Las Cuevas Trinidad

Took a 6 hour bus to Trinidad and arrived 8 hours later - starting to learn what ´Cuban time´means! A small colonial town with cobbled streets and few tourists. An insight into real Cuban life. Stayed at a lovely casa, with 2 roof terraces to ourselves and amazing food. Lols bday was on the Monday so got her (and ourselves) a cowboy hat and went out to Cafe de la Musica in the evening for mojitos and more salsa ...

... mojitos are ****. You don't really get the right taste when they are served in plastic !!!<br><br>Day 3<br><br>Well, it's another story about going off to Sancti Spiritus, and as this blog is about Trinidad, we shall continue.<br><br>After arriving back, we took a drive up to Topes de Collantes which was in the mountains above Trinidad. There was a massive edifice which had been built by the former president Batista in two stages. He started it in 1937 and finished it ...

... or two or you can spend a month here discovering something new every day. It really depends whether you travel to see it all or have the time to smell the flowers. It is full of tourists but the town is not overwhelmed with them yet. Meeting the different visitors from all over Europe also provides a bit of break for that needed conversation without exercising my eyebrows that automatically react to the rush of Spanish flowing in one ear and out the other. It was another ...

... on the terrace by Julio's wife asking me whether I want lobster or shrimp for supper. I'll take the shrimp ... gracias. Grilled or in sauce? Grilled ...gracias. Nobody has any food in the stores but everyone is cooking. I think that maybe because I am in a small fishing community that there are things available that are not on the shelves. That seems to be the case everywhere. When I was in Vinales and going through the fields of crops with Armando, I asked him if the crops ...

... of that Jamaican countryside, too. It's a trade-off. At least Internet is not illegal there, and it's free at the Bobsled Café in Montego Bay, though a bit erratic. Like I said, not everything's cheap here. With maps $5 a pop, excursions here involve quite a bit of dead reckoning, looking at my downloaded map on the laptop and getting my bearings, then starting out, noting landmarks, and trying to remember to compensate for any unexpected ...

... some objective and hassle free advice. On leaving the shop, our toothless old lady was still there and now having seen us go into the cigar shop insisted we come and have a look at her cigars. Despite our 'no gracias' and getting worked up, she had no intention of leaving us alone... 'Only looking' she says, 'only looking'. Eventually we succumbed, but only looking we insisted. She agreed and hastily led the way up past Plaza Mayor and to a street just behind our casa. A few ...

... feeling. Before long a Cuban girl starts chatting to me between the waves and I realise I won't get any peace in this town. My host, Armando suggests a Paladar for dinner and even scooters me over there. As I arrive 3 lads get out of a taxi and we end up on tables next to each other on the patio. I strike up conversation, ask to join them and spend the evening chatting to Gustav and Nicolas from Sweden and Ben from England. Being able to chat and share experiences both of Cuba and our ...

... both the Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide (which we´re using). It was great - I had fish, and Ross had some sort of pulled pork stew that looked great. Desert was fantastic too - flan. After dinner we went for drinks with Kara &amp; Leigh at Palenque de los Congos, the local Casa de la Trova. The first band that played was great, and then it got into a bit of afro-Cuban dance that was still good, but a fair bit more repetitive. Our casa: El ...

... in their homes. They were all 'casa pushers' Due to the lack of hotels, there is a total of 3 in Trinidad, most people rent rooms in their homes (casas)to tourists. The government backs this scheme and homes that participate in this are called 'casa particulares' The homeowners have to pay a fixed comission to the government for each room they rent (only a maximum of 2 rooms can be rented) and being a Communist country, all ...

... by Hawaii and Australia, but the beach is nothing special. Yes, nice sand, warm water and for $2 a big, grass beach umbrella and lounge chair. But it's windy and the shelter is some distance from the surf. Give me Gilligan's lagoon any day. Lucy and I stroll down the beach, playing chicken with the surf until she feels comfortable. On the way back, I carry her chest deep through the Caribbean. We arrive back to a stressed Julie 15 minutes later. Jonathan has ...