Today went on a tour from Trinidad to Cienfeugos. Saw the Teatro Tomas Terry, the main street, a nice old church and the Palacio de Valle. Then drove to Santa Clara to the monument do el Che. It was pretty heavy going. We then drove through the El Escambre mountains, looked at some views, nice but not that inspiring. Arrived home in Trinidad at around 6pm.
Moorish-style Palacio de Valle – see LP page 228. The most original building in Cienfeugos, designed by Cuban and foreign architects, rented by sugar baron Acisclo del Valle Blanco, one of the richest men in Cuba. Built in 1913-1917. It’s a 2 story building decorated Gothic Venetian and Neo-Moorish. The three towers stand for love, power and religion.The Teatro Tomas Terry, inaugurated in 1890, the theater has been wonderfully maintained. It has been declared a national monument, and stars such as Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Ana Pavlova performed here. Check to see if there are any performances while you’re in town; if not, you can tour the facility during the day. Admission is 1CUC and includes a quick, guided tour.
Museo Provincal. Took some photos, but suffering museum burnout.
Paseo del Prado – walked down it. A little better than your average Cuban street, but not much
Cathedral de la Purisma Conception – atmospheric, hard to take photos in. Happily no one wanted money here.
Went to Santa Clara to the Che monument. Was hoping to add another dead communist body viewing to my list, however I was out of luck. Apparently Che’s skeleton is interred here. The museum was interesting, with many great photos, especially of Che in disguise, which I have never seen before. We had lunch here and still with our very limited Spanish were able to pull off 2 slices of fresh pizza for 8 Pesos Cuban ($AUD 0.50).
All told, Cienfeugos is a very nice place, I’d like to have spent more time checking it out….maybe next time I come back.
Ropa Vieja for dinner………pretty good – Vinales better
