Leaving at 3.15 pm (15:15) for the 80 min drive to Cienfuegos just 97 km away. Siesta time? Again the grey heavens opened up at 4.00 pm (16:00) and down it came for a very short while completely dousing the cycling group that we passed.

Into Cienfuegos with the streets lined to generally 2 storey French neoclassicism buildings graced out front by their many columns and a brief stop at the Parque Jose Marti. The locals were out on their devices either skyping or emailing. A sight that I would see again and again. I read in another person's blog that it was only a month ago in mid-November did the WiFi hotspot came to this town.

I took more photos of the 4 sparkling polished classic American cars lined up than of the equally beautiful buildings surrounding Cienfuegos Parque Jose Marti that we had in our 15 minutes free time here.

La ciudad que más me gusta a mí (the city I like the best) singer Benny Moré once said of his home city in the song 'Cienfuegos.' He wasn't the settlement's only cheerleader. Cuba's so-called Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South) has long seduced travelers from around the island with its elegance, enlightened French spirit and feisty Caribbean panache. If Cuba has a Paris, this is most definitely it.

Arranged around the country's most spectacular natural bay, Cienfuegos is a nautical city with an enviable waterside setting. Founded in 1819, it's one of Cuba's newest settlements, but also one of its most architecturally interesting, a factor that earned it a Unesco World Heritage Site listing in 2005. Geographically, the city is split into two distinct parts: the colonnaded central zone with its elegant Paseo del Prado (commonly shortened to Prado) and Parque Martí; and Punta Gorda, a thin knife of land slicing into the bay with a clutch of eclectic early 20th-century palaces, including some of Cuba's prettiest buildings.

While much of Cuba is visibly reeling from the country's economic woes, Cienfuegos seems to positively glitter. It's not just Unesco money filtering through. The industry ringing the far side of the Bahía de Cienfuegos – a shipyard, the bastion of Cuba's shrimp-fishing fleet, a thermoelectric plant and a petrochemical hub – constitutes some of the country's most important. This, together with a pervading sense of tranquility resonating through spruced-up colonial streets refreshingly free of jineteros (touts) and a revitalizing seaside vibe make the city as alluring today as Moré found it 60 years ago.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/cienfuegos#ixzz3x11VaZPu

Cienfuegos City is called "The Pearl of the South" because of the impressive beauty of its bay; because of its seductive city which provokes the wonder of all who know it, and because of that innate nobility which characterizes those born in Cienfuegos. The history of Cienfuegos possesses interesting antecedents and is rich in aborigine and Hispanic legends. Before the Spanish came to America, the zone was settled by indigenous people and was known as the Cacicazgo de Jagua.

In order to protect its magnificent bay from corsairs and pirates, who sloughed the Caribbean, the third most important fort was erected in 1745. It was called the castle of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Jagua, situated right in the canyon of the entrance to the bay.

The foundation of Cienfuegos occurred in 1819, when French colonists settled in it, calling it Fernandina de Jagua, in honor of King Ferdinand VII and because of its aborigine origin. A rosette in the José Martí Park serves as a reminder of the place where the founding took place, and which served as the center for the urban design/layout. This park, which was the ancient Arms Square, is ample and rich in monuments, from which protrudes the only existing Arch of Triumph of Cuba.

In its surroundings coexists, harmoniously, buildings from the end of the XIX century and the first half of the XX, in eclecticism dominated by neoclassic cannons. This historical center has been declared a National Monument for its exclusive patrimonial value.

The Jose Martí Park communicates with a pedestrian walk known as the Cienfuegos Boulevard to the principal artery of the city, the Paseo del Prado. This is the longest street lined with trees in Cuba and leads the traveler to the Cienfuegarian Malecón. Further on, the residential zone and recreative area of Punta Gorda continues with nautical and traditional sport and marine clubs.

This peninsula which enters the bay and terminates in La Punta, has as well been declared a National Monument, because of its wooden large houses close to the sea, and other important buildings. Amongst the most important is the Palacio del Valle, an elegant eclectic mansion that combines the styles of Mudejar, Byzantine, Venetian, Gothic and Baroque.

The French influence is notable in many cultural traits and Cienfuguerian customs, particularly in architecture, where arcs, stained-glass windows and bars prevail and it is common to find palaces and mansions .The streets, of perfect design, are wide and straight, and give Cienfuegos, the flavor of being an enchanting city.

http://www.cuba-junky.com/cienfuegos/cienfuegos-city-home.htm

The 15 min free time after the talk about the square and town somehow stretched out to 30 minutes. Just as we were leaving one person wanted to go to the toilet then many others decided to do the same!

Just after 5 pm (17:00) left for the 80 min drive to Trinidad.