We Were In Cuba! – Part II, Cuba’s Countryside
Yep! That’s right, we were in Cuba… In early February. After getting back to Philadelphia, I did a post about our first three days of the tour in Havana, and wrote this post about the last three days of the trip, and then completely forgot to post it (there are even videos!). So, four months later, here is the wrap up of our trip where we traveled through the countryside and experienced several cities and racked up more amazing experiences.
In Part I, I focused on the first three days in Havana. On the morning of day four, we boarded our private bus and left Havana heading south to the Caribbean Coast. After about three hours of driving, we ended up in Playa Larga, a small village on the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) where we had lunch at paladar Tiki Bahia de Cochinos overlooking the bay near where the Bay of Pigs invasion occurred. After lunch, we then drove further down to the coast to Playa Giron, where we toured the Museo de la Intervención for the Cuban viewpoint on the Bay of Pigs invasion.
[Image: Museo de la Intervención in Playa Giron (on the Bay of Pigs) where we learned the Cuban viewpoint about the failed Bay of Pigs invasion from the US. ]
[Image: We spent the afternoon in Cienfuegos, a coastal town which we found to be quite lively.]
[Image: You will find tributes to Che Guevara throughout Cuba. This one translates to “Gentleman without fault and without fear” (Cienfuegos).]
[Image: From our hotel room, we could see the town square and Iglesia Parroquia Mayor San Juan Bautista de Remedios, a church built in 1692]
[Image: Hotel Barcelona located just off the main square was our home for the last couple of nights.]
[Image: About a mile outside of town was a former sugar cane mill, now a museum (Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado) where we learned of the slave labor used for the processing of sugar.]
[Image: While at the Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado, we watched a demonstration of crushing sugar cane into juice. Several in our group gave it a try, with rum of course.]
[Image: Outside the Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado is a train yard which is in and of itself a museum of old trains. Here a tribute to Che “Ever onward to Victory” stands very prominent.]
[Image: The train yard at Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado. Most of the locomotives were manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in of all cities, Philadelphia!]
[Image: The front of a smaller locomotive built in 1924.]
After riding back into Remedios on the train, we had a nice lunch at a local paladar, and then it was on to a tour of the Iglesia Parroquia Mayor San Juan Bautista de Remedios, a church built in 1692 on the remains of a 1570 church and considered to be the oldest church in Cuba (we also had a wonderful view of the church from our hotel room). In the afternoon we had a couple of hours of free-time and a group of us rented pedicabs for a 30 minute ride around town. Remedios being a small town of only 25,000, I think we saw the entire town on our ride.
By late afternoon we were exhausted, but managed to sneak in a nap before our final dinner at paladar La Estancia (which was okay, but not as good as other meals) followed by wine at the hotel. After a good nights sleep, it was our last day in Cuba, but with an early evening flight, it was to be a full day.
[Image: The courtyard at our hotel.]
[Image: Che Guevara Monument and Mausoleum outside of Santa Clara.]
[Image: We were a bit surprised by the number of people who have smart phones. Cell service is spotty at best, internet is very unreliable and costs by the minute. Main Square, Santa Clara]
[Image: Locals in Santa Clara]
[Image: JetBlue and American are the only two US airlines serving the small Abel Santamaría Airport outside of Santa Clara (Side note, I worked for one, but flew the other).]
[Image: Our plane to take back to Miami shortly after it landed and passengers began to disembark.]
[Image: While in Playa Giron, we stopped for a beverage at a local store. This is typical of what you may find on store shelves. Of course there is a lot of rum to be had.]
[Image: ATM’s are generally a rare site in Cuba. You see them from time to time, but because of the embargo, Americans cannot use them. This one was in Cienfuegos.]
[Image: The locomotive we rode back into Remedios was built in 1916.]
[Image: Locals set up shop inside their homes to serve their neighbors needs. (Remedios)]
[Image: We were forbidden to take photos at the large cigar factory in Havana, but the folks at this small one in Remedios didn’t seem to mind us taking a few snapshots from an open window on the street.]
[Image: Locals in Santa Clara.]
[Image: It is quite common to see these motorized three wheeled wagons hauling entire family’s around.]
[Image: In smaller cities and in the countryside, you frequently see horse driven wagons like this one in Santa Clara. In small cities, they will act like public transit carrying many different folks to different destinations.]
[Image: Everywhere we went, we found the most amazing cement tile floors with amazing patterns and colors. The tile in our former kitchen was made the same way as these, only they are new.]
Next post…. Back to the house and tapping into my dark side.
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Looks like you had a great time! I’m really intrigued with the Hotel Barcelona and its magical courtyard… it has a real time-travel quality to it. So much great architecture and history everywhere – thanks for letting us vicariously experience it!
The Hotel Barcelona was lovely and the courtyard was wonderful. We ate dinner under the stars the first night (and drank copious amounts of wine) and was truly magical. The hotel was restored sometime in the past ten years, from what we were told, it had been all but abandoned for decades. It is now a modern fully functioning hotel with the odd quirks of Cuba due to the limitations of obtaining building materials (the shower was plumbed very strangely). During breakfast on our last day, there was a downpour and the courtyard was filled with puddles while the staff ran around with mops and squeegees to mop up the mess.
[…] And then, just a few days into February, boxes piled everywhere, we were packed and on our way to Cuba for the trip of a lifetime (which we planned many months earlier). If you are curious about our trip, I wrote about our time in Havana followed by our time in the Cuban countryside. […]
[…] We headed south to the Caribbean Coast where our adventure continues. Check back next week for part II about the rest of our […]