I plugged her into my iphone to listen to some of the newer music which she had not heard because it takes a lot longer for them to get music there. she was so excited that I was able to give her the music on a usb! I think I literally made her day with that one - maybe she will really forgive us for being so difficult now lol.

the city of cienfuego was surprisingly more urban that we’d expected! It was bustling with people and almost looked like a hollywood movie set with many of the streets paved and smooth! shocking! we did a speed tour of the city, but it was so lovely and at times, reminded me a main street usa in disney world. before leaving we took a quick tour of the palacia de valle, one of the more noted landmarks there and it was gorgeous. we had the usual pina colada on the roof terrace before getting back on the road.

we arrived in trinidad mid-afternoon and stopped for lunch in ‘the best’ restaurant in the city called San Jose which would be comparable to a local pub in nyc. one unusual dish we all shared just to have a taste was called “crema” and it is basically like a thick creamy soup that was so delicious and surely high in fat and calories - glad we all shared it just to have a small taste. the city itself had its own style, with a bit of the spanish influence, but the buildings were all colorful and artsy looking. we checked into the hotel iberostar which was the best in town and it was certainly ‘luxury” and equaled to a nice Marriott. I have to add that the shower head was HEAVEN!!! the hotel also had robes, toiletries, and turn down service! (we were so surprised at this) after dropping our bags off, we took a walk in the heat (hot hot hot as usual). the town itself is very hilly and we did the walk up the hill to the “plaza major” which has the bell tower and is where all the action happens. this place is the definition of a one-horse town and we walked pretty much of it in an hour, so good that we only planned to stay for the night.

I need to digress and mention that I had booked a quaint casa-by-the-sea before we got to cuba, and that is where we were supposed to stay in trinidad. but when we told yaniet where it was located, we got a big thumbs down and that is why we ended up in the hotel iberostar. when I booked it on line and asked the owners if they needed anything from the states, they asked us to bring 2 carpets!! we were in shock about this and at first thought they meant big living room rugs, but after a few emails back and forth we realized they meant small doormats, so in my suitcase all week we schlepped around the 2 carpets! oh boy…we had yaniet call her and explain in spanish that we would not be staying there after all, but that we would come by to drop off the carpets. after our walk through town, ernestoche drove us to the casa to do the carpet drop - well it was definitely more than the ‘5 minute drive’ they claimed, so we were doubly glad we decided not to stay there. we were welcomed by the lady of the house who was so lovely and gracious and the view from the home was really beautiful overlooking the sunset on the water. but the room we would have stayed in was not ideal at all and the house was hot hot hot (no AC except for in the bedroom which is pretty common) - so we were happy with our hotel decision - however, it prompted us to take a quick ride to the beach to see the sunset and it was quite special. even ernestoche and yaniet seemed to enjoy the side trip. tom did his shell collecting, I immediately had my feet in the warm beautiful water and I can see why people would come for a beach vacation. we had chosen to skip the beach since we just had a nice summer on lbi and we were more interested in seeing the city and culture of havana, as opposed to the tourism spots. while leaving the beach, we watched a lightening storm from a distance and I should mention that although it was hurricane season during our trip, but we have not experience a drop of rain so far… watching the storm ahead, we figured this would be the night with some rain on the way.

we signed off with our travel-team and then the rain storm came while we were at the hotel getting ready for the dinner. by the time we headed out, it had already cleared up. we spent the rest of the evening on our own walking the hills of trinidad (not in flip flops) and after a low key dinner at a local spot, we sat on the steps of the town, an area called ‘casa de la musica’ where everyone gathers for evenings of music and dancing. the steps act as the bleachers and there is a little stage area for performers who danced in the heat wearing elaborate costumes. I was sweating while seated, so I can’t imagine how they danced for a solid 30 minutes or more in the heat. there were so many young people (in their 20’s roughly) just hanging out in this area. many of the girls walked up the big cobblestone hill in flip flops carrying spiked heels! (smart girls) but we did wonder how many drunken tumbles have been taken on the way home late at night on these streets..? there was wifi available at the casa de la musica, so at first we thought that is what drew the crowds, but looking around we could see that not many people were looking at their phones. it seems that the lack of internet in the homes draws people out to socialize in person. when we got back to our hotel which is right across from the park in the town, we noted literally a hundred or more young people (teens and early 20’s) just hanging out in the park. there is wifi in that area as well - the wifi hot spots are also the social hot spots :) we found out the following day that there was a quincenera going on that night, which is a 15th birthday celebration in which the entire city takes part.

we were exhausted after the day on the road and so much walking, but we agreed it was a good idea to leave the following morning so we would be able enjoy our final 2 nights spent in one casa back in havana. but on that night, I enjoyed the best shower experience of the week – water pressure extraordinaire! oh the simple pleasures...