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Trinidad is a south coast town on
the Caribbean Sea with a population of 76,000.
In 1988, UNESCO designated it a world heritage site.
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Editor’s
note: On a daily basis from June 1
thru June 30, 2015 Pillar to Post online magazine is featuring articles, photos
and insights resulting from a recent group tour, an adventure we dubbed: the
April 23 Brigade’s Tour of Cuba 2015.
DAY 3, Saturday Excursion to
Trinidad
Morning
visit to the delightful Cienfuegos Province Botanical Gardens, the oldest of
its kind on the island, where we strolled among a soothing setting of palms,
orchids, bamboos, and a myriad of other tropical plants. I was fascinated by seeing what the trees that
produced ironwood, ebony, cashews and brazil nuts looked like in a natural
setting.
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Founded in 1901 by American Edwin
F. Atkins, who operated a sugar cane farm and mill on the nearly 200 acres, the
Botanical garden evolved from Atkins’ sugar cane research and fondness for collecting tropical and rare
species of plants and trees on their estate. Photo: Phyllis Shess
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Continue
to Trinidad, Cuba's best-preserved colonial city, with its winding cobblestone
streets and pastel-hued houses, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Highlights
of the walking part of the tour were the Old (Holy Trinity) Cathedral and the
Palacio Cantero, the city's history museum, housed in a restored Neoclassical
palace.
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April 23 Brigade of Turistas
Americanos takes in Trinidad’s iconic Palacio Cantero. Built in 1828, the
interior reflects the taste of its owner, one of the richest merchants in the
area. Today, Palacio Cantero serves as
the Museo de Historia Municipal, which details the history of Trinidad and the
region. Photo: Mike Shess
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After
visiting the village square affording us a few minutes to shop. Personally, I stopped at a small ice cream
shop, which tasted terrific as the day was rapidly approaching 100 degrees. Looking back, I was amazed how few tourists
were in Trinidad, which is really a tiny town.
The vendors seemed to have the same array of crafts, linens, wood
carvings and sometimes some leather goods.
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| Interior of El Dorado restaurant in Trinidad. |
From my gelato
stop I located a street vendor selling Cuban cigars. I purchased five short Cohibas. Next was a fabulous lobster lunch at El
Dorado, where we dined regally and listened to a talented quartet of musicians.
From the
village square, we visit La Casa del Alfarero, a ceramic studio to observe a
pottery demonstration and meet the owner Azariel Santander, whose staff
explained the family traditions, handed down from generation-to-generation.
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| Cuban ceramic genius Azariel Santander in his Trinidad studio |
When the
owner asked for a volunteer, several of us raised our hands because we learned
early that the Cubans will not take no for an answer when demonstrating
something they believe is important.
Back to Cienfuegos
We were
grateful for our air conditioned bus as we drove back along the Caribbean to
Cienfuegos. En route, to downtown, we
drove by the baseball stadium, which is home to the Cienfuegos Elephantes. Season is over and the local team didn’t make
the playoffs. As a fan of the San Diego
Padres, I totally understood.
We found
downtown Cienfuegos alive with a semi-annual street fair, along El Bulevar (the
main drag) we popped into nooks and crannies to see what was being
offered. Again, very little in the way
of non-tourist oriented wares. There
were some clothes shops that did offer Cuban style shirts at fair prices.
Our
walking tour continues (it is still blistering hot) to Parque Marti, the simple
central park flanked by the provincial government building, Palacio del
Ayuntamiento and the Arco de Triunfo.
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| Home of the Cienfuegos Elephantes national baseball team. Photo: Phyllis Shess |
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| Teatro Tomas Terry in the heart of Cienfuegos. Photo: Tom Shess |
Next, we
ventured into the impressive Teatro Tomas Terry with its grand gold-leafed
mosaics on the façade, embellished with Carrera marble and hand-carved Cuban
hardwoods; in the past, this architecturally significant theatre has witnessed
performances by Enrico Caruso and Anna Pavlova.
We
returned in time to venture into the 1950s Las Vegas style pool next to the
main hotel. The pool water was the same
tepid temperature as the nearby Bay. The
pool area was jumping with Euros, mainly French, Germans and Spanish speakers. Americans were rare in this part of the
trip. We noticed the grins of surprise
when the Trinidad residents figured out we were Americans not Canadians. As we walked by we could hear muted voices
repeating: “Americanos.” I believe—call
me Mr. Optimist--but our visit that day might have registered with the
residents outside of Havana that changes were afoot in regards to Cuba/U.S.
relations.
On the
bus between towns, we noticed how small most of the farms were—at least by the
two-lane paved road we traveled. Most
farmers were pushing plows from behind skinny horses or cows. It made one think that if a tractor could
arrive soon to where the farmers could share it—then so much more food could be
produced. If you want a statue of
yourself in a Cuban village—buy them a John Deere—new or used.
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| View from our dinner stop at Villa La Garto |
Dinner
this evening was at the “Lizard” aka Villa La Garto, a local
"paladar" (a small, privately operated Cuban restaurant).
DAILY CUISINE ROSTER:
Breakfast.
The main buffet café at the Hotel Jagua was overwhelmed by its sold-out
status. We arrived at 7 am and were
lucky to get a table in the large room.
Euro guests get up early. The
hotel made arrangements to have a breakfast buffet available for us the
remainder of the tour next door at the Casa Verde, a sister hotel to La
Perla. The morning pace was much more
relaxed. The coffee machine was down,
but I strolled back to the Perla’s bar for two café con leche to go and
returned to my breakfast seat at the
Casa Verde.
Lunch.
El Dorado, a palador style restaurant along one of Trinidad’s main
cobble stone streets served a steak, fish or lobster lunch. Few of us strayed from the huge lobster
portions. The meal was leisurely because the kitchen was a bit overwhelmed by
another tour. They made a fine café con
leche and I was a happy camper.
Dinner.
A birthday surprise awaited my son and I at our dinner house, which was
located at Villa La Garto, an other palador-style restaurant in Cienfuegos on
Punta Gorda, just south of the Hotel Jagua.
By the way, Jagua is a tropical tree common in Cuba.
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| Good times at the Lizzy. Photo: Tom Shess |
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| Pork entree with onions joined by rice/black beans and a mango garnish with coleslaw gelatin from Villa La Garto, a home restaurant on the water's edge (Punta Gorda neighborhood) Cienfuegos, Cuba. Photo: Phyllis Shess |
AHEAD TOMORROW:
Before
returning to the April 23 Brigade’s Tour of Cuba 2015, we will pause for one
day to discuss two 800-pound gorilla’s in the living room of every Cuban:
--Cuba in the Red. Understanding the failing Cuban economic
model, an in-depth report that answers a lot of questions. Bear with me on this. It’s a lengthy essay by the Council on
Foreign Affairs and is solid background into to have on hand as we continue
visiting Cuba.
--Quiet Man in Havana. The politico that is being groomed to take
over the country after the Castros.
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