An afternoon in a new place! Nov 8

Alian drives us into the city and heads for our lodging in the old historic district. As we get closer, I am thrilled that we chose to stay in this part of town! Cobblestone streets, primitive transportation, colorful buildings and skies that make everything look better! These are our first glimpses of Trinidad!

We arrive at our lodging, Hostal Siglo XV, and our new host, Hector Manuel, greets us and helps us get our luggage up to our second floor room. Well, no time to spare as we have a guided tour that starts in about half an hour and we’re hungry. So we head out to orient ourselves to find our tour and there is a great sandwich restaurant on the way. So we fill our bellies with food and another beer and Mojito for cool refreshment in the hot humid Cuban weather while listening to Caribbean Rock and Roll.

One thing we immediately notice is the cleanliness of the streets! Cubans pride themselves in cleanliness! I wish Americans would follow this example! We easily find the main square a couple blocks away and we locate the Museo de Arquitectura Colonial (Museum of Colonial Architecture) where we are scheduled to meet with the Director, Luda, for a personal tour arranged by our Cuban contact as a personal favor! Luda greets us warmly and takes us around the old city, describing all the old buildings and she takes us into several private buildings that only she has access to. How fun is this! We find art displays and pieces of interest galore. We spy something that we will see in many places in Cuba, street blockades to prevent large traffic and restrict the area to foot traffic only. They bury old cannons in the street! We even find a working sundial and pull our clocks out to find it is accurate!

We continue on past a pirate statue, whatever that is there for, and find a colorful character playing guitar. We listen for a couple minutes, drop a Cuban Peso in his bucket and move on. Luda takes us up to a second floor private museum for some photo opportunities of this very colorful place. Then downstairs past an open air clothing store and a gift shop owned by a friend of hers. Of course, like most everybody we meet in this country, everyone needs to make a buck. I do spot a baseball cap that I lament not buying that celebrated who the Cubans think won the World Series!

A fun Panorama of Trinidad!

Luda takes us into a friends restaurant and we watch a brick oven in use, a fancy (for Cuba) table setting, a custom and pristine 55 Chevy and another friends restaurant that is also a museum (a common theme here, we find out). We spy a wine cellar in the restaurant that is a bedroom turned into a museum and I comment that I’d love to have dinner in that room! Luda introduces us to the owner and he is more than happy to arrange it for us!

Before we bid Luda ‘Adios’, she takes us into a religious section of town where the people practice Santeria. Luda tells us about Santeria (Way of the Saints), that it is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions, with some Roman Catholic elements added. She tells us the religion is also known as La Regla Lucumi and the Rule of Osha. Santeria grew out of the slave trade in Cuba. Initiates in Santería are required to wear white clothing for a year, white clothing is also standard attire for attending Santería religious services. White clothing is considered a default attire for lay worshippers attending Voodoo ceremonies as a sign of purity and modesty. The Period of initiation takes a year and a week. The initial period of seven days in which various ceremonies are carried out, is followed by a year of a very, very strict code of conduct, which includes, the wearing of white and special sacred beads and bangles. They are prohibited from having their photo taken! I am strongly cautioned against taking photos of people wearing all white and I struggle with this concept because I really want to photograph them! After some mental wrestling, I decide that their religion is more important than my camera and I refrain on many occasions from pointing my camera at them.  They are prohibited from partying and have to drink and eat only from a special token bowl and spoon and cup that they must carry around with them at all times. They are supposed to keep themselves very pure and to spend time understanding and studying the advise from the Orisha. They must keep their heads covered at all times. Basically this year is the beginning of their new journey and they are reborn. Every individual Santero has different taboos relating to them as an individual.

Oh well, many photos not taken, we bid ‘Adios’ to Luda and thank her profusely for her time, not to speak of paying her the agreed upon fee! Our money belts lighter, but our minds happier and more educated, we move along and find another location to imbibe in cool refreshment and reflect upon our good fortune. Remember that Pirate Statue I thought we saw? Turns out to be a live action model. I knew there was something up with that!

Okay, our time with Luda complete, it is now time for our next scheduled event, a salsa lesson with Baila Habana Dance School. Music and dance is an essential expression throughout Cuban life. We want to get caught up in this lifestyle and dance with the best teachers from Trinidad. Alas, we have only 20 minute until this lesson and it appears that we are at least 30 minutes from finding this location. Add to that we have been walking and tiring ourselves out with Luda and all we want right now is to sit and relax. So we skip this potentially exciting part of our scheduled day and go back to our Casa Particular for a brief respite from the weather where we crank the air conditioner that we again find in our bedroom. Feeling a bit refreshed, I take a few shots from the rooftop patio of what I can see from there! Notice the Blue Cisterns. The water systems in Cuba are all Cisterns. If you want running water, you’ll need a Cistern on your roof. We never did find out how the water gets up there, probably a low volume pump of some sort.

In our travels around the city with Luda, we spotted bar Paladar El Ci Iollo, that bragged of a rooftop with sunset views. So, being about that time, we seek out this place and sure enough, we go up and are not disappointed. We order a cold beer and a Mojito, our standard refreshment for most of our trip! Storm clouds gather as we sit here and listen to a live Cuban Band play. Now this is relaxing and entertaining! Turn your volume on for the video!

Live Music is the best! Live music, a cold brew and a fantastic sunset is all that you need sometimes!

The day winds down and there is another hour until our reservation for dinner. Suddenly, the storm clouds that made our sunset so beautiful open up and drench the city. Luckily for us, we are in front of the restaurant and we quickly duck inside and the owner greets us. He seats in the Wine Cellar as promised. Notice the wine bottle display on the museum bed! We enjoy a wonderful seafood dinner and in the middle of the meal, the power goes out! The wine cellar goes pitch black, not a hint of light anywhere! So what do traveling troopers do? Well, we pull out our cell phones and turn on that app that shows a lit candle! That’s what we do! We prop our phones up with the app playing, glad we don’t need the internet to run it because since Vinales, there is no internet or WiFi to be found. We continue to enjoy our dinner when the waiter comes in the Cellar with real candles for our table and imagine his surprise when he sees our apps running! After a hearty belly laugh from the waiter, he leaves the real candle and retreats to help other patrons with the darkness. Soon, the power comes back on and everything goes back to normal. Well, normal for Trinidad, Cuba that is.

On our way back to our Casa, we stop and listen to a live trio play and start to experience the nightlife we have been told about. This city comes alive after dark with Salsa Music! A walk through the streets reveals the rustic nature of cobblestones and friendly locals as they revel in the music. We are only 2 blocks from the “Steps” where Salsa Bands play and rotate every hour. I put the camera down and order a cold brew. I find a seat among the revelers and light up a good Cuban cigar that I brought from the Vinales tobacco farms. A bar that sells me the beer gives me a complementary cup of honey for my cigar and I sit and puff on the cigar as I listen to the music and chat with a couple of other tourists. They also have Vinales cigars and I offer them honey. They accept and invite me to join them at their table. Not being one to turn down good company, I pull a chair over and we become friends! Again, if you are reading this and recognize the scenario, please comment and stay in touch! My wife, having been tired from the day, retired before I came to the ‘Steps’ and soon realized that I would need her help to get back to our Casa because we only had one key. so she sought me out and found me. She was enthralled with the lively music and hung out with myself and my new friends and we all had a great evening! Then we walked to 2 blocks back to our Casa and retired for the evening.

Wishing we had more energy to stay up all night and party, we fall asleep listening to the music at the ‘Steps’, only 2 blocks away as we drift off into slumber! See you all in the morning!

Sightseeing on the way to our next city! Nov 8

After a good nights rest, we are up early for breakfast because Alian is picking us up at 8 to move us along. Right on time, Alian pulls up and makes his presence known! We get in his taxi and he announces to us that the air conditioning is fixed! He turns it on and shows us. We are stoked. But it is soon evident that I cannot get good photos shooting through the windshield and windows so we opt for no air conditioning and down go the windows! This morning, we are traveling to a city called “Trinidad”. But on the way, we are going to check out a famous waterfall called, “El Nicho”. So here are some of the sights we see on the way.

So we get here early as we have been advised to. We have the trails in the park almost to ourselves before the afternoon crowds pour in. What a great nature park! Nothing assaults our ears except the distant sound of water and woodland creatures!

We marvel at nature’s beauty for a while and then reluctantly head down the path. We come across another group of tourists that arrived here early like we did. If any of you see this, please comment and let me know!

Back on the road again and sights of the rural countryside greet our eyes again. A roadside stand, farmer, signs celebrating famous people, the shores of the Caribbean and soon, our destination city looms in front of us.

And of course, some of the transport vehicles we saw on the way! And an interesting gateway!

And of course, signs to guide our journey!

So we have arrived in Trinidad, Cuba. Just when we thought we’d seen it all. This is going to be quite the new experience! Alian drives us into the city and we get excited as new eye candy awaits us!

A walk around Punta Gorda today, Nov 7

It’s been too long since I paused our story! So here we go!

That damn alarm clock goes off!  Oh wait, this is a good thing!  We have a new adventure and don’t want to miss it!  This country is so magical.  But I’ve used that word before.  Brace yourself, I’ll use it again!  True to the info I’ve received, breakfast is served to us at the time we request the night before.  Today, we don’t have a scheduled tour so we request breakfast at 8:30 AM.  Our plan is to explore Punta Gorda by foot and by ‘BiciTaxi’, a bicycle powered taxi, very common in this area of the world. So we ride along towards the wealthy part of town, quite the contrast from where we’ve been! Yacht Club, Mansions and well manicured properties.

At the end of the peninsula we come a long a park with magnificent views of the bay. A BiciTaxi Parking Lot, more mansions, and even a run down property for sale! Anyone want oceanfront property for cheap?

So we leave our BiciTaxi behind, 2 or 3 Dollars poorer and hoof it around the neighborhood. More Classic American cars, some pristine, some run down. Most of them act as taxis and commonly try to flag us down to give us a lift. We turn them all down and continue our walk through the streets and along the Malecon.

What is this? A park! But not just any park, and Artist Park! All kinds of strange sculptures made of all kinds of materials.

And then we come across “Villa Netty”, we’re told this was Fidel Castro’s ‘Home Away From Home’!

As any of you that know me, I always find ‘Lovers’ to photograph. And some other fun characters along the way including a man who enjoyed posing for my camera!

Then there was ‘Los Pinitos’, an estate on the water. Parks, Mermaid sculptures and gorgeous water views!

Are we having fun or what?

So we walk back to town where the luxurious properties gradually change back to less that grand, but still spectacular. The streets widen although we don’t know why. Not necessary for traffic, that’s for sure. We watch as all sorts of vehicles, both commercial and private abound. Many BiciTaxis and Horse Drawn Taxis appear.

Sidewalks show their once grand abundance of beauty. We find a restaurant that was recommended to us and we stop for lunch. After lunch, we see a delivery truck parked in front!

We come across an empty Horse Drawn Taxi, and since we haven’t ridden in one of these yet, we flag this guy down and climb aboard after he tells us it will cost 6 dollars to take us to an ancient cemetery that we heard was an interesting place to check out. So 15 minutes of bumpy ride later, we arrive at the entrance to an interesting place!

The front of the cemetery is just the epitome of another run down Cuban building that does not impress. But 6 dollars is 6 dollars and that’s what it cost to get us here (So we think), so inside we go. Ooops, the doorman want a dollar each too. Ok, ok, just another 2 dollars. I chuckle at myself as I continue my miserly ways and think like a poor Cuban! But we step inside and my camera thanks me profusely as eye candy awaits! Even though everything we see is hundreds of years old, it all lends itself to my camera lens for the next hour. This must have been very opulent in its day. Solid marble tombs and even the walls of the entire place are solid marble. Even decaying and crumbling, it is amazing to walk around here. We are soon aware that this is not only an old relic of Cuban history, but it is evident that to this day, people visit and memorialize their loved ones as we see withering wreaths and even a fresh rose lying on a tomb. One of the tombs is referred to “Sleeping Beauty” by people in town and is one of the reasons we were told to visit here. So this has been an interesting old cemetery to visit, but what’s that? Vultures circling overhead? What’s up with that? We never did find out the answer, but if this cemetery is that old, why are vultures circling?

We walk out, our eyes buzzing with excitement at the sights we have seen and our minds craving more. This is becoming quite the journey. Oh little do we know! We see our Horse Chauffeur still waiting for us and I swear I see dollar signs in his eyes. It occurs to me that his price of 6 dollars was to take us here, not to take us back. I estimate it was 2-3 miles to get here. We could walk that in an hour. An Hour??? I’m sure we can find better things to do with our hour than to walk through the same neighborhood we rode through to get here! So of course! Give us a ride back! After all, it’s only money! Hey, stop a moment, will you? I see some old trains and want to take a picture! No problem says the driver! Is that dollar signs rolling in his eyes again? Ok, got my shots. Take us back to the Historic District, will you please?

Ok, we’re back! How much do I owe you? Ok, sure. WAIT!!! 20 Bucks??? This is Highway Robbery!!! (Calm down Don, you’ll give yourself a coronary!) I feel like I’m being taken for a ride. Literally! Ok, what am I going to do, tick off a local that probably knows every other local and cab driver in a 5 mile radius? I pay the guy and pull out another dollar as a tip. Cheapskate Don! But wait, we were told that anything more than 5% is flaunting your wealth! I protest to the driver only a little and most of my consternation was in my own mind. He is not only appreciative, but truly thankful for our business! He should be, he just took us for a ride! Ok, I settle down and think about how long the guy spent with us and I am sort of ok with it. The most part of 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Is that worth $20? In Cuba? Oh stop it Don, in the States, you’d pay $120 for that same ride! Oh. Right. But this is Cuba! Am I ranting? Hope you got a chuckle out of my rant, I’m just kidding. It was worth every penny I spent!

So we’re back in the Historic District that we visited in the storm yesterday. And there was a tower to climb! I wish I could have climbed it at sunset last night with that beautiful sky! But it was closed when we got there. But it’s open now! And it is elevation and something to climb! The little boy comes out in me as if it were a tree with climbing branches. So up I go with all my cameras hanging around my neck!

Hmmm, so I thought the cemetery was photogenic! The views of the city amaze as I find the highest spot to climb to, a cupola with steep stairs that were thankfully not busy with other tourists for it was a one person climb descend. Two people could not pass here! Eye candy photographed, check. Old Cemetery visited, check. Punta Gorda, check. More Classic Cars, check. Hot and still humid, check. A cold beer, not check. Huh? Wait, got to get that check! So we find a bar in the square and we sit down for some cold refreshment. Beer, check. Mojito, check. friendly tourists to chat with, check. We sit next to this couple, one from Portugal, one from France. we wonder at the long distance relationship. Hey, who are we to judge? We all hit it off and they join us at out table and we chat and kibitz about our lives, Cuba and life in general. All is good. I give them the address of this Blog. I hope they see it. If you guys do, please comment so we can stay in touch! Excuse me new friends, I’ll be right back! Is that a 1956 Chevy out front? Yes, it is! I not only recognize the make and model, I used to own one. I was the second owner of it. (I’ve also owned every year Chevy from 1955 through 1969 except for a 1965 but that is a different story) So I take my camera, ever by my side, and I get a few views of a pristine 56 before returning to our table. So we are sitting there in the excruciating humidity and heat, staying cool with a couple drinks each (Hey don’t judge us, we weren’t driving, LOL!), and suddenly, this local Cuban approaches me and hands me a caricature of myself that he had been drawing off to the side, much to my surprise! And it was very good! I asked him how much he wanted and he said 5 CUC ($5). I said great and I paid him 6 CUC. A happy camper with new European friends and a new portrait of myself, I sit and order another beer. Wait! Take my temperature! I didn’t even haggle? I could have got that picture for 3 CUC! Where is that guy? (Slow down Don, be happy!) I chuckle out loud this time and my wife and new friends pick on me for my miserly ways! But at least, the man let me photograph him before I bought the picture! That makes it all worth it for he was a very photogenic character.

Ok, got to walk off the beers. Our new friends are missing out on their vacation and need to move along also. I find a couple more photogenic buildings to shoot before we return to our Casa. We find another Paladar for dinner and retire to our Casa where we have a view of Sunset over the Bay as I enjoy another Cuban Cigar. Later, I manage to capture the Milky Way over the city and its sparse street lights! I hope you enjoy!

Another night comes to a close. See you in the morning!

Day 2 in the Vinales Valley, Nov 5

After a night’s sleep, we’re up bright and early for another adventurous day!  Our Host has breakfast ready promptly at 7:00 AM as we requested.  The table is spread with omelets, fruit plates, meats, juice and rich Cuban coffee.  Our palates satiated, we get our gear ready for the day and Humberto is right on time at 7:30 AM with our taxi for the day.  Today our ride is a “Modern” taxi.  This just means it’s not a classic car.  It was some form of international Toyota product that was many years old, well worn, yet comfortable for our 1.5 hour ride.  So we chat and joke with Humberto and his driver, sometimes using our technology (We call it ‘Uncle Google’) for the more difficult words.  Humberto speaks pretty good English, however some colloquialisms and expressions need a bit of help.  After an educational and entertaining ride, we arrive at another tobacco farm where we’ll spend our day, “Living Like a Cuban”.

The farmer meets us outside and brings us in and introductions all around let us know his name is Omar and his wife is Mirella.  We get a tour of their Casa, simple yet quite functional.  Omar takes us outside and shows up one of his 6 tobacco barns.  A flock of turkeys greets us along with the family pig.  Omar shows us how he milks his goat while Mirella cleans and peels Yucca Roots for lunch.  We get a lesson in how to hang tobacco to dry from Omar.

Omar and I hit it off great and chat with each other like old friends!  Even though we don’t speak each others languages, that is what Humberto is for.  Omar and I chat with each other as Humberto stands to the side and translates.  It’s a great experience!  You’d never know there was a language barrier as Omar and I make eye contact with each other and converse.  We talk about what his life is like and how he manages all of the challenges of his day.  He takes us around the farm, across fields of newly planted tobacco, rice and other crops.  We watch workers as they plant the fields one plant at a time.  It is clearly a very difficult lifestyle.  He takes us to see a tree that they consider Holy.  We never understand the whole description, but we think this is a place they come for reverence.  Omar’s brother meets up with us.  He wears two hearing aids because he is almost completely deaf.  We relax in the shade of another tobacco barn for a brief respite from the extreme humidity.  I can’t imagine what it is like here in the hot months.  this is November!

Omar then takes us to see his water pump.  To us it is just a small diesel engine attached to a pipe.  Rustic at best.  But Omar is proud of it and I suddenly realize that this pump is a huge reason that Omar can run his farm and pump the water where he needs it and I understand!  We then walk across a couple more fields and we come across a very large stack of wood, stacked like a bonfire would be.  It is described to us as a ‘charcoal’ stack.  These stacks of wood, approximately 10-15 feet in diameter and 4-6 feet high are then covered with palm leaves a foot thick and 1-2 feet of mud on top of that.  Then, through a hole they make, the pile is ignited and it smolders for several days.  The resulting product is charcoal, a necessary item as we will soon discover.  Walking on, we come to small covered circle buildings and we are told they are for ‘cock fights’ but they are no longer used.  However, I can’t help but notice that they are in a well maintained condition.  It makes one wonder, but the farmer assures us that cock fights are a thing of the past.  Moving on, he takes us to watch his worker milk a cow.  Seems like a simple thing.  But they have to bring a calf the cow gave birth to yesterday close to the cow or the cow won’t give up it’s milk.  Interesting, I don’t know the science behind that!

Ok, we’ve been walking around in the heat and humidity all morning.  Omar tells us it is time for lunch and he departs from us to go help his wife.  We walk around for a few more minutes and take some more photos while our guide, Humberto, tells us more history of the farm.  We then arrive back at Omar’s Casa and we sit down to a lunch spread that would make a hungry army happy!  Here we see the need for charcoal as everything that is cooked is on a homemade charcoal stove.  There is no such thing as natural gas or propane here.  They do have electricity, but it is limited and is never used for stoves.  a couple light bulbs in the place is all.  I do notice they have a small deep freeze and I surmise that is their largest appliance and quite a valuable one at that!

The heat and humidity not only have worn us down, but Omar is also susceptible to the elements.  After lunch, Omar declares that it is too hot to return to work!  (I have to wonder what his workers are told!)  So he tells us it is time to play Dominos!  A custom Dominos Table (think of a Scrabble Table with built in trays to hold the pieces) is brought out and set up.  Cigars and Honey Cups are supplied and the Game is Afoot!  Omar and Humberto teach us the rules of this simple childhood game.  But Strategies and procedures are also taught to us and a fairly intense game takes off!  Teams consisting of my wife and I vs Omar and Humberto soon reveals this game is more than we thought!  Loss after loss brings me to challenge a team change.  So now it is Humberto and my wife vs Omar and I.  Ok, now the teams are more even!  Omar ‘High-Fives’ me on regular occasion as we become the dominant team and it is clear Omar is quite good at this!  It reminds me of ‘Card-Counting’ Poker Players in Las Vegas.  There are a certain quantity of each Domino Chip and that plays a big part in the game.  Also, Omar teaches us different Strategies for opening, playing and closing the game!  Did you know Dominos was that complex?  One more thing, did you know that an official Dominos Set has numbers up to 9 dots per chip?  And Double 9’s?  Wow, quite the afternoon of spirited play and a great time was had by all…..

Oh, did I mention that Omar had Cigars to sell also?  Oh but he did!  And I liked yesterday’s cigars better, but Omar’s were really smooth ang good also!  So I was presented with cigars from Omar and I bought another 2/3 of my allotment from Omar.  But not to worry, I will smoke the extra 1/3 while I’m in Cuba!  Ok, it’s time to depart!  It is with heavy heart that we get back in our taxi and say goodbye to Omar and Mirella!  They have poured out their hearts to us and made us feel welcome in their home!  But we get in the taxi with our memories and start heading back to our Casa in Vinales.  But wait!  Our day is not done yet!  There are still places to visit on our tour for the day!  We heard about a river cave that is an astounding find and our guide knows we want to see it!  So we arrive at the Cave and go in.  Wow.  Just Wow.  An Underground Cave with Boats to take us through!  Got to do this!

So that was fun!  But there is one more thing we want to see before we go back.  We heard about a painted cliff on a Mogote that is fun to see!  Our guide knows about it and takes us to a lookout point where we can see it.  Supposedly, an artist friend of Diego Rivera painted this in 1961 and the colors have survived the years!  Fun stuff!  Even more so because we have visited Diego Rivera’s house in Alcapulco, Mexico!

Ok,  hang out with a local farmer, check.  Tourist sights, check.  Cave, check.  Time to go back to town.  Humberto takes us back to our Casa and lightens our wallet a bit more.  But it is budgeted and we have had a good day!  We relax in our Casa for an hour or so and it’s time to go into town and find dinner.  We ate with our Casa Family last night.  We want to find a local restaurant tonight, aka a ‘Paladar’.  The Main street is lined with places to see and eat at.  But wait, it is sunset time and we aren’t hungry yet!  Let’s find a rooftop bar and have a drink!  Yeah, that’s the ticket!  Ok, here’s one!  So we go upstairs and sit and chill.  Specifically, a chill Cerveza and a Mojito!  But you forget, I’m a photographer.  And it’s sunset.  Got to take a few shots.  Fun stuff.