The Pearl of the South - Cienfuegos!

After a smooth seven-hour bus ride, I arrived at my next destination, the city of Cienfuegos, the day before yesterday. Cienfuegos is a city on the south coast of Cuba, located in a bay. With its neoclassical buildings in the French style, the old town, which was only established in the 19th century, is one of the best-preserved in all of Cuba, and it shows. The buildings still look relatively new and freshly restored. Additionally, Cienfuegos is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so there is regular funding. However, behind the facade, I found the Cuba I have already encountered and described in my previous stops.

I used the afternoon on the day of my arrival to get acquainted with the city and buy some groceries. I have my own casa again and am essentially living in a mini apartment above my hosts. The advantage - I have my own kitchen and mostly peace and quiet. So once again, it's time to cook for myself, which suits me just fine after the past few days and expenses. However, shopping is once again difficult here, so my hostess tells me in half Spanish and half English that I can tell when a vegetable vendor is selling goods. Shortly after, I hear whistling and loud shouting outside. A glance from the balcony shows me that the flying vegetable vendor is right on our street. So I grabbed some money, went downstairs, and bought fresh tomatoes, beans, and onions. My hostess is kind enough to watch my purchasing process with a critical eye, so I don't pay more than the locals. For one euro, I get five tomatoes, a bunch of beans, and a bunch of onions! Wow! In the evening, I had a fresh tomato sauce with vegetables and some leftover spaghetti from Havana. After that, I read a bit on the balcony and fell asleep later.

I used the first full day in Cienfuegos for sightseeing. First, I visited the market square, where most of the freshly restored buildings can be found. Later, I strolled through the "shopping" street that is prohibited for cars. There was a kind of market here because it was Saturday, and some small stands sold the usual things that can also be found in the barely stocked "super"markets. Especially the stand that sold gifts for Valentine's Day made me smile. The table on which individual silicone seals, car speakers, and mini circuits were sold also brought a smile to my face, not to mention the nail salon :D In Cienfuegos, there are the usual lines at the ATMs, in front of the fish market, and just everywhere. If you go on vacation in Cuba, you need one thing above all - patience! After that, I had a little fiesta in my casa and ate the remaining pasta for lunch.

In the afternoon, I walked along the Malecon - the Paseo del Prado (promenade) all the way down to Punta Gorda (looking at the map might reveal more to you ;). On this street, there were some more magnificent buildings, including Club Cienfuegos with many sailboats in front. This is a kind of marine club with a pool and a rich audience, probably mostly Americans. For them, Cuba is probably paradise itself. Cheap cigars, very cheap rum, and constant sunshine. At the very top was a small park that had clearly seen better days. Nevertheless, it was very beautiful for a slightly longer break by the water. From there, you could also see the once-built, but never completed nuclear power plant. An extremely fascinating story, and if you're interested, feel free to google it. After that, I walked back very slowly.

In the evening, I had pasta again, which there was still so much of that I'll probably have it again today :) You might be thinking that this guy can't just eat pasta :D Unfortunately, there isn't much selection here. Yesterday, I wanted to buy some rice or a few eggs, but this is only intended for the locals with a Libreta book. Similarly, it is almost impossible to buy fish and meat, unless you're willing to stand in line for hours, receive a thousand angry looks, and then get food that doesn't really smell good. I could buy the food from the locals afterwards for a little more money, but my Spanish skills aren't sufficient enough for that and somehow it goes against my morals as well. The locals would certainly appreciate the money and could procure new food through dozens of connections and corners, at least that's what Kizito explained to me. But I have the feeling that I would be taking food away from them, as money is known not to be edible. Well, in the next casa, I won't be able to cook for myself and will have to go out to eat again.

Since Cienfuegos is not very big, I have already seen everything so far. Many tourists only visit this city for an afternoon and then continue to Trinidad. However, since I wanted to travel at a more leisurely pace in Cuba and didn't want to sit on the bus every other day after my 1.5 weeks in Havana, I'm staying one more day here. On the one hand, bus rides here are not really cheap, and on the other hand, it is very exhausting to pack and move every other day. So today, I'm using the day for some rest. I'll call my girlfriend, write a blog, shave, and later I'll make myself comfortable on the balcony with a book.

Tomorrow, I'll take the bus to Trinidad for three more nights in the next casa. Fortunately, this time the bus ride only takes two hours. That's definitely bearable!