Tag: Sancti Spiritus

Cuban Coffee Chronicles – Day 3

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We stopped at a local ration store. Ari explained how the system worked.

In Trinidad de Cuba, (established 1514 like Sancti Spiritus) we talked with Julio Munoz, owner of a local casa particulare (Bed and Breakfast) and heard about the challenges of running a home business in Cuba. The owner, educated as an engineer is an avid photographer, horse enthusiast, and very animated speaker.

We learned about the religion of Santeria (a combination of African spirituality and Catholicism).

We had lunch at a paladar named strangely, Ananda (a Bengali and Hindi world for joy). Loved the house band there. They played a mix of Cuban and American songs. It was disorienting listening to Georgia by Ray Charles in small town Cuba. Each meal was an opportunity to meet our fellow travelers. Already by day 3 we had become a loose crazy family exploring together, learning together, staying together. All of our fellow travelers had fascinating travel stories to tell….elephant riding, Safari trips, hiking across Spain and more.

Visited the architecture museum after lunch. So impressed. Built in 1826 this house for sugar barons had running hot water, a shower, indoor plumbing, cisterns that collected rain water, indoor gas lighting….again in 1826! Crazy advanced and beautiful craftsmanship. On our way back to Sancti Spiritus we stopped at El Alfarero, a ceramics workshop in operation since the 19th century.

 

 

Back at Sancti Spiritus. What a day! View from balcony of our hotel room. In the morning we could see the elementary school kids going to school in their red uniforms, some stopped at the bakery across the hotel for a bite, many going to work, umbrellas in hand, a lady just carrying an uncovered pink and yellow-frosted cake,  a Zumba class despite the hot, humid weather (without air-conditioning!). I am humbled by the dedication to health the women in that small town showed. Children and often women had an incredible ability to balance themselves on bicycle bars as passengers. At one point there was loud happy music, someone walking down the street with a speaker on wheels. Little familiar things in unfamiliar clothes.

Oh yes, and the tiny cup of strong and sweet Cuban coffee after lunch was perfect for mid-day energy!

 

Cuban Coffee Chronicles – Day 2

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After a delay at the Miami airport but a short flight (less than an hour) we arrived at the small airport of Cien Fuegos. To me it looked like 1970s small town Bangladesh. The humidity added to the familiar feeling. I was struck by the decorative black leggings the women customs officers wore. This coupling of standardized uniformity and expressions of individual taste is something that I will see throughout my time in Cuba. A cute non-threatening beagle sniffed for produce and I assume other un-welcomed items. The 18 of us piled into the large, air conditioned tour bus and met our local tour guide, Ari, like Tracy, an excellent, kind, informative and most helpful tour guide.

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First stop, lunch. The alternative to state run restaurants are paladars. Homes that offer delicious food. The range of paladars extend from small apartments to mansions. Our first paladar experience was Villa Lagarto, poised on a sliver of land sandwiched between ocean waves.

Our lunch at Punta Gorda Harbor included a salad, soup, lamb for me, rabbit for Jim and dessert.

Cien Fuegos main square and cathedral was full of historical narrative that included celebrated 19th century poet Jose Marti. The theater (built 1889) was impressive and still holds performances.

We made our way to the hotel in Sancti Spiritus located on a walking boulevard. My favorite public space in Cuba! The scale was intimate. Every morning it was scrubbed clean. Cuba (except for Havana) was surprisingly clean. You can see people on their phones talking with loved ones because the government offers wifi in public plazas. Walking through the plaza, I felt welcomed but also intrusive of intimate conversations.  I see people blowing kisses into their phones and sad good byes. So much emotion, publicly held. Sancti Spiritus, a 500 year old city, established 1514 is a step back into time. Our 200 year old hotel was comparatively “new” and beautiful. Our dinner that evening at local paladar home balcony of rice and fish was one of my favorites of the trip.  I’m so glad our Cuba experience began in Cien Fuegos and Sancti Spiritus instead of Havana. It offered a calming, humble picture of reality grounded in a province known for their agriculture and long history. Just beautiful.