Trinidad and the South Coast

Thursday, March 22, 2018
Playa Ancon, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba
A long sightseeing journey today from Vinales to Trinidad which will take about 12 hours.
We have a driver and a tour guide. The guides name is Mary and she used to be an English teacher. As with many professionals here in Cuba on low wages ($20 US a month) she left that profession as the tourist industry brings higher wages.
Some things that Mary has told us:-
  • the roads are a real problem
  • Mary used to watch Skippy as a child
  • All education is free, but you must work for 2 years in your profession before you can change career/job.
  • No one is very keen on Trump
  • Children go to school from 8am to 4.30pm each day.
  • All children are taught English.
  • Staying in a hotel, dining in a restaurant or smoking a cigar is completely out of reach for Cubans due to the cost.
  • Baseball is the national sport. 
  • There are no casinos in Cuba - gambling is illegal.
  • There are no drug problems here.
  • It is very safe in Cuba.
  • Potatoes are only available from February to May.
After a few hours of driving, we stop in Guama.   This is a replica village of Cuba’s first settlers the Taino Indians who lived on the island in the 1100s, the original settlers on the island. It is possible to do a boat trip through the islands however they will not send a boat unless there are 5 people. We waited for an hour and gave up. We did visit the crocodile sanctuary which is also located here to see the reptiles basking in the sun.  There were heaps of them. We then went to a local home as they have heaps of humming birds in the backyard. They are so tiny! 
We then stopped in Playa Larga (beachside town) at a Casa for lunch. This Casa has ocean views, and the meal was really good. We then drove a bit further to the museum at the Bay of Pigs which is the site of the failed CIA backed invasion of Cuba that was repelled by Fidel and Che and their revolutionaries. We  visited the museum to gain an insight into one of the major world events from the 1960s and an important date in Cuba’s revolutionary history.  The museum was completely in Spanish but Maria explained it all. 
We then made a final stop at Cienfuegos known as the Pearl of the South, with a strong French colonial atmosphere and overlooking a beautiful bay. We wandered through the central squares and along the “Malecon” promenade before continuing along the coast to our accommodation on the beach just outside of Trinidad. It was so hot today! OMG! Apparently the weather in Cuba mid-year is not only wet but the heat is awful. Hence, April would be the latest you would want to visit. As we walked around Cienfuegos, there was thunder and we had some rain on the drive to Trinidad - which was a relief!
We arrived at our hotel for the next 2 nights at Playa Ancon. This is a lovely beach on the southern shoreline of Cuba. This is an all inclusive resort which is really not up to Mexican standards but it will do! The service is typically terrible. At the bar, we even tried to tip generously in advance but this has not helped the service level at all. Indifference is the best you can hope for at this place! The receptionist is brilliant though!
We have a beach bungalow which has a lounge room, a main bedroom and a bathroom - and has amazing beach views! It also has running water on demand which is a nice treat. We had a few drinks with a couple from London and then had dinner in the hotel restaurant.
After a decent sleep, Tim walked the few steps to the beach for a swim before breakfast whilst I had the best shower in 4 days!
The breakfast here was not great. On the bright side, if there were things from the dinner buffet that you didn’t get a chance to try...then breakfast is your chance as everything had an encore.
As we are 15kms out of town, we had to call a Taxi to take us to Trinidad. Calling a taxi is really asking someone at the hotel to call a mate who has a Taxi. The couple from London shared one with us and the taxi driver was great. He wanted to play loud music pumping from his vintage car - Tim asked for Ed Sheeran and of course he had that so he played one of his songs for us and he knew all the words. For a country with a standard wage of 20 CUC a month (similar to US $) the Taxi fare from Playa Ancon to Trinidad is 10 CUC. This is the standard fare. You can always ride a bike but in this heat would not be very enjoyable so find someone to share the ride!
We then wandered about Trinidad for a few hours in the unrelenting heat. But it’s just so beautiful. Lonely Planet describes Trinidad as “Trinidad is one of a kind, a perfectly preserved Spanish colonial settlement where the clocks stopped ticking in 1850 and - apart from the tourists - have yet to restart”. It is hard to describe but it is just wonderful. The beautiful buildings, the old men nodding off in the heat, the horses and donkeys, and the live Cuban music on every street is unique.
We found the iconic venue Taberna la Canchanchara which is famous for its cocktail - the Canchanchara Which is made from rum, honey, lemon and water. Of course we had one, it was unusual but very nice! Maybe I’ll make them at home!
Even though our lunch is supplied at the hotel, we had lunch in Trinidad for the atmosphere. The food was ok. And then caught a 1953 green Ford taxi back to Playa Ancon. It was so old - but did have a DVD player inside playing Cuban video clips which was amusing.
We then relaxed at the beachside resort for a while. The water is so warm and it is very convenient to walk out of your air conditioned bungalow to the beach in 15 seconds - have a swim and grab a beer on the way back! I did have a nap whilst Tim watched some TV.
(Sisters,  I have the cankles in this heat. Ugh. With my bed bug bites and sunburn I look  quite the sight). 
After dinner with the couple from London, we watched the entertainment at the hotel. An interesting mix of singing, dancing and magic!
Tomorrow morning, we travel back to Havana.
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Comments

Rachel
2018-04-16

Oh Bec that’s so funny! But not really! I hope your ankles & bites are on the mend!!

2025-02-14

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