First Day in Cienfuegos

January 9, 2013

It has been a few days since my last blog. Yesterday was a lost day. Unfortunately, something we ate at the El Cubano was not good for us, and we both spent the day close to bed and toilet. I can't believe I slept so much. But by the end of the day, I was feeling good enough to down some orange juice. Richard was not, and had a pretty bad night. Not to be recommended, that paladar. And today we were facing a four-hour bus ride, without toilet facilities. So there was some reason for concern. We only had to walk to the Plaza de Armes, though, for the bus.

We had been warned that the Viazul buses were cold, so we dressed in long pants, and took jackets. It was not that cool in the bus, although pleasantly not warm either. And we were told the Viazul buses were prompt; we would question this. Our bus this morning was over ninety mintues late. But once on, the ride was comfortable and fairly quick. Again, such is Cuba.

The land we traversed was across the island from north to south, from the Via Blanca down to Cienfuegos. We passed orange groves, sugar cane fields, pastureland, rice fields,

market gardens, as well as a few small to medium towns. Left the Hotel Santa Isabel in Habana and arrived at the Hotel La Union in Cienfuegos.

And of course, as we were standing around getting our baggage off the bus, there were people standing around wondering if we needed a place to stay. When I said to one person that I was going to the Casa Inez Maria, so couldn't go to their casa, an older man spoke up and said he was my amigo and would take me there. He had a bicycle, with no brakes, and he pushed it all the way. He dropped off another couple of folks along the way, then got us to our casa. We were met by Amed, the husband of the owner or the house. Turns out she is at her sister's, and the sister is about to go into hospital for an operation. So we may have to move again.

But Amed is very nice, speaks pretty good English, and we had a good talk about Cuban politics, sites around Cienfuegos, and so on. And he will make us a light supper. So we are (relatively) happy. The place is great, the roof-top sitting area is very nice and does look over to the harbour. It will be wonderful at sunset.

At our request, he made a very nice chicken soup for our supper, but also some rice and a cooked fish (cierra, don't know what it is is English). And some tomatoes, which he says are in season right now. I had eaten nothing and was quite hungry. So ate more than I should have, including a dessert and coffee. It tasted very good, but, ah...pride! I was up through the night with a re-enactment of my GI concern.


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Location:Casa Inez Maria