This morning there is no time for breakfast ! The only early bus for Cienfuegos (our next destination) leaves at 6.25am from the Viazul office on the main road of Viñales. One stop, two stop and after seven long hours of writing/sleeping/reading, we’re finally there. A couple of other people and us rush down to get the luggages before the bus leaves again for Trinidad. At a first glance, it seems pretty obvious that tourists are not that seen during the low season; in comparison to the “best-casa-offer” assault of Viñales, here there’s barely a person offering accomodation. And why not… since we have no plans, no casa, no nothing, for the usual price of 15CUC per night if we like it, we’re going to see this house.
After a bit of bouncing from casa to casa (either too expensive or WAY too small) we arrive at the Hostel Colonial owned by Manolito. What a luck ! The place is closer to the center of Cienfuegos, costs the same price and the room is huge ! We take it and even “book” a breakfast for the next day. The trip in the bus left us a bit hungry so we decide to start our exploration of the city: pass through the boulevard, look for a supermarket and end up at the pier on the Malecón of Cienfuegos. Once again luck is on our side, although in the supermarket we only manage to get a cheap water (0.7CUC), at the pier there’s a 24/7 barbecue bar that cooks skewers and such for just a couple of CUC; we take a break here for a cheap lunch. The pier is bustling of life: fishermen fishing, kids helping their fathers, others selling their caught and us in the background enjoying a beautiful street scenery worth a thousands shots.
Cienfuegos is alive. Take a left then a right (like we did), get lost somewhere away from the boulevard and other more touristic places and worst thing it could happen is… discovering the authentic Cuba. People playing dominoes on the streets (we even got stopped and taught how to play!), a passionate old-bicycle maker leading you into his place seeing that you photographed his bike, a couple of old people smoking a cigar asking you “where you from” and gifting you a laugh; everyone is so friendly that even while strolling through the “artists” boulevard a painter let us see how, from a photograph, he creates beautiful masterpieces. Not for a second we felt obliged, nor we heard “cheap taxi or cheap casa”, everyone (for once) looked at us with interest and curiosity instead of greed.
Following the boulevard we’re back at the beautiful “wi-fi” Parque Jose Martí; the park, surrounded by beautiful colonial building such as the Terry Theatre, Palacio del Valle and Casa de la Cultura, is a very nice spot to cool down and enjoy “street watching” as cubans do. At Casa de la Cultura its also possible to access the highest point in Cienfuegos (just 1CUC pp), a small one-person tower from which the view over the city (and surroundings) is simply breathtaking.
We also want to see what is up in Punta Gorda since many guides suggest a visit. Some people take a bici-taxi, some people walk, we are in the latter category. The walk to Punta Gorda is around 3-4km all along a seaside palm road that throws you back to Miami Beach; once arrived at the end, there is a small park with a couple of tiny bars where people can chill from the long walk. Is that long walk worth ? We don’t think so, too tiring and the prize is nothing exceptional (actually not even average) to bother even paying a bici-taxi to bring you there; we settle for 1CUC with a bici-taxi and back we’re at our starting point in Parque Jose Martí.
Without even noticing, evening is starting to fall. The boulevard is emptying, shops are closing, tourists are looking for a place to eat at and music is making its way through the curtains of the night. Music music music, by chance tonight at the local Club de Cultura on the boulevard we hear an old couple (him guitar and her singing) playing/singing some cuban tunes; smooth but loud, gentle but strong: music. In front of this place, we also find the restaurant for tonight; although being quite touristy and a bit more above the average for prices, “Te Quedarás” offers live cuban music (also this time just amazing) to be listened while having a bite on a narrow balcony overlooking the city. Food is great, music is great, company is great: High Five !
Later, on the way to our casa, we make a stop at the Parque to get some wi-fi but after some minutes we notice a thunderstorm approaching… guess its time for a last pic and off we go into the night. Far away, the sound of Chan Chan is slowly fading away as nature starts to refresh the artsy city of Cienfuegos.
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