Breakfast was on this small side in the casa we were in. A small bread and butter plate of fruit , coffee, juice, bread and jam. David gave cat most of his fruit as that is all she could have. We met everyone else at 8am and headed off in two small minivans for Santa Clara and the Che memorial. We passed through many small towns and saw people on the side of the highway cutting the grass with scythes. Once we arrived at the Che memorial we waited in line for about 15 minutes before being allowed to enter. The memorial was on one side and a museum on the other with photos and memorabilia from Che's life, it was very interesting. We then were able to wander around the square and take photos of the outside of the monument.
Back in the van it was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Trinidad and by this time Cat was getting very hungry. We had a welcome drink in one of the Casas (Alcoholic so it went straight to our heads) then an orientation walk. We first walked to Parque Cespedes and Romey pointed out the Cadeca, internet and supermercado (supermarket). We meandered through the cobblestone streets admiring the pretty colourful buildings and craft market. We stopped part way through the walk to have lunch at 2.30pm. We both ordered a mixed grill and when it turned up were surprised to see it was all seafood. 1/2 a lobster, prawns and fish for only $12. After lunch we continued on to Plaza Mayor surrounded by the cathedral, the convent and other buildings. Romey left us there and we wandered around by ourselves passing more markets and a museum. We also passed a house having a celebration that had a huge statue of Mary with food and candles lay out before it. There was also a band inside playing Afro Cuban music. It started to rain so we headed back to our casa.
We ate dinner with the group at Jesus' house on the terrace with a 3 piece band playing in the background. The dinner was huge and both of us struggled to eat the meal of fish, lobster, crab, sweet potato chips, salad and pumpkin. After dinner Carol retired for the night and the rest of us walked into town to the steps where they were playing traditional Cuban music then it was on to El Palenque to watch an Afro Cuban show with music singing and dancing. Catriona was taken up on stage by one of the male performers to do some salsa! When the show finished John and Lorna retired for the night and Romey, Naranee, Heather, Ted, Catriona and David headed off to the cave, a disco in an underground cave. We had a drink and a couple dances and ended up leaving at 12am.
We were up for breakfast at 7:30am and it was lovely, fruit, bread and cake for David, coffee, ham, cheese and scrambled eggs. After breakfast we met the rest of the group and a GAP group and headed off to Salto Javira, a waterfall in the foothills of the Cierra Escambray mountains. We had a one hour walk through a forest where the GAP guide told us things along the way. At the waterfall we had a swim in the beautiful clear water right under the waterfall into a cave where there were bats flying around. The water was cold but as the day was warm it was refreshing and we acclimatised quickly. We walked back along the same route and had a lemonade at the bar before catching the bus back into Trinidad.
The two of us had lunch in a rooftop restaurant overlooking an intersection near the cathedral. Then Catriona headed off for a massage and David walked to the train station and around town taking photos of old cars and buildings. Then it was back to the casa to for dinner, another huge meal, before meeting the group at Jesus' at 9pm and heading out to the steps to listen to some music.
Another lovely breakfast was provided by our host family and as we have been eating so much we decided not to order eggs with all the other food we had. We met the rest of the group outside Jesus' house at 9am and set off for the train ride along the world heritage "Velle de los Ingenios" (sugar mill valley) to Iznaga mansion. The train journey took us over rivers and past some small farms. The vegetation of the valley that was once sugar cane is now mostly covered in spiky weedy bushes. We had great views of the mountains either side of the valley. At Iznaga the train stopped for 1 1/2 hours so we ran the gauntlet through the markets passing the mansion and paying the 1 CUC to climb the bell tower where we had magnificent views over the valley. We took a few photos and descended the ladders to have a look in the mansion which is now a restaurant where we had a cold drink.
We re boarded the train which took us a little further up the track to Casa Guachinango where we had another 1 hour stop but there was not much there other than a poor restaurant so we walked down the road looking at the papaya, banana and coffee being farmed and also a few of the different types of birds. It was very hot and we heard the train returning (it had turned around for the return journey) so we headed back and sat in the last carriage waiting. When it finally departed it started to rain. We decided to go to the middle car which was the bar car, to have a drink, David had a Bucaneero (local beer) and Catriona a mojito. It started to rain quite heavily and as there were no windows in the carriages everyone had to move to the centre to avoid getting wet. The train was constantly blowing its horn to move the cattle off the tracks and they were often running along side the train in fright.
Once back in Trinidad Carole, Naranee, Lorna and John had lunch with the two of us in Guitaria mia. The food had a musical theme with musical scores painted onto the plates with different coloured sauces. It was very nice and we even managed to have desert because we shared a main and a salad. After lunch we walked through town again and up to the ruins of the Popa Church where we had views over the city all the way to the sea. We had quiet night at the casa having a chicken soup for dinner rather than a full meal so we don't end up coming home the size of a house.
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