Havana, Cienfuegos & Trinidad
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were restored in 2015, after a period of separation that began more than fifty years prior. During my ten days in this newly, reopened country, I traveled between Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. I talked to many locals and learned about their unique history, economy and political structure. They have an interesting story to tell and I am fortunate to have heard a small fraction.
Classic cars are seen throughout Cuba. Here, an antique taxi passes over a narrow side street that runs perpendicular to the often-photographed Malecon, a major roadway that runs along the ocean. (Havana)
By day these vehicles are put to work as taxis shuttling people from location to location. By night, they sit idle along sidewalks. I passed many with their hoods raised in various points of rebuild. Parts and tools were strewn about as Cubans, covered in grease, worked tirelessly so these vehicles were ready to take to the streets the following day.
Waiting on the next fare. (Trinidad)
(Cienfuegos)
(Havana)
(Havana)
(Havana)
(Cienfuegos)
Declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1996, the multi-colored buildings of Trinidad, Cuba provide a unique juxtaposition to the cobblestoned streets and nearby mountains.
I was surprised by the mountainous landscapes and rolling plains lush with vegetation that dotted the horizon in Cuba. One late morning in Trinidad, I found myself on a lower roof of the famous Trinidad Bell Tower. I looked to the northwest and gazed upon the eastern end of the Escambray Mountains, a small range that runs for nearly fifty miles through the central region of Cuba.
Home of the Cienfuegos Elefantes. Although outfitted with lights, only day games are played as the power consumption to light the field at night would plunge the city into darkness.
I know where those old seats at Fenway ended up…Cienfuegos!!
Storm clouds gather over the Bay of Cienfuegos ushering in the standard twenty to thirty minute rain shower that characterized early evening in Cuba.
A woman sits behind a fruit counter in a local market waiting for the next customer. (Cienfuegos)
Professional dancers performing to fast-paced Samba numbers take to the streets to mark the end of Cultural Week in Cienfuegos.
On my last day in Trinidad, I passed by a driveway and glanced at a man swinging a sledgehammer splitting rocks. We began chatting and his three-year old daughter sauntered outside dragging a chair. She instructed me to sit down and pulled out a jar of nail polish in hopes of painting my nails. I was hesitant at first but quickly swallowed my pride and gave in, a little. As I conversed in broken Spanish with her father, she slowly applied a fresh layer of nail polish to ONE thumbnail. While I’d normally resist having my nails painted, I was in Cuba, and if a three-year-old Cuban girl wanted to paint my nails, who was I to say no.
I rarely walk the streets of a foreign nation without my camera. I came upon this boy in Havana leaning against the fender of this light blue car staring into the distance. I thought it unique that this child was leaning against a car that easily outdated him by a handful of decades. He turned just as I raised my camera. “You have to be quicker Paul,” I thought to myself frustrated. He smiled, jumped up on the fender and sat patiently as I clicked away.
School children in Havana line up after an early afternoon recreation period in Plaza Vieja.
Local children play a competitive game of soccer. (Trinidad)
A local gentleman stares intently and ponders his next move (Trinidad)
A boatman departs the dock on Guanaroca Lagoon. Various Cuban flora and fauna call the lagoon home including pelicans and hundreds of flamingos. (Cienfuegos)
I learned quite a few things about flamingos during my short stay in Guanaroca Lagoon. I was surprised to hear that flamingos attain their pinkish color from a particular type of shellfish that fills a large portion of their diet. However, not every flamingos diet is the same. Some avoid this certain shellfish and thus have a much lighter coloring. (Cienfuegos)
A brown pelican glides just above the surface of the Bay of Cienfuegos looking for its next meal. For nearly twenty minutes I watched three of these pelicans glide through the air and recklessly nosedive when a fish was spotted. The large splash and sudden impact made me wonder how they were able to catch even the slowest fish.
And with that my time in Cuba came to a close. Another country in the books. Another stamp in my passport. Endless stories to tell. (Havana)
1 Comment
Brigid Boettcher
June 12, 2017Querido Pablo,
I’m so glad to still be on your blog list. Muy interesante! Love your photos . . . especially the birds and scenery. Cuba seems like a country emerging from the past. I’m glad you tried out your Spanish . . . excelente! . . . on your next trip to a Spanish speaking country – you’ll have to come over for a some conversacion.
Senora B.