Heading back into the town of Trinidad, we stop at a viewing area to get a better look at the Valley. It’s so beautiful, peaceful and serene here. A nice mountain breeze keeps us cool and it is easy to imagine spending more than just a couple of hours out here.
Into Trinidad, we tour around the streets, watching the REALLY uneven cobble stones. This is everything Friendly Planet warned us about in their travel docs! In some pockets, there is lots of activity, in others – no one is out on the streets. It’s a beautifully preserved town, with gorgeous buildings and a wonderful colonial atmosphere.
We stop at one building/house where there is a Santeria shrine. Julie explains the religion a bit (as I described before) and how there is always a Catholic shrine and an African shrine. In this house, there is the black Madonna and then a water shrine.
We continue on through town, and stop in front of the Paladar, Sol Ananda, where we will have dinner tonight. It looks awesome – what a great house – with tables set up by the beds in the bedroom! Wow! Can’t wait!
Our final stop of the day is at the Romantic museum, which is the former home of one of the rich sugar grower families in Trinidad, the Borrels, which has now been turned into a museum. There are period pieces here, furniture and items that are representative of how the family lived in the late 1800’s. Here, as at the Theatre in Cienfuegos, you must pay 1 CUC to take pictures. My camera is running low on batteries, so we pay for Ed’s camera. One is enough!
It’s really a neat old plantation style house filled with interesting artifacts. Original marble floors, frescoes and original painted earthenware tiles in the kitchen. There is also a wonderful 2nd floor balcony that overlooks the beautiful main square, Plaza Mayor, and the church bell tower up the street. It also lets in a refreshing breeze, which at this point is more than welcome since it is HOT, HOT, HOT here. I’m melting and cannot wait to get back to the bus..seriously!
We slowly head out into the street and onto the lovely Plaza Mayor. It is a beautiful little area – and right past here are the stairs where we will sit tonight after dinner for a concert and dancing.
We head toward a little market that winds it way around the cobblestone streets. There are lots of lace and wood and things – but nothing too interesting for us. So, we try to make our way back to our meeting point, only to find that if you follow the market to the end – you aren’t where you are supposed to be! We had to backtrack a bit to find the rest of the group – but we still had time to spare! Phew! You know you never want to be the ones holding up the group!
Finally, back to the bus. The last stop is a ceramics studio of a local artist where we can peruse the wonderful pots and bowls and artwork they have created. Everything is gorgeous, but entirely too big to get home. We do buy some great little bracelets for 1 CUC each though. Now, finally, back to the hotel! Great day – but long HOT day!
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