Cienfuegos is a small city on the South coast of Cuba yet not directly situated at the ocean. A huge Bahia which is filled with the ocean saltiness through the small inlet near Jagua. It is not as picturesque as Habana Vieja nor as charming as Viñales, but the sunset over bay are incomparable. This make it an ideal stop on your way East to Trinidad. Find out how I made the most of a day and night in this city and get inspired. For my full itinerary click here.

Wednesday 17th: Cienfuegos en el Cielo con Diamantes

Go with the flow

One of the reasons why country life would probably not be for me is the fucking roosters. I’m sure it’s useful to have them cry out at 5am if you actually do have to go and plough the field. But God knows I wanted to shoot this one. Eventually he shut up and I magically woke up 10 min before my alarm. I packed my backpack (that looked like it threw up on the bed) as best as I could and headed onto the porch for breakfast.

I said thanks and goodbye to my hosts and headed up the hill to the centre to catch my colectivo. All this because I was stupid enough not to know the address to my casa the night before, when I arranged it. It did allow me to quickly look for and book a casa in Cienfuegos, of which I did screenshot the address this time.

I was the first to get picked up and the only one to go to Cienfuegos. I wasn’t even going to bother asking how that would work out. A fast, kind of sleepy 2,5 hours later the answer became clear. An improvised parking lot outside Havana provided for the perfect a passenger redistribution place. Thanks to a stressed out Madrileño arguing he paid for AC, we got the only van with AC. This was fantastic except for the fact that it kept steadily spitting its cold condensation water on me. I accepted it as part of the experience and focused on my book.

Raquel

A couple hours later we rolled into Cienfuegos and started dropping everyone off at their Casa. The driver passed mine by twice, so I told him to just let me out. Raquel was the perfect host and greeted me most enthusiastically. She showed me my room and told me to get comfy while she registered me.

After downing a cold bottle of water Raquel sat me down on the terrace and gave me a full overview of what to see and do in and around the city. Gratefully I took her advice and printed out little city plan and went out to explore. After seeing the central square and arriving at La Piña Colada (famous for…you guessed it) I realized that I couldn’t buy one because I had brought 0 cash. Frustrated with my own stupidity I walked back, and Raquel laughed when I explained the situation.

Sunset

I headed down to Punta Gorda waking all the way down the malecón. Aside from the tiny park all the way at the tip, it was mostly the Palacio del Valle that made the trip worthwhile. I decided it would be wise to eat first before going all mojito again and immediately realized I had skipped lunch again. My stomach would have to wait for dinner, because while walking back the sun started to set and there was no way I was going to miss the sunset view from the malecón. So I stuck around and shot some great pics while enjoying the smell of the sea and the sound of the gulls.

Afterwards I decided I was too smelly to go straight to the restaurant I had in mind. So, I walked back home for a quick shower before heading back down to Las Mamparas. The ropa vieja with moros y christianos was perfect in combination with the Cuban michelada. Thank you Lonely Planet for the tip! I ordered a daiquiri to digest (a strong one) and tried to plan out the rest of my trip high level.

Correction

I quickly realized I should have gone to Playa Girón before. It being more West and thus breaking up my counterclockwise route around the island. Which meant I would have to cover the same distance twice. But I would correct that mistake in the morning by driving two hours back west.

I consulted Raquel and she told me she would try to arrange a collective. But she informed me most people were going west to east in the South. If she failed, I just had to go to the bus station and try my luck. A tactic I was not unfamiliar with luckily. So I bid the sweet lady goodnight and went to bed, obviously after informing her I would take the full breakfast…