The Colors of Cuba - a People to People Adventure: June 2014

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Day 8: Cienfuegos ~ Square ~ Airport

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On Saturday we left Trinidad for the airport with time for a visit to the city of Cienfuegos. The road skirted the beach.

Bennett

Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos, known as La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South), is about 160 miles from Havana. It was settled by French immigrants from Bordeaux, France, and Louisiana in 1819. It is one of the chief seaports of Cuba and is a center of the sugar trade as well as coffee grown by local farmers and tobacco.
Cienfuegos was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2005, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of the 19th-century early Spanish Enlightenment implementation in urban planning.
We were warned at the beginning of the tour that sometimes picture taking would have to be click-click as we sped from one place to another. The following photos were taken from the bus as we drove through parts of Cienfuegos.

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Jim DiNapoli

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Cienfuegos Square

Cienfuegos city center has hold the plaza and many beautiful buildings. Before strolling over to the square, we stepped into a lovely hotel to avail ourselves of the facilities.

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Statue of José Marti in the plaza.

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The Tomas Terry Theater had its first performance in 1890 and has since housed performances by many world-class actors and musicians, including Sarah Bernhardt, Enrico Caruso, Anna Pavlova, Antonio Gades, and Alicia Alonso.

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This sign is a reminder of the Cuban Five, intelligence agents arrested in the United States and convicted of illegal activities in 1998. Foreign nationals of other countries facing similar charges are generally deported, but the five were instead given lengthy prison sentences. There has been international criticism of the fairness of the trial, and several agencies continue to work for their release. Two of the men have been released; one served out his 13-year sentence. The other was permitted to return to Cuba for his father's funeral and remain there on condition of giving up his U.S. citizenship. Volveran means "they will return."

Airport

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We departed Cuba from the Jaime Gonzalez airport in Cienfuegos, which meant not having to drive the 160 miles back to Havana. It is a small yet clean and efficient operation.

There are two gates -- the two doors to the left are Gate 1. The two doors to the right are Gate 2. We departed through Gate 1.

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Our plane was the only one on the tarmac.

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A small bar and a couple of souvenir counters kept us content while we waited to depart. It also gave us an opportunity to exchange a few cucs.
There are two currencies in Cuba, the convertible peso (informally called a cuc) and the Cuban peso (cup). Since November 2004, the U.S. dollar has not been accepted in Cuba, nor are U.S. credit or debit cards. Read more about this confusing money issue here.

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Our departure from Cienfuegos and Cuba.

Jim DiNapoli

And our arrival at Miami International 50 minutes later. The rain that had held off all week came with a fury as we sat on the tarmac for another 50 minutes while waiting for the ground crew to lead us to the gate. The lightning made it dangerous for them to be outdoors.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Day 7: Trinidad ~ Munoz B&B ~ Pottery ~ Sugar Valley

[Click on the photos for a larger view and click the links for more information.]

Trinidad

Trinidad was also founded in 1514 and is one of the best preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when sugar trade was the main industry in the region. It has been one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites since 1988.

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Some scenes from the streets of Trinidad:

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Jim DiNapoli

The morning of our departure.

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Iberostar Hotel

In Trinidad we checked into the Iberostar Hotel for two nights. It exceeded our expectations. :)
Our maid had a sense of humor.

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The hotel lobby was a comfortable place to gather.

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The dining room was pleasant the food excellent.

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Munoz B & B

We visited a B & B (known as a casa particulare) operated by one of Cuba's emerging entrepreneurs. When the restrictions on privately owned businesses were lifted by Raul Castro several years ago, he was able to license two rooms in his house for paying guests. Further relaxation of the law now permits him to rent four rooms. He explained the difficulties of trying to operate under the financial limitations of the U.S. embargo. He is a fine photographer and would like to sell his books on line but is not able to get a PayPal account in the U.S.
The house itself has been in his family for many years. There is a place in back for his horses as well as a dark room for his photography.

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The door to one of the guest rooms.

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Casa del Alfarero Pottery

One of the highlights of the trip for Lloyd was a visit to the Casa del Alfarero Pottery, where he got to show his skill on the wheel. This pottery has been in the Santander family for more than 100 years.

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Valley de los Ingenios

Nearby Trinidad is the Valley del los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills), where we had lunch at the beautifully restored Hacienda de Manaco Iznaga.
Views of the valley from the bus.

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Lookout tower at the hacienda.

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Views from the lookout tower.

Jim DiNapoli

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The view from the balcony where lunch was served was lovely. The heat was not.

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Cristal beer was a big hit with our group members all over Cuba.

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The musicians entertained us during lunch.

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Palacio Cantero

The Palacio Cantero, once home of Justo German Cantero, is the Trinidad General Municipal Museum. Our tour manager, Connie, stayed below to keep an eye on the personal belongings (including cameras) that weren't permitted upstairs.

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