We Love to Travel!: Trinidad de Cuba

Friday, September 18. That handsome rooster and his gang were even more trouble than I feared. They started crowing by 3:30 this morning. Rooster soup for dinner sounds like a great idea. Barbara hardly heard the din because she always travels with silicon ear plugs with the brand name of Mack. She has two pair with her and has kindly given the spare pair to me. I look forward to better nights ahead!

Our objective today was a tour of a small old colonial town, Trinidad. This is a very old town, dating from the early 1500s. We were told to wear sturdy shoes for the cobblestone streets, which are charming, but make for difficult walking. Some of the special features of the old buildings, many of which were home to the region’s wealthy sugar barons, are 18-foot ceilings and very tall windows and doors, designed to keep the rooms somewhat cooler than the newer low-ceilinged rooms that replaced them in later centuries. This older style is much prized in Cuba today because few people have air conditioning other than what the architectural design can provide. Intricate tiled floors are another beautiful feature that has survived all these years. I’m sure most have needed restoration, but they really are lovely. A word of explanation about housing. Following the revolution, the Castro regime effectively nationalized all property in Cuba, but Cubans who did not flee were allowed to remain in their homes and even pass them on to other family members. They were also allowed to swap homes. When Raúl came to power, he began to allow these homes to be sold. While Cuba has not had a real estate market as we know it, they have had a form of private ownership despite their communist/socialist form of government. There are government owned apartment buildings in Cuba, but there is also private ownership.

Public art. We drove past this mosaic on our way out of Santa Clara.

We drove through a lush valley surrounded by mountains

This man was driving a horse drawn cart filled with bags of something. Maybe rice?

The town of Trinidad. Note the long windows and doors.

Bicycle taxis

Cobblestone streets throughout the town

An example of the old tiles found in many of the houses here

Demolition/restoration. Trinidad is a World Heritage Site and a tourist destination. Restoration will continue to be important here.

Old cannons like this one are often place at the street-side corner of buildings to protect them from traffic.

School children in Cuba wear uniforms. Different colors define different grade levels and are the same throughout Cuba.

We walked past the local church, which, unlike many Cuban churches, is still active, if under-attended. Churches here are open until noon only, allowing the priests to enjoy leisurely afternoons.

Another group of school children gathers near the church

Restored building

The local museum

Tourist wares

We went to a fairly new privately owned bed and breakfast where the owners’ son met us and told us about his family’s enterprise. It is in a very old house once owned by a sugar baron. The last surviving member of that family was a very elderly lady for whom the house was way too much to maintain. The current owners are a husband and wife singing team who, when we visited, were in Scandinavia on tour. They saw the possibilities of the house for both a performing venue and a hotel so agreed to swap the small house they owned at the time for this one. They have been restoring it while renting out four rooms at something like $35/night to bring in funds. We were able to see one of the rooms with its private bath, the living room, dining room, beautifully redone kitchen, and the delightful patio. The decorative painting on the walls in the living room is original, only partially restored because it has become impossible to find anyone with the skills needed to do the work. Personally, I liked being able to see both. The restoration was lovely while the original lent it authenticity.

This is the owners' son, a recent college graduate with a degree in business. The parents are singers. I suspect the son is handling the business aspects of this venture, which also includes a riding stable located in the countryside.

A long stick topped with this haughty fellow was hanging on the entry wall to greet us. I don't know what this is, but I love it!

The intricate original ceiling. Since warm air rises, these high ceilings were intended to trap the heat, leaving the rest of the room a bit cooler. The house was not air-conditioned, but fans helped the ceilings do their work.

Ceiling detail

The original paintwork in the living room, partially restored. This was obviously the home of wealthy people.

One of four rooms for rent in the house.

The other side of the same room

The very nice en suite bathroom

Hats are essential in Cuba

A corner of the charmingly remodeled kitchen

Just off the kitchen is a sheltered corner of the patio containing supplies for more of the ongoing restoration

More hats!

The main part of the patio features tables for outdoor dining

I loved this pieced mat. There were several in the house, some used as floor mats and others as chair cushions. Easy to wash with plenty of uses, these are locally made.

A desk with a new laptop and a very old typewriter is a perfect symbol of the transitions Cuba is experiencing.

The owners

A poster and a guitar tell us more about them

An unrestored corner of the living room.

We walked back through the town to a paladar where one of our choices for lunch was Cuban lobster. I ordered that, expecting it to be small and was amazed to get a tail the size of a Maine lobster with a very similar flavor. It was a bit over-cooked, but really a terrific surprise.

Secondary school students

I love the tile on this facade

We saw horse-drawn carts everywhere

These musicians entertained us at lunch

Cuban lobster!

Classic American cars are everywhere, too.

Trinidad street scene

A beautiful example of an old Spanish tile floor

Still in Trinidad, but away from the town center, the streets are paved and the houses are a little newer

After lunch we went to a pottery that has been in the family of the potters for many generations. The grandfather was working on the wheel and amazed us as he threw out pot after perfectly formed pot as quickly as if he were a machine. Once he finished his ball of clay, he asked for a volunteer to try the art. Our brave volunteer was Joan, from NC and on the tour with two of her adult children—Mark and Alana. Joan is pretty amazing. She was a psycho-therapist and only after retirement took up singing and acting. Her kids say she is fearless and untiring, and the rest of us can see that is true. She HAS tried her hand at pottery in the distant past, although not, she says for a very long time, and that helped her produce a credible pot that even looked like a pot. Our tour leader, Carole, said she did FAR better than any other volunteer she has ever seen. Better her than me. I would have had it all over the floor, I’m sure.

These look like wind chimes but are not. Very pretty, however.

A sample of the many pots for sale here.

Grandpa, the master potter

...and Joan, the talented novice

We drove back to Santa Clara and arrived too late to get much rest before we were off for another paladar meal, this time a beautiful plate of cold salad fixings including shrimp. I can’t say how surprised and delighted we have been with the food in Cuba!

The countryside outside of Trinidad

This tower was constructed by a sugar baron so he could keep an eye on his slaves.

Sugar cane. Cane has been the major crop in Cuba from the beginning. It was the reason slavery was introduced here, contributed to the great difference between rich and poor here, and also encouraged foreign ownership of land and over-dependence on imports for food since it was a far more valuable crop. Sugar is also the basis of rum production, making that drink cheap and readily available here. Cuba has few if any drug users, but many alcoholics, we were told.