The beautiful colonial city in Cuba - Trinidad!

Until now, I only knew Trinidad as a neighboring island of Tobago, but there is also a city called Trinidad in Cuba, and a very famous one at that. The travel guide says: 'It resembles an awakening postcard: red roof tiles, cobblestones, and pastel-colored colonial houses with huge doors.' But it took me a while to warm up to Trinidad, although I would rather not use the word 'warm' here, as it is by far the hottest place on my Cuba trip so far. Let me tell you why I had some difficulties here.

Two days ago, I arrived in Trinidad in the afternoon. The bus ride followed the coastline and offered beautiful views of the sea and coastline. Inland, the mountains of the Sierra del Escambray towered up, simply beautiful. When I arrived at my casa, it turned out that I had a whole house to myself. However, it was located quite far from the old town and in a rather dirty neighborhood. In addition, everything was a bit run-down, and when I looked into the refrigerator, I declined breakfast with thanks. But I thought to myself that I'm only here to sleep and not to spend the whole time in the casa. I used the afternoon to explore my immediate surroundings. I walked along the streets and immediately noticed that there are a lot of tourist groups here, being shepherded through the streets. In Viñales and Cienfuegos, there were fewer groups - here, the classic scenario played out: the bus arrives, everyone gets out, an hour with a guide through the city, and back on the bus.

In the evening, however, I discovered a very nice restaurant. After dinner, I treated myself to a glass of beer in a nearby brewery with a beer garden and live music. When I returned to the casa, I didn't suspect anything bad. I sat in the rocking chair for a while and read my book. In the dark, I walked barefoot into the bathroom and felt something on my feet. I quickly turned on the light and saw a huge cockroach. I took advantage of her brief daze, grabbed my shoes, threw the bath mat on her, and stepped on it. After a loud crunch, she was gone. Phew, pretty disgusting! Back in the living room, I saw another cockroach on the tiles. So, I put the bath mat on it again! It was a pretty disgusting and memorable experience, and I would have preferred to leave immediately. Well, after thoroughly inspecting the bedroom, I finally lay down and fell asleep after a while.

The next morning, I discovered two more cockroaches outside in the kitchen (which is located outside the apartment), and there were two more of them in front of the door. I removed them before they could get into the apartment. After I had also coped with this shock, I set off to explore the old town. This is not so easy because of the cobblestones. You have to be extremely careful not to twist your ankle and always keep an eye on the path. Nevertheless, the excursion made up for a lot - because it's really beautiful here. The many colors, old buildings, and the atmosphere in the alleys were really nice. I took a lot of pictures and felt like I walked through every alley in the old town. Some houses hid museums and art galleries. I took advantage of opportunities like these to find some shade. You could even climb a tower and have a fantastic view of the old town. After that, I looked for cockroach spray for a while and luckily found it in a drugstore. I also arranged for the onward journey to Santa Clara, my next stop.

In the afternoon, I took a break from the sun in my casa and met my host there, who was busy painting something. I had left the dead cockroaches lying around, and he had removed them, but he didn't say anything about it. Maybe it's normal to live with cockroaches here, but for me, it was a disgusting experience. I immediately sprayed any opening at the door and windows with the spray. In the bedroom, I sprayed half the can :D This casa is very open and has no window panes. Only leaky planks are in front of the windows. In the evening, I went out to eat again and later had a Pina Colada, and I already feared the worst on the way back home. But I was lucky - no cockroach in the evening and no cockroach in the morning.

I used the slightly cooler morning hours today to climb a nearby mountain. After about an hour, I was completely sweaty because there was no shade on the way. I arrived at a radio station on the mountain. From there, I had a breathtaking view of Trinidad, the sea, and the Sierra del Escambray. In addition, the very nice security guard could also understand my broken Spanish to some extent. It didn't take long, and he invited me into the fenced area of the antenna. Through a ladder, I was able to climb onto a roof and had an even better view from up there. He was even so kind as to take a picture of me. After we were back down from the roof, we talked about everything under the sun. His name was Enrique, and he is up here 24 hours a day. He has even created a small garden up there, in which yucca and a few limes grow. He proudly told me that the antenna comes from Germany, has apparently been up here since the 50s, and is called Katharina. It transmits radio, television, and even mobile signals. After about an hour, I made my way back and discovered an entrance to a discotheque built in a cave. According to the travel guide, there is dancing here every evening. The bouncer turned it into a museum, I believe quite spontaneously, and asked for one dollar admission if I wanted to see it from the inside. I politely declined.

In the afternoon, I walked around the "new" town a bit and found the familiar image outside the tourist areas. This time, I also took the opportunity to have some local currency and ate and drank something for just 50 cents. Within the old town, it is already relatively expensive, and Trinidad is so far the most touristy and expensive city in Cuba.

Well, after my bad start with the casa and the many cockroaches, the last two days have made up for a lot, and ultimately, I really liked it here. But I'm also glad that I'll be moving on tomorrow - because I've probably seen everything and this heat is really taking its toll on me. Although I could have taken a trip to the sea, this time I didn't feel like doing it alone. Besides, in a few days, the allegedly most beautiful beach in Cuba awaits me. So, I don't really feel like I missed out on anything. Somehow, it's the little things in Cuba that are so beautiful. The conversation with the security guard, a delicious cookie bought on the street, a tasty and inexpensive Cuban pizza with cheese, or the spontaneous live music in the beer garden. Everything is a bit different but exciting and beautiful.