Feeling the heat in Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos is about an hour's drive west from Trinidad and is on the coast. We arrived at lunch time. Tony was predicting rain as the weather was extremely hot so we drove straight to the centre of town to have a look around before the rain arrived.

Cienfuegos is a state capital so it appears a bit more prosperous than the other towns we'd visited. Tony said that while there is a bit more available for sale in the shops the people living here are not necessarily in a position to buy the items.

The central square was extremely pretty with a parisien style. Around the main square are a number of beautiful old buildings, including one we visited that is currently being restored: La Casa de la Cultura. Tony joked that they've been restoring it for 15 years and it will probably take another 15 before it's complete. They've decided to open it anyway to help fund the restoration. The building has a number of lookout points including a small tower with a domed roof with great views over the Plaza and across the city to the harbour.

A beautiful lunch was put on for us at one of the casas. After this we met our own casa families and went to settle in and have some free time.

Ed and I decided to wander into town to look around and visit a gallery on the main square. It was still extremely hot outside and while it was very humid there was no sign of Tony's rain. After wandering in the town centre we followed a street with an open air craft market down to the sea and walked briefly along the Malecón before heading back to the casa.

Later in the afternoon we went to visit one of the large stately homes on the waterfront: El Palacio del Valle, which was built in a Spanish Moorish style. The rooftop terrace had amazing views over the harbour including to where the Soviet missiles were stationed during the Cuban missile crisis.