The drive to Trinidad is a 4-5 hour drive but we made a couple of stops. One rest stop had a bathroom (yeah!), gift shop and cafe. As I was wandering around the area an old man waved be over. I wasn’t sure what he wanted but I didn’t want to be rude so I walked over. He points at himself and then at me and says several times, “Amigo, Amigo!” (friend). He then starts pointing to trees and plants and telling me what they are. “Banana, Guava, sugar cane.” Then he hands me a banana and he eats one. Then he climbs up a tree and plucks a fruit, cuts it in quarters and hands be one while showing me how to eat it. So I ate some guava. He also had a white (blanco) guava but I didn’t eat that. He was so excited and happy that I had come to visit him! I gave him a few coins and then told everyone else to go see him. The highlight of my day!
To fill empty space our tour guide talked some about a religion found in Cuba that is a mix of Catholic and a an African religion called Oricha (may have misspelled that) called Santeria. Today more that 60% of Cubans embrace Santeria. They worship in homes and small groups, it is considered a daily religion and they talk to the gods and goddesses and saints. We will learn more later in the week when we get to visit a small temple.
Cienfuego Providence is the agricultural heart of Cuba. We saw many fields of rice, sugar cane and bananas. The town of Cienfuego was very busy despite the rain. The square was surrounded by the capital building, a school, theater, museum, restaurant, church and their own miniature version of The Arch de Triumph which was a memorial to their heroes.
As we walked through the shopping district, Lynette took us to a typical Cuban ration store that only accepts the original Cuban peso. There were fewer items than we are used to seeing, cheaper products and products made in Cuba. Across the street is a store that accepts the other currency, CUC. It had imports, more items on display, newer floor plan and newer products.
Cuba has two currencies but they are trying to change over to once currency. The Cuban peso is the original and is what the government uses for the ration stores and government run stores. The CUC, Cuban Unit of Currency, is about the equivalent of a US dollar and is what more and more stores are accepting. It is what we exchanged our Canadian currency for. One HAS to use Cuban currency in Cuba and Cuba will not accept US dollars for anything.
Lunch was in a private restaurant on the Bay of Cienfuego called Paladar Villa Lagarto. Paladar is the equivalent of a Bed and Breakfast or a resatuarant in ones home. Near this place was a rich man’s villa that exhibited a lot of Moorish influences.
After we ate we were entertained by the Cienfuego Choir. The group of 20 men and women were professional singers and the quality of their music was wonderful. They sang A Capella with only a tuning fork to give them their pitch. We were blown away by their concert!
We continued on to Trinidad and arrived there fairly late in the afternoon after driving in rain. Due to the very narrow streets, the bus driver had to back into the space in front of our hotel. Very impressive maneuvering!
We had dinner at Paladar Davimart where we again were able to dine on lobster.
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