Cuba - Trinidad - Part 3

I spent my final day in Trinidad horse riding to the Valle de los Ingenios. The recommendation in the Lonely Planet was Julio at Casa Muñoz, but he only cares for the horses; the actual people who organises the tours are at Yoel casa. They charged $26 in total, which was about $10 more than the touts at Plaza Mayor, but I was happy to pay that little bit more for a helmet (none of the other tour groups had one) and for good care of the horses.

And it was actually really fun. I've never ridden before and it took some getting used to. For most of the 4 hours my horse Apache seemed to just decide to speed up when he felt like it, without any warning. It turned out he and the other fellow horses (there were 3 other girls in my tour group) were quite competitive and when one goes the others will follow, without any input from the riders. Having a backpack with me didn't help either. At one point when Apache was racing the others I thought I was going to fall off. I held on to my dear life, and was extremely thankful for paying the extra for the helmet.

Then we had a stretch of clear road before we got to the waterfall and we all galloped - it was incredibly exhilarating. It was also much more rhythmic and easier to ride than when he was just trotting along. Absolutely loved it. 

The waterfall was really crowded so we decided to only stay a little while to give more riding time.

I spent the afternoon in the Museo Histórico Municipal, now that it had been fumigated. The rain didn't come that afternoon but from the top of the tower of the museum you could already see a torrential downpour from a towering raincloud coming in from the coast. The sun happened to be setting next to the tower. It was an incredible sunset. Wished you were here :)

Verdict

For me Trinidad was full of opposites.

The romance of the pre-19th Century cobbled streets; and the streams full of horse shit and whatever else running through them.

The tranquility of the colonial town centre and Plaza Mayor at sunrise; and the deafening noises of the tour buses, the tourists they carry, and the touts that prey on them.

The proud casa owners who earn $25 per room per night from their inherited beautiful neo-classical French architecture in the centre of town; and the old people who live on their own in their dilapidated poverty-strucken houses and take only $10 in monthly pension, sometimes only two blocks away.

For me Trinidad has lost its authenticity; or perhaps everything I saw was actually at its most authentic. But it wasn't how I imagined Cuba. The hassle one gets from touts offering casas, taxis, horses, tours -the list goes on - was incredible, and more than anywhere else I've experienced in Cuba, including Havana. If flocks of tourists and equally numerous touts are not your idea of fun, then don't bother with Trinidad. That said, there are plenty of variety of things to do here to keep you busy for at least 3 days.

Cuba - Trinidad - Part 2

No mishaps for three days straight (apart from almost falling off a horse). I could get used to this.

My first full day in Trinidad was spent at the local beach, Playa Ancón. The helpful assistant at Infortur (along Gustavo Izquierdo) told me that buses run from the corner of Antonio Maceo and Zerquera, departing at 9am and 11am ($2 roundtrip). There were probably more buses running after that but I didn't ask.

As is customary in Trinidad there is always someone around the street corner asking if you needed a taxi - not just in general, but specifically "for tomorrow to Havana Viñales Santa Clara Cienfuegos" (or whatever order it happened to be). Was he going to take me to all those places in one go? How they can predict my future travel plans AND my inability to get my bus ticket I don't know, but it was funny to start asking them exactly the same question back and seeing their reaction (one guy seemed quite annoyed). Ah, they're only trying to make a living afterall, but that doesn't give you the right to piss off every passing tourist.

So I was offered a taxi to Playa Ancón when I arrived at the "bus stop". I duly ignored their offers but it turned out I needed them to get to the beach - the bus was jam packed. About 9 of us shared a ride on this 10-seater antique, each paying $2 (one-way, so to get back you would have to pay another $2 whether by bus or taxi). These taxi drivers must make a killing with these rides, and I doubt they declare these earnings to the tax officials. He already made $18 from that one trip, almost the entire month's wages for the average Cuban working for the government. The long distance journeys are even more lucrative.

Ancón beach is alright. White sand, blue green water, sunshine and hot weather - exactly what it says on the tin. Each deck chair is $2 and someone comes over at some point to collect it. 

A few anoyanaces though:

1. Unless you are staying at one of the beach-front resorts, there are no public facilities to get changed and showered. The resorts hire a someone to guard the entrances so non guests aren't allowed it, not even to use their toilets. Stingy bastards. So yeah make sure you are changed and ready to go before you get there (or find a tree).

2. The water isn't completely clear and there is seaweed floating around and on the seabed. I preferred Langkawi.

3. There is a toilet by the restaurant but it was a portaloo and it was like an oven inside, so you can imagine what it smelt like. There is no toilet seat either so I have no idea what ladies do, or if one needed a dump. (In fact most toilets I've seen in Cuba don't have toilet seats - are they too expensive to make or import!?)

4. A couple of locals were walking up and down the beach touting really bad Cuban pizzas for $3. But they normally cost only equiv $0.4, a staggering 7.5 times less! I was not impressed, but hey, there's fuck all else to eat so it's a smart captive business. 

The bus was rammed again on the way back but luckily the driver promised to come back for us in 40 minutes. A Spanish couple tried to negotiate a taxi down from $2 each to $1, but that didn't work.

I had a good offer for dinner that evening, at El Diamente (Vincente Suyama #26, or Calle Encarnación on Gogglemaps). Everything on the menu, apart from lobster, was $7.50, which included a salad, rice and fried plantain as standard. They even threw in bread and fried croquettes on the house. It was a really satisfying meal.

On the second day I got up at 5.30am to hunt for sunrise shots. Trinidad is actually a beautiful town when there are no tourists or touts around!

I would have spent the rest of the morning wandering around their top museums (Museo Histórico Municipal and Museo Romántico) if they hadn't either been closed for the day for fumigation or permanently for restoration, respectively. The Galería de Arte on the south-western corner of Plaza Mayor was free and was fantastic though. I also walked up the hill to the local radio tower (north-eastern side of town) which was a nice (albeit really hot) half hour hike. I only had 5kg on my back but still struggled a little in the heat. Venezuela is going to be interesting.

For lunch I met up with Kaniko and her Korean roommate at restaurant Mimi (corner of Antonio Maceo and Colón). The lamb I had was great by Cuban standards, the portion was generous and price was reasonable. I went back again for dinner later that evening. The three of us exchanged lots of intel about the places we've each been to. It's always nice meeting other travellers :)

Trinidad has a daily routine - torrential downpour at around 4pm, but which only lasts for 30-40 minutes. It's not a problem to find somewhere for shelter, but what it does mean is that little rivers start flowing through the cobbled streets. Rivers full of horse shit and piss. Just saying.

If you don't fancy spending your evenings catching up with the world on WhatsApp, head to La Canchánchara, Casa de la Musicá and Bar Yesterday. All are very good and the first two have excellent live Cuban music and optional dancing. Bar Yesterday has live English music, including the classics such as The Beatles (obviously). Drinks 
start from $2-3. Tipping the musicians is also a common practice.

 Cubanm band just droped in at La Canchánchara

Tourists watching sunset on the steps of Casa de la Musicá

Casa de la Musicá livened up fairly soon after dark

Cuba - Trinidad - Part 1

Most of my experiences in Cuba so far have been a bit of a rollercoaster, Trinidad is no exception. I was unphased when the Viazul bus broke down at Cienfuegos and had to go for a 10-minute turned 1-hour repair - hey, it's Cuba. I was also not too worried about not having booked my casa in advance - after all there are over 500 to choose from (according to the Lonely Planet) and I'd already emailed one that was right next to the bus station (though I didn't get the chance to check if they replied). All good, right? Wrong.

It turned out that the casa I'd emailed is under renovation, so they're not taking any guests. Luckily (but annoyingly) Trinidad has a disproportionately large number of touts - possibly because it also has a disproportionately large number of tourists who flock here to see all the neoclassical architecture and cobbled streets before the invasion of Starbucks and McDonald's. I usually take a hard stance against touts but with the 20kg rucksack, 30°C heat and no alternatives, I had to negotiate. It was actually an opportunistic woman who was enjoying an ice cream on a sunny afternoon with her daughter, who happened to walk past and asked the question. She said it was an independent apartment and I managed to negotiate it down from $25 to $17. Winner! The apartment was a little far but it was impressive when I arrived and saw it. It was indeed an independent apartment, on the roof of their own house, and had its own living room, kitchen, terrace and bedroom. I happily handed over my passport.

Just as I was getting comfortable on the terrace, there was knocking on the door downstairs. I was greeted by another Spanish woman who had my passport and was speaking a load of Spanish to me (usually not a good sign). Obviously I did not understand a word. Eventually the original woman walked past again and it turned out that they were sisters and the fast-Spanish-speaking woman had already rented out the apartment to someone else (or she wasn't happy with the $17). So I had to pack everything back up and leave. The English-speaking woman said her brother also had a casa and as the torrential downpour was arriving I reluctantly agreed to wait for her brother to come and pick me up. Alas, I had no choice.

25 minutes went by but no brother was to be found. I was quite irritated at this point, exacerbated by the dozen of flies flying around me (which presumably came from the neighbour's horses, and their shit). The rain also subsided so it was time to leave to find another casa before it got dark. Just then the Spanish woman said a load of things to me again, gesturing me to take me to see presumably her brother's casa. I might as well take a look, after all the waiting, but it turned out the room was just 2 doors down, and was much much worse than the apartment. It was time to leave.

My next challenge was to work out where the hell I was, then go to my next option which was a casa recommended by Pedro who looked after my mobile phone back in Cienfuegos. It was already 4.15 so it was a race against time with only an hour to go and not knowing my way around. After lots of asking for directions in bad Espanõl I managed to find the casa, and was pleasantly relieved to be greeted by a friendly grandma. She even offered me a cold glass of lemonade when I waited inside. 

I explained how I found her and although she had no availability she got her grandson to call around. The message I got was that everywhere was full because there were lots of tourists in a pre-Starbucks Trinidad. The grandson came back with an option, which was the gran's sister, but before I said anything the gran was already on the price. $25 per night non negotiable. I tried as hard as I could but she wouldn't budge. 姜真係越老越辣！I reluctantly agreed, thinking I would just negotiate with her sister when I got there, but that didn't work either. The casa owner also seemed annoyed that I won't be eating her breakfast for an additional $5 (local vendors cost 20 times less). I was annoyed that she would only let me stay for 2 nights - I thought the agreement was for 3. Ah well, it was already 5pm so it was take it or leave to find yet another casa in a town that was soon befallen by darkness.

My tardiness and disorganisation have cost me yet another afternoon!

The day was saved though when I managed to get WiFi outside a hotel. It was so good to catch up with the people I love after 6 days of being offline. I stood outside the hotel for 3.5 hours that evening.

Cuba - Cienfuegos - Part 2

The casa I stayed at belonged to Lazaro and his wife whose name escapes me so let's call her Maria. The spoke virtually no English but they were probably the most patient people with my lack of Espanõl on this trip, and taught me quite a few new words. For more complicated communication I was lucky that there were two other Italian guests who helped me translate. 

Lazaro and Maria were both thin and weathered. His dark tones and deep skin folds were presumably carved by manual labour in his younger years, and probably lots of rum and cigarettes. Maria was straight, upfront and had a slight coarseness in her voice, as though she had to work and fight her corner amongst men most of her life. Lazaro was quieter and generally allowed Maria to run the casa business. What was most touching and enviable was their show of affection towards each other, whether it was the jokes, the smiles or the hugs. It didn't matter that they weren't well-off, or didn't have an amazing house (quite run down compared to many I've seen); they had each other and they looked really happy.

I spent my first full day exploring Cienfuegos's malecón and the Punta Gorda area. It was quite a long walk from the central area, especially in the heat without any shade, so when I got to the Palacio de Valle I was keen to stay for a drink and write some postcards. Of all the places I've been to, it was probably the first time I've ever written my parents and sisters postcards. It's not as though I haven't travelled alone before, but it was the first time I've missed them so dearly, even though I was only 5 days into my trip. Perhaps it was the completely unfamiliarity or the physical distance of the place.

Punta Gorda's architecture was much grander and better maintained than the centre. At the tip there is a recreational ground (suitable for families) and a small pavilion to escape the sun and watch the Caribbean Sea from, but nothing more to write home about. 

On the way back to the casa I came across Infotur, the free tourist information point in Cuba. It was a girl who had set up a temporary desk on the southeastern corner of Parque José Marti (corner of Calle 29/54), and she gave me lots of suggestions and ideas which complemented the Lonely Planet, including:

1. Local musicians playing in the park every Sunday morning from 10am. The vibe was fantastic and the audience would sometimes join in. The locals were drinking rum or beer at 10am already!

2. Cabaret show at Tropisur which is a fraction of the price charged at Havana's Tropicana. Highly recommended, and get there early to get a table

3. Local Cuban life along Calle 64

4. Palacio Azul along the Malecón, which I had missed (not on map)

5. Rooftop terrace bar at the Hotel la Unión - free 
to go up, great place to watch the sunset.

6. A great roof top café along Calle 37, serves excellent Cuban dishes at reasonable prices (70-100 peso cubano). Grilled fish and lemon frappé were particularly memorable.

7. Coppelia, 3 peso cubano  for an ice cream sundae

8. A few doors down from Doña Nelly is a store that serves ice cold freshly crushed sugar cane juice. 2 pesos will get you a large glass.

9. Castillo de Jagua, a fort which takes an hour to get to by ferry (not on map). It really isn't worth the 2-hour roundtrip. The ferry was $1 for tourists but only 1 peso for locals. I tried paying only 1 peso and managed to do so on the way back. 

So after a whole morning and afternoon of walking around, I decided to go back to the casa for a shower before heading out to see the sunset at Hotel la Unión. There was no hot water and when Lazaro came in to check he noticed water kept flowing into the toilet, presumably there was something wrong with the flush, which he fixed. On my way out I noticed the water was still leaking but didn't think much of it. I also bid farewell to Maria - it was get 46th birthday the next day and she was going back home to see her family and celebrate. In our broken conversation I understood she was asking if I had a present for her (her suggestion was perfume, which I didn't have; I also noticed Cubans aren't afraid to ask for presents) - but I happily gave her some of my Japanese green tea and Korean ginger tea, the only things that I had from Asia and I would imagine something she couldn't get from the local supermarket.

Then the 'fun' came.

When I got back that evening I noticed there was no water coming out of the tab, which was still the case in the morning and when I asked Lazaro about it (maybe he forgot to pay the water bill?) he said a load of Spanish to me in a less-than-friendly manner which I didn't understand and only nodded and smiled. Ah well, this is Cuba after all right?

(FYI at this point my toilet desperately needed flushing)

I was out all day to see the fort and the water was still out when I came back that evening. The Italian guys were in and apparently there was no water because the entire tank on the roof was empty, BECAUSE of MY leaky toilet. The water tank has never been emptied before in all of Lazaro's time living there.

Oh.

Maybe I should have said something when I saw Lazaro's first fix didn't work.

It turned out Lazaro had spent all day trying to figure out what had happened (he even found enough water to flush my toilet for me while I was out). After apologising for what had happened (though I'm pretty sure I wasn't the cause) Lazaro said he had a solution to fix the problem in the morning, though by that point I would be on my way to the next destination.

(My mishaps with toilet actually continued to the next casa where I blocked it and had to break one of their coat hangers to try and unclog it, but it didn't work)

Anyway, Cienfuegos was a great place and I would recommend it to anyone. Lots of colonial architecture to see but also lots of local life not to be missed. It had a good balance between touristic show and Cuban authenticity.

Cuba - Cienfuegos - Part 1

After a whole morning of anxiously waiting around (having missed the bus to Playa Larga) to see if I could get a ticket to Cienfuegos instead, it was a relieve to finally leave the hustle and bustle of Havana behind. My lack of organisation has cost me a lot of time so I was determined to make sure I had a couple of casa choices ready when I got to Cienfuegos. But it wouldn't be fun if it was straightforward. After visiting two casas I found in the Lonely Planet they were both full (as well the list of 25 other ones on their contact list, except for one but I politely turned it down on price, which I slightly regretted afterwards). I then decided to head into town, find a spot for the Internet and look online (it transpired much later that plan would have failed miserably too as for some unknown reason my phone didn't like the local wireless network). 

Just opposite the hotel where I was going to steal WiFi from was a casa, which the bellboy pointed out. I gave it a shot, and just managed to get inside when the torrential downpour arrived. The casa didn't have any availability, but the owners were really nice and we had a good chat (in as much Espanõl and English as I and they could respectively muster). They called one of their friends who happened to have availability. I jumped at the offer.

The day wasn't just going to end without another twist though. After arriving at my casa which was only 5 minute walk away and unpacking my stuff in my room (without air con, but beggars can't be choosers), I noticed my phone was gone! It was not in my pocket. It was not in my daypack. It was not in my big rucksack, or on the bed, out underneath the bed, or on the floor, or in the toilet. I looked everywhere and it was nowhere to be found. Did I get pickpocketed? If so then they did really well - I didn't notice anyone near me in that short walk! Day 4 into my 2 month trip and I've lost my phone!

I did panic. The few photos I'd taken in 3 days were not much of a concern. It was more of the fact that it is my only means of communication with the people who are most important to me, as well as some of my conversation histories (bit sad I know). It wasn't the end of the world that I lost the phone, but it would made a massive dent to my trip and to my spirits.

In hindsight perhaps I place too much importance and reliance on it, and have too much of an attachment. Whatever happened to my Kempo and Buddhist training!?

The only other place to look was back at the casa opposite the hotel, so I told my hosts what had happened and they tried to call them, but they were engaged. I had to go back and see for myself. The 5 minute walk felt like ages and I'd never walked so fast. When I arrived Pedro the casa owner saw me through their front gate and already make a gesture meaning he had my phone. I had left it on the seat while chatting to them earlier!

The feeling of 失而復得 (finding what you lost) was fantastic and the fact that Pedro and his wife were so kind really made my day. I was so relieved, so thankful and grateful.

The sunset after the torrential downpour looked particularly beautiful that evening.

Cuba - Playa Larga - Part 2

My second day in Playa Larga was rather different. Not really up for spending another $15 plus car hire to see more stray flamingos (though I was told that there would be more in the morning, it was still not going to be 10,000), I decided to take the hop-on hop-off Guamá tour bus ($3) up to Boca de Guamá in the morning then to Playa Girón in the afternoon. The bus runs two return trips daily and it turned out that it would only wait at Boca de Guamá for 30 minutes which is nowhere near enough time to even work out what was going on, so I had to forgo Playa Girón in the end.

After being told the bus arrives between 9 to 10 (yes it had that much margin of error) I diligently arrived just before 9 to wait for its arrival. Then I bumped into my casa host who said in Spanish what I understood as, the bus comes at 9.30. Luckily I decided to then go and get a local breakfast, because the next woman I asked said the bus would come at 10.30 (with 25 minutes to spare I took the opportunity to go back to my casa for some important business). Eventually the bus came at 10.50. The wait, 1hr50; the ride, 10 minutes.

I found the tourist information desk as soon as I got off the tour bus and the lady who clearly didn't like her job (or me, or both) said that there were two things to do: go to the crocodile farm ($5) and take a speedboat to the lake and see an "Indian village" ($12, takes about an hour). The second bus wouldn't return until 3pm to pick me up so I decided to do both. I soon realised going to this place was a complete mistake - coaches full of rich OAPs (either Germans or Americans) were shipped here to do these excursions, and the tourism at this place was entirely designed for such purpose. 

(I'll add a great close up shot of the crocs when I have them off my camera)

The crocodile farm was actually alright. The thing I snarled at the most was how these croc-keepers had tied the mouths of a baby croc so he could keep it on a leash and put a hat on its head to take photos with the joyous tourists. Humans trying to exercise control again. Otherwise there were loads of big fuck off crocs in a big-ish pond sadly all hanging around the same spot where tourists can pay a further $1 to feed them some gone off nondescript meat over the fence via a fishing line. I was lucky enough to capture a small ruffle between two crocs as they exited the water at the same time. There was also a viewing platform that you could walk up to which hangs over the edge of the pond, with a couple of dozen of hungry mouths 5-6m below. Dropping your camera or falling in trying to catch it certainly were certainly not on the itinerary.

The "Indian village" was far more disappointing. The best bit was the speed boat ride. The "village" was basically a collection of huts built on water, using wood, straws and coconut leaves as the roof. No one actually lived in these huts - they were merely gift shops/bars/restaurants for tourists. 

One thing that I was really confused about was what the $12 ticket included. I assumed it included a guide that accompanied the boat, but it appeared that the guide on my boat was only showing this Swiss German couple around - not me or the six rowdy American kids. I followed the German couple and the guide for a little while, then walked on by myself. When I returned the original boat had already gone. I waited for other boats and was told that I should only go back in my original boat (which would not be coming back). And I thought it was hop on whichever one was available? Clearly not.

I had a headache all day which did not subside even into the evening for some reason. As I was making my way out to find a restaurant the thunderstorm started and didn't stop for 2-3 hours. There was a lot of rain on my way out which eased off on my way home after dinner. Luckily I had my umbrella which unluckily doubled up as a lightning rod, which was especially worrying when I was walking in the open and the lightning was getting closer (the thunder followed fairly soon after the lightning), more frequent (flashes every 5 seconds or so) and more intense (every flash torched the sky and was brighter than the street lights). It was quite spectacular nonetheless.

Cuba - Playa Larga - Part 1

Practicalities

Despite the significance the Lonely Planet placed on the Zapata region, it was a shame not to see a more detailed map of the local villages in the guidebook. I've tried to point out a few bits of info which I hope would be useful to others. Sorry about the quality of the maps - I can only do screenshots on my phone at the moment.

1. Viazul / Guamá tour bus stop
2. Casa Nina - 0145-45987479
3. Zapata permit office (get there way before 8.30)
4. Breakfast - egg muffin and 1L of soy yogurt for 5 pesos
5. Cadeca (money exchange)
6. Drinks kiosk with ice cream vendor next door
7. Fresh home made yogurt stall and pizza stall
8. Restaurants
9. Octopus diving centre

Etecsa - right next to the communications tower. You can't miss it. Only 1 PC, no WiFi

The story

My original plan of going straight from Havana to Playa Larga went out of the window when I found out at the Havana Viazul bus station that the only bus had already left at 7am when I turned up at 8.30, so I had to backtrack slightly having gone to Cienfuegos first. The bus was from Cienfuegos was destined for Varadero and took about 2.5 hours. I couldn't reserve and the bus was full so it was either stand or wait another day. It was now or never.

Playa Larga is a small village conveniently situated between Cuba's largest national park / swamp - Ciénaga de la Zapata - and a number of scuba diving / snorkelling sites in the Bay of Pigs (there is more history to see 35km further south in Playa Girón but I didn't think a room of glorified artefacts was worth the trek).

I spent the first afternoon riding a rented bike into the swamps (Las Salinas) with a Swiss couple and their Taiwanese travel buddy after meeting them at the village drinks kiosk. The path along Las Salinas was long and straight. The ride seemed never ending and it was a constant dilemma between avoiding the intense heat of the sun or the intense  aggravation of the mosquitoes. Luckily they don't have malaria or dengue fever here (so the guide claimed anyway).

We saw local crabs (they were very hard to spot), termite mounds (some were massive - the size of my day rucksack), and pink flamingos (supposedly the highlight). Sadly there were only about 30 flamingos that we saw - not quite the 10,000 according to the Lonely Planet. I wouldn't even call it a flock. Maybe "a few stray ones" is more fitting. As for other smaller birds, either my eyesight was too bad to spot them, or I was too preoccupied with not being bitten by the relentless insects that I missed everything in my path - or both.

(To insert photo of flamingos when downloaded from big camera)

We didn't make it to the end of the long path before we decided it was going to take a while to ride back and it would get dark. We did manage to get back just as the sun was setting. We stopped off at the other guys' casa first where I also returned the rented bike - the guy was even so kind as to offer me a ride in his rickshaw back to my casa, all as part of the $5 he made from my 3.5 hours of bike rental. It was the worst rickshaw ride in my whole life (the walk back wouldn't have been much better). It wasn't his driving; I was bitten no fewer than 40 times all over the uncovered parts of my body in the space of 20 minutes. This included my little toe (had I known I was going to ride for 33km and get bitten so much I wouldn't have worn shorts and flip flops), face and lower lip. Despite the bites, my spirits were high and I was pleased with meeting people I could spend more than 2 minutes with and actually call friends. 

The advantage of staying in a village pretty much in the middle of nowhere (no internet aside) was that stars were actually visible, despite a little light pollution from the street lights. After debating whether to go out to take some night shots on that night or the following night I decided it was another now or never (which indeed turned out to be the case as there was a thunderstorm on the second night).

TBC...