Cuba - Trinidad

Before heading to Trinidad, we made a little detour to the Botanical Garden in Cienfuegos. An extensive area with hundreds of species of palm trees, orchids, bamboo, etc. It was impressive how large some of the trees were. The size of a palm leaf... gigantic, it can't be captured in photos. At least I tried ;)

For those who want to see some colorful flowers, like me :), there is also a small house where some flowers and cacti are displayed.

Since we didn't want to go directly to the city center on the first day, we decided to explore what else there is to see. We eventually chose to visit the Torre Manaca Iznaga tower, Casa Buenavista, and the La Batata cave.

Torre Manaca Iznaga tower and Casa Buenavista:

The tower is about 15 km away from Trinidad and offers a great view of the small town and its surroundings. If you need some souvenirs, this is the place to go, as the road to the tower is crowded with stands. Lots of white clothes, and nothing else. I have no idea if Fiat Lux has arrived here yet :D

Casa Buenavista is a few minutes away and is a small ruin. Really small, so we decided not to pay the entrance fee and just take some photos from the parking lot. The guy at the entrance probably thought we were crazy :D It really didn't look that impressive, sorry.

La Batata cave:

The road to the cave was already a little adventure, with lots and lots of curves, but what a view. Amazing. Oh, and there was another fire somewhere, but people here don't seem to care much. It will stop on its own eventually, yeah :D

To avoid walking too far, we parked near the Escrambay spa hotel. Spa hotel? It looked more like a prison from the GDR era. I have no idea how anyone can relax here, it was just ugly :D Anyway, you can't get lost on the way to the cave and it's really worth it. You can climb and swim here. Just beware, it's freezing :D Climbing was fun again, and I didn't get wet like the others. Well ;)

The city itself is also very beautiful, but see for yourself :)

Next stop: Santa Clara