TOURING CUBA: PART TWO - SANCTI SPIRITUS, REMEDIOS and TRINIDAD

Monday morning we boarded the motor coach for our journey to Remdios, with a stop in the city of Sancti Spiritus along the way.  Sancti Spiritus is another 500-year-old city which is off the main tourist route.  It was about a three-hour bus ride from Camaguey.

A charming street in town

Sancti Spiritis is perhaps best known for the scenic Puente Yayabo, the sturdy stone bridge built by the Spanish in 1815.

The gorgeous puente Yayabo, above the rio Yayabo

The bridge, the church and the colonial houses of cobbled calle El Llano have all been declared national monuments.

My brother, in white cap, stands near this interesting building on El Llano

I'm thrilled these two girls allowed me to take their picture

We ate lunch at Los 500 Anos Restaurante palador.  (A palador is a small family-run restaurant.)  We met the proprietress and chef, a woman named Rebecca.  Her palador is fairly new and is in the building attached to her house next door.

Rebecca, the only chef I've ever met who cooks in high heels.  I kid you not.

Can you guess Rebecca's favorite color?  Ceiling beams and even the commode are lime green

After the gourmet lunch we boarded the bus for the final 90 minute ride to Remedios, which is the 8th largest city in Cuba, a sleepy town founded in 1513 by the Spanish to serve as a trading port on the route between Havana and Camaguey.  We met Joel, a town resident who is also a historian, and the proprietor of the Villa Joel.

The Villa Joel

It took Joel 8 years to renovate the Villa Joel.  There are 5 rooms in the Villa which Joel rents strictly to Cubans, and not foreign tourists.  The rooms are rented in Cuban pesos, at the equivalent of $4 per night.  Joel is well-respected in Remedios.  He publishes a local paper, hosts children's functions and is heavily vested in his local community.

Talking with the very personable Joel who was a pleasure to meet

An ornate wall in the garden of the Villa Joel

Being serenaded at the Villa Joel.  Music is such a big part of the Cuban culture.

We checked into our room at Hotel Camino del Principe in Remedios where we stayed Monday and Tuesday night.  We had a room on the third floor.  The communal balcony overlooked the town square.  Remedios has a population of about 45,000 people. 

Feeling relaxed at Camino del Principe.

Tuesday we visited the Sugar Mill Museum, located 3 km outside of Remedios.  The sugar mill was in operation from 1891 until 1999.  We were given a tour, which showed us the evolution of sugar production from the original mortar and pestle through the steam power centrifuge.

The entrance to the Sugar Museum

Sophisticated machinery inside the museum

We were offered fresh sugarcane juice and then invited to explore the Parque Tematico de Locomotoras next door.

An old locomotive which is still in operation

Hasta la victoria siempre!  Ever onward to victory!

La Parrandas is the soul of Remedios and the community is passionate about it.  The tradition is two centuries old.  It is a huge celebration held Christmas Eve, with an intense competition between the north part of town and the south part of town.  There are four elements to las parrandas - the stage work, the float, the fireworks and lanterns.  Both sides spend nearly the whole year to design and create their presentations for the competition. 

We met with a local man, Roaidis, who has been designing parrandas for 30 years.

Roaidis shows us one of his intricate designs

Later, we took pedicabs to the factory/work shop where the floats and stages are made.  Quite the operation!

This elephant was in last year's float.

In the evening, we drove six miles northeast of Remedios to the coastal town of Caibarien, populatoin of 50,000.  The idea was to view the sunset from the malecon before dinner.  Unfortunately it was cloudy and overcast, so not much of a view, but I was glad to finally see the Cuban coast.

We took a pre-dinner stroll along the malecon

We dined at En Familia in Caibarien.  We sat down at two long banquet tables where we were treated to a fresh seafood feast of grilled shrimp, fresh crab, fried red snapper, plantain chips and sweet potato wedges.

Wednesday morning we bid Remedios goodbye and we were off to Trinidad.  It was a pleasant morning ride, with lovely views from the windows of our bus.

Gazing out the window at the Cuban countryside

The old part of Trinidad is a UNESCO heritage site, since 1988.  I absolutely loved Trinidad, a well-preserved colonial town with brightly colored buildings, cobblestone streets and live music on nearly every corner.

A street in old Trinidad

It makes me want to sing and dance

While Gerry lights up his Cuban cigar

Our people-to-people connection in Trinidad was a visit to the home of Lazaro Niebla and his wife Lianis.    Lazaro is a wood-carve artist.  He recycles by using abandoned wood from home restorations to create his unique, sculptured portraits.  His focus is on senior (older) people, and peasants.  He likes to know their stories and tries to capture them in the facial expressions he creates.

I was impressed with this piece of his

It was intriguing to watch Lazaro at work.  Like most of the artisans we have met, he is passionate about his work.

Lazaro met this man in the magazine and created his portrait. 

We ate a splendid lunch at The Jazz Cafe in downtown Cuba.  The young owner of the paradar introduced himself to us. He opened The Jazz Cafe 15 months ago and his business is booming.

A jazz band at the Jazz Cafe.  Appropriate enough. 

I am enjoying the sounds at this cafe

I ordered one of the chef's recommendation - the spicy shrimp.

Perhaps the spiciest dish in Cuba - a two thumbs up!

Paul is happy with his generous portion of lobster in a special sauce

The Road Scholar group split up and stayed in various casa particulars (private houses for rent.)  Our family stayed together with the host family, Yoandy R Rondon.  It was nice, except that the house next door raised fighting roosters (which meant an obnoxious wake-up call at 4:00 am when the roosters crowed cock-a-doodle-doo.)

Sunset from the balcony of our casa particular

Large mural on the wall outside our room at the casa particular

There is a large plaza in the center of Trinidad where musicians take the stage nightly and play from 7:00 pm until 2:00 am.  People get up and dance.  It is difficult to sit still when you listen to the rhythmic Cuban music!

Enjoying the music scene at the plaza

I am sorry we only had one day and night in Trinidad.  I could easily have stayed here longer...