TRINIDAD SOME HISTORY…………..
Founded in 1514, Trinidad located some 260 km SE of Habana quickly grew and later prospered in a princely fashion from the sugar-cane industry concentrated in the outlying Valle de los Ingenios. The sugar boom that took root by the mid-1700s created a coterie of wealthy local sugar barons, who built magnificent estates in the valley and manor houses in town and imported thousands of African slaves to work the fields. However, success proved to be short-lived and when the bottom dropped out of the sugar market by the 1860s, Trinidad’s economy collapsed and the town drifted into obscurity.
Its economic failure in the late-19th century resulted in a positive result in the 21st century (at least from a touristic/historic perspective). Trinidad escaped further economic development and modernization that surely would have prevented it becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Even in the 1950s, in prerevolutionary, capitalist Cuba, the beauty and historical value of Trinidad prompted the government to declare it off-limits to further development.
OUR TRINIDAD EXPERIENCES
March 22nd
Today we are leaving for Trinidad ….a beautiful morning, same bland breakfast though, served with a smile, and our girl Clara (owner’s assistant) came around to confirm the taxi was coming ……loaded up onto a mini bus with a mixed crew: 2 Japanese girls, a Guatemalan couple, a German couple with a BABY > YIKES…a 4 hour car ride with a howling baby > this should be fun !! and us occupying the front seat.
This taxi system is called a “collectivo” and as the name suggests it aggregates unrelated parties travelling to the same destination > as a result the cost ends up marginally more expensive than a ticket on the intercity bus: 60 CUC versus 54 CUC via bus, but with the advantage you are picked up and delivered from/to your casa and it is faster…..for us it was no brainer. The first 2 hours were rather boring as the countryside is flat, with palms here and there …a bit similar to interior Florida. We then stopped at a way station > nice spot but too early for lunch (great toilets….to the uninitiated nice toilets when you are travelling, are a godsend) :
The second half was more interesting as we entered a very dry hilly area featuring cattle/horses and cowboys with 10 gallon hats and big mustaches…..this is an easy country to drive in as there few cars with the main obstacles being horse driven carts. “Our” baby deserved an award for being the quietest baby ever and soon enough we were delivered to our casa close to the center of Trinidad > no pics as we only had the one pit stop…
On arrival, the alleged casa owner Norlis greeted us and then pawned us off to the unit next door …the casa we got was nice enough, so we did not pursue the matter, but still not entirely pleasing as he obviously overbooked his casa …will take this up with AIR BNB later (incidentally all our accommodations were through AIR BNB as they seemed to be the most efficient and there seems to be some value in the brand).
The Casa Eben Ezer is in an authentic neighbourhood as evidenced by the street we are living on:
many of the folks here have simply added a room or two to create mini hotels….our room and front and rear terraces:
….luckily we had several beds as the double was so soft we had no choice but to sink into togetherness in the middle…..
Having got there in good time we had energy to spare….apart from Havana, Trinidad has the reputation of being the most historic city in Cuba. Similar to Habana, the Old Town here is UNESCO heritage listed (as a World Monument), but unlike Habana, this part of town is only accessible on foot or horseback. Carts are also allowed and commonly seen. The narrow cobbled streets and the low, leaning, brightly coloured houses are iconic to this city. ………..we headed up to the old town and a light lunch: slabs of ham and cheese on a bun and a shrimp bun sandwich with lemonades (haha no beers yet….) quite good. This area has streets that are more populated by horse-drawn carts than automobile traffic, and old folks still crouch by windows, behind fancy wrought-iron grilles, to peer out at passersby.
And with tourists you get gridlock:
As we are here for three nights we decided to call it a day, buy some beers and rum and enjoy the terraces at the casa…..and keep an eye on the locals:
……..some guys doing weight training on a roof top terrace…
………Per Tripadvisor we decided go to dinner at the Sol y Son:
…an old world style restaurant set in an ancient home with a fountain and trees in the courtyard….a great setting.
… enjoyed a few Cuba Libres > my new weapon of choice 
and a very nice meal complete with an ensemble serenading the diners
…….chatted with a couple next to us who just happened to live across the Salish Sea in Comox B.C. about 40 kms west of our home, as the crow flies !!.
After dinner slowly made our way back to the Casa …..tired >>> out for the count!!