Cuba - Trinidad.

The Plaza Mayor, Trinidad
see all photos »

About a five hour journey south of Havana, Trinidad lies on the southern coast of Cuba. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site it is certainly a very picturesque little town. With its cobbled streets and small, brightly painted houses and their terracotta tiled roofs it feels more akin to a town in the Bolivian altiplano than Caribbean Cuba.

The town is set on the slopes of a hill, offering great views of the winding streets, the very heart beat of Trinidad. Women sell a few tomatoes and bananas from their livng room windows, hoping to get a few pesos. An old man has set up an impromtu cafe on his doorstep selling strong, hot coffee. Outside a the repair shop a queue of hopefuls catch up on the latest gossip as their televisions sit in wheelbarrows waiting for a new lease of life.

From latin beats to cobbled streets (oh and a bruised bum!)

The quiet, cobbled streets
see all photos »

In times gone by this might have been a fairly quiet place but its UNESCO status has resulted in Trinidad being the most visited town in the country. Although this has obviously brought huge economic benefits to the area (as well as a lovely set of black gates) it ironically undermines the flavour of the place. In the centre, where the tourists dare to tread, the cobbled streets don´t look quite so quaint. Coaches vye for right of way, spilling out their tourist cargo onto the street, who promptly mow down any passing locals.

A backyard band practice
see all photos »

The other down side of this influx of visitors is that there are a significant number of locals who have taken to begging for money, clothes or for soap. Some tourist clearly felt generous one day and tried to help someone out with a gift. The inevitable snowball then gathered pace and the resulting begging can at times be unbearable and depressing. Interestingly, when you leave the tourist areas and walk along the outer streets you get no such hassles.

If you need a breather from the town there is the wonderful Playa Ancon (beach) just 12km away. A long stretch of white sand and an endless view of crystal clear azure water stretching as far as the eye can see, the beach is everything you imagined of the caribbean coast.

Overlooking the Plaza Mayor
see all photos »

Trinidad is also flanked by mountains, which we took to one day for a horseback adventure to a nearby waterfall. I had been harping on about having a ride (on a horse) all trip and finally Chris caved in. Luckily for him 3 out of the 5 of us had never been on a horse before and he wasn´t the only one to be crying out in pain as he bumped up and down on the rigid saddle/torture chair. Although the horses were fairly well trained they were wont to random changes in pace and Chris´s knuckles grew steadily whiter as he tried to stop his for legged friend shooting off into the distance.

Our destination was worth the pain however and we arrived at a stunning waterfall which you could swim under and into a cave complete with bats.

Trinidad is definitely worth a quick visit if in Cuba and the environs are stunning. You only need a day in the town itself as although very beautiful it does start to feel a bit contrived after a while as it´s so touristy and you do start to ask yourself whether UNESCO status can actually be the death of a place.

Our trip back to Havana was slightly uncomfortable thanks to our bruised bums (literally) from the horse riding. After another day and night there making the most of the mojitos and the music we headed off the Mexico. Central America here we come.