Whew! 38 kilometers, 136 stairs and a lot more leg muscle to come!

During a night on the town (of Trinidad), listening to live salsa music and watching some very interesting African-style dance performances, we made friends with 4 Dutch travels. After a beer or two the night before, the 6 of us decided it would be a fun idea to rent bikes the next day and bike the 15km to the Valle de Ingenios, to a tower to look out over what used to be prime sugar plantation land. I don’t think we realized quite how many hills were involved in this idea. And, also, 15km was only one way. Please also keep in mind, the blistering heat that this country endures all so often, and the 1-gear beach cruisers they gave us to ride. It was a beautiful ride though, through some farmland and lush countryside with mountains framing the perimeters.

Once we got to the tower, we were well winded, and out of water. We climbed the 136 stairs to the top of the tower for the beautiful outlook it provided, got some fresh-squeezed sugar-cane & lemon juice drinks (which we had to work for as well!) and filled up on water! The drinks were very good, like a liquid lemon bar. We squeezed the sugar out of the sugar cane (this is sugar cane land if I didn’t emphasize that before), by rotating a long bar, which in turn rotated the whole “machine.” As you turned the top, the gears turn, which turn other gears, and when you stick a sugar cane in the bottom, it squeezes all the juice out into a pitcher waiting patiently on the floor.

After the sugar cane farm, the Dutch were ready for more. There was another sort farm that was just “5 minutes” by bike. We confirmed that the “5 minute” stretch was flat, so we went for it. We biked for a while, yes mostly flat, and asked someone to make sure we were on the right path. He said, “yes yes, its right ahead, probably about 5 more minutes!” Sure enough, we got there. The water the others were wanting to swim in was a very attractive brown. No thank you. We weren’t there long before heading back.

The ride back was a little more difficult, and those Dutch people are fast. Even going downhill, they were cruising faster than me! I think my bike was rigged… We pulled over after every other hill I think, parked in some shade and guzzled some more water. After many attempts to flag a truck down to drive us into town, we opted to ride a little more. Soon enough, a van/truck pulled over, and we were able to get all 6 of us, plus our bikes in the back for 5CUC. Well worth it!

Biking the last bit back to the center of town, we stopped for some peso pizza. I’ve given up. They don’t know how to make pizza here. Thus far, they stick some weird cheese on some weird bread with hardly any tomato sauce (if that’s even what it is!), and stick the whole concoction into a microwave (they love their microwaves here). Plus, there’s a weird sour sauce they put on top, which adds an awkward tang. This time, they at least put the pizza in an oven, which did make it a little better, but I’m done. No more Cuban pizza for me, thank you!

Other than pizza, our peso food choices are as follows: Boca de Jamon, Boca de Queso, or Perro Caliente (which is the most bland hot dog I’ve ever had). In a slightly bigger restaurant you may find: Biztec de Cerdo, Biztec de pollo, arroz y frijoles, y platanos fritos. I think that’s all they eat here. Last night, we had Biztec de pollo with the rice, beans and platanos fritos and the meal was suppose to come with postre as well (dessert). So, when the bill came before we saw any dessert, I of course ask about it. The woman seemed a little put off, and quickly arrived with a small plate with some gooey brown stuff on top and a spoon stuck nicely on top. It looked like a pile of poo. Wondering if I had pissed her off, I wasn’t sure if I should even try it. Sure enough… it tasted exactly like sugar and poo. I had had enough after one small bite, though Hans actually ate most of his! We left her a nice tip and left. 

Ok, so maybe its time to back track now. Before Trinidad, where we’re at now, we spent a few days in Cienfuegos. This is a decent size city of roughly 139,000 people. Upon arriving, Marilyn (from Vinales) had not only given us the name of her friends where we could stay, but had also called ahead to have them meet us at the bus station. This made it very easy for us, not only because we had a place already set (kind of), but the price was easy to keep the same as in Vinales (only 10CUC per night – the good thing about traveling during their off season). We took the short walk to the Casa, and settled in. First, time for laundry, and then time to wander the streets. Lonely Planet calls Cienfuegos Cuba’s Paris (if they have one). I’m not sure if I would go that far! The city definitely has a French feel to it, with the main street (El Prado) divided by a center divider lined with pretty trees and frequent benches. Here, we were able to enjoy some delicious 4 cent, fresh-squeezed juice. First we had something I can’t spell (guayabo?), and the next day we had Platano, which was actually much better than the first pink one.

El Bulevar was also interesting, a street only for pedestrians. This is their main shopping area. There were plenty vendors selling jewelry, sandals, wooden sculptures, etc. I bought my first pieces of jewelry, in particular, a pretty pendon for 3CUC!  In other countries maybe less, but that’s still a pretty damn good deal for the US!

We also opted to bus it to the Cemetery Necropolis Tomas Acea for a little stroll. When we realized we didn’t have exact change for the bus (1 national peso, about 5 cents), we tried to get change from some other people at the bus stop. We were surprised how many people just handed over money for nothing in return! Maybe Che Guevara’s attempts to get people motivated by morals instead of money actually had a lasting impression?? We eventually were able to change out our 10 peso bill, and gave back the peso’s to those who were so generous! When the bus finally came, we loaded on wherever we could fit.

We weren’t too enthralled by Cienfuegos, and spent only 2 nights there. On Sunday, we hit the bus station again, on route for Trinidad (where we are now, still). Trinidad, a cozy town of almost 53,000 people, is full of pastels and cobble stone roads. So far, it’s my favorite. Not too small, but also not too big, it has most everything you need: some food here and there (could be more!), and fun little roads to wander down. There is also a lot of art here. Many homes/stores open up to the road and are full of paintings, clothing, etc. There are two main squares in the middle of town, Plaza Mayor (the main main one where all the roads lead to) and Parque Cespedes, which has an amazing “vined” sculpture in the center. The night scene is fun as well, with live music at La Casa de Musica (which is not even a casa, but rather an outdoor area where you can listen to live music and get food and drink if you’d like (mentioned above, where we were last night). We also visited another area last night with African style dancing and music with lots of drums. Was very cool. And, if that doesn’t sound exciting enough, you can climb the hill a little ways and go to their disco, which is built in a natural CAVE! While walking up for a nice view the evening we arrived (Sunday), we were given a sneak peak. For the US, this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Plus, the cave would be marked national park and the thought of making it a club just laughed at.

And…. I’m going to leave you with that! Enough reading for now! Sorry for the long post. When internet is more accessible, the intention is to post more often, meaning less to read each time! I hope you’re all well, and enjoy reading our posts!

Posted by Abra