Trinidad…….touristing chores & plain old touristing

March 23

We woke to the hysterical calls of the local roosters and the clippity clop of the horse carts on the street below …the dudes driving them looked like real life cowboys, albeit with a modern touch ……. bluetooth earpieces !! As usual, we heard the shouts of various vendors as they walked/biked or carted with their wares trying to entice the residents to buy bread, fruits, cleaning supplies ….what have you.

Breakfast was served on the back patio and was much better than the fare served in Habana.

A beautiful sunny day as we departed to take care of chores: money and internet catch-up > WiFi no way!!….after bit of misdirection we found the local Cadeca and exchanged the balance of our cash ….no lineup!! Next up we found the internet cafe: 3 CUC for 45 minutes and then ran afoul of Gmail’s security measures. Luckily we have a 2nd e-mail and were able to get some basic messages out. We later went to the Iberostar a top-notch hotel where we were able to purchase ETECSA internet cards and enjoy their lounge/WiFi, so long as we bought coffee or similar:

With communications reestablished we felt this was a solid result. Now we could get back to enjoying this town…a couple of photos of the activity on the street:

…pretty tasty looking logs:

The balance of the day was spent wandering around the old town taking in the sites and atmosphere around the 19th century Plaza Major > neo-baroque, elaborately adorned with serene sitting areas, statuary, towering palm trees, and gardens enclosed by white wrought-iron fences, it is considered one of Cuba’s most beautiful plazas.

On the NW corner is the cathedral, Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad completed in 1892, which anchors the plaza and affords great photo opps.

It’s ringed by palacios > the old homes of the wealthy….

Many of these now are sites for beautiful restaurants with surprisingly good dining at a very approachable price > especially considering what nicer dining costs in Canada……..yes, that is a bed in the restaurant !!!

Throughout the houses are painted pastel-colored hues with red-tile roofs and wood shutters. One of the highlights of the Plaza Mayor is the well restored Palacio Brunet dating back to 1704 which houses the Museo Romántico.

There are quite a few such well restored palacios all courtesy of the amazing wealth brought by the sugar trade…as time goes forward hopefully they will restore more of these historical treasures and generally bring the area back to its former glory. The area is quite compact comprising a few square blocks of cobblestone streets, pretty pastel-colored 18th and 19th-century houses, palaces, and plazas….as well as a few streets of “market” stalls selling the regular collection of “local” junk with a few not so bad items.

The second of Trinidad’s two major towers is the picturesque, yellow-and-white domed bell tower belonging to the former 18th-century Convento de San Francisco (Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi)…….

After all the walking it was time for a rehydration stop …ended up chatting with a Norwegian couple who live some 400 kms north of the Arctic Circle…….true sunseekers…..this resto was in the process of preparing what looked like a yummy porker:

Then we trooped off to see the Iglesia de Santa Anna….they are actually ruins of this church established in 1812…..a quiet area not very frequented by tourists:

 

On our walk back to the Casa we stumbled on a curious museum in a former sugar-baron mansion dedicated to the black Madonna and the cult of Santeria, since much of the population of Trinidad originated in Jamaica……

When back at the Casa we are told by Norlis that my brother should be arriving from Varadero around 19:00……..so time enough for some picture editing and drafting the blog as well as a few beverages …..by 20:00 still no Andy, so we assume he has been delayed and leave him a note to rendez-vous at the Plaza Major. Nice dinner at the Conspiradores Restaurant, both of had bowls of espaghetti with lobster with wine and cocktails. The setting is very pretty and of course there was the obligatory band performing…….

…….searched a bit for Andy but it being dark and with a large crowd milling around, there was no way we could find him and headed back to the Casa. SURPRISE, as we reach the casa there he is propping up the neighbours wall and “chatting” with them, beverage in hand. His collectivo having been delayed for over 3 hours he was obviously way behind schedule….after a few more rum & beers……. sorry no pics “censored” to protect the innocent…… we steered him in the direction of his Casa…..and then off to bed ourselves.