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.