THREE MORE SLEEPS….
On this particular day we are on the road southeast from Havana, stopping along the way in Cienfuegos for lunch and proceeding to Trinidad.
Cienfuegos (Spanish pronunciation: [sjenˈfweɣos]) is a city on the southern coast of Cuba, capital of Cienfuegos Province. It is located about 250 km (160 mi) from Havana, and has a population of 150,000. The city is dubbed La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South). Cienfuegos literally translates to “One Hundred fires”. Cien meaning one hundred, and fuego(s) meaning fires.
The area was called the Cacicazgo de Jagua by the early Spaniards, and was settled by indigenous people.
The city was settled by French immigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana, led by Don Louis de Clouet, on April 22, 1819. Its original name was Fernardina de Jagua, in honor of Ferdinand VII of Spain. The settlement became a town (Spanish: Villa) in 1829, and a city in 1880. The city was subsequently named Cienfuegos, sharing the name with Cienfuegos, a Captain General in this time, in the island.
Near Cienfuegos was the scene of a battle on May 11, 1898, between American marines who attempted to sever underwater Spanish communication lines and the Spanish defenders.
During the Cuban Revolution the city saw an uprising against Fulgencio Batista and was bombed, on September 5, 1957.
Trinidad (Spanish pronunciation: [tɾiniˈðað]) is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been one of UNESCOs World Heritage sites since 1988. The city is located on Caribbean coast near the Escambray Mountains.
The Plaza Mayor of Trinidad is a plaza and an open air museum of Spanish colonial architecture. Only a few square blocks in size, the historic plaza area has cobblestone streets, pastel coloured houses with wrought-iron grills, and colonial era edifices such as the Santísima Trinidad Cathedral and Convento de San Francisco. The Municipal History Museum is in town also.
- Sugar mills
The Valley of the Sugar Mills—Valle de los Ingenios, also a World Heritage Site, has around 70 historic sugar mills. They represent the importance of sugar to the Cuban economy over the centuries. It has la Torre Iznaga, a 45 metres (148 ft) tower built by Alejo Iznaga Borrell in 1816.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQz7kttLiXI
While in Trinidad we will be staying at Hotel La Ronda –
At some point during our visit to the southeast, we will also be seeing the Che Guevara Mausoleum…is there anyone who does not know who he was? Have you been asleep on this trip?
Cuban Odyssey 