Locale: Nestled in the Escambray Mountains, near the San Luis Valley, or Valle de Los Ingenios, Trinidad is one of the most meticulously preserved of the Cuban colonial cities and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.  This area was a prime sugarcane growing region, but toward the end of the late nineteenth century, the sugar mills, or ingenios, gradually disappeared (large sugar plantations were worked mainly by slave labor — note that in 1807, both Britain and the US banned the Atlantic slave trade).  Here, as in other regions of Cuba, there is a tension between historic preservation and the need for structural improvements to support the growing tourism economy.  However, many of the buildings around Trinidad’s Plaza Mayor belonged to wealthy families and are still intact; they currently function as house museums which showcase architecture or archaeology or municipal history.  The 44-meter high tower belonging to the Palacio Cantero is open to visitors; its height was intended to boast of family wealth.  Our guide explained that Trinidad’s Church of the Holy Trinity still houses an 18th-century wooden statue of Christ, which is an object of particular reverence for the city.  It was on board a ship carrying it to a church in Veracruz, Mexico, but the ship was driven back to Trinidad three times by bad weather and was only able to make the journey after abandoning part of its cargo, including this statue.

Weather:  80s.  Sunny.

Itinerary: Trinidad west to Cienfuegos, southwest to Playa Girón in Matanzas Province

Overnight: Hotel Playa Girón

Excursions: Bird walk near the hotel Las Brisas, buffet breakfast at hotel, walking tour of Trinidad including the market, birding at Parque El Cubano, lunch at the park, birding at Bermejas, buffet dinner at the hotel

Habitats: Beach.  Scrubby lowlands.  Tropical forest.

Bird Species (partial listing, by family): Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerinus), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), Cuban Emerald Hummingbird (Chlorostilbon ricordii), Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Bare-Legged Owl (Margarobyas lawrencii), Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), Cuban Parakeet (Psittacara euops), Cuban Peewee (Cantopus caribaeus), La Sagra’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae), Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva), Louisiana Water Thrush (Parkesia motacilla), Yellow Warbler (Setaphaga petechia), Yellow-headed Warbler (Teretistris fernandinae), Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra), Tawny-Shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius humeralis)

Guides and Driver: Angel, David, Liu, Orlando and Carlos

Observations:  I didn’t buy cigars from “The Russian” (though I thought about it); instead, I settled on a linen table runner, beautifully hand-embroidered in blue by a local señora.

The drink we were served at lunch at the Park ranchón is a regional specialty; it’s called canchánchara and is made with rum, honey, and lime.

We were warned that this hotel was not as luxurious as one might wish, and I must say I found it reflective of its origins as a Soviet-style beach resort.  At least our cabana was spacious, with a separate living room and bedroom and the bathroom in between.  The toilet had no handle, but from my experience in my own apartment, I knew you could lift the tank lid and then pull up the flapper valve and it would flush just fine.

Reflections:  Some people in our group, including my sister, complain of insect bites, and I see bites on my arms which I assume are from insects.  But I’ve been told that we don’t have to fear Lyme disease or malaria, so I remain unconcerned.  The bites aren’t even that itchy, so they can’t be chigger bites, which they say are very common.

Images:

The Iglesia Parroquial de la Santisima Trinidad dominates the Plaza Mayor.

This lovely señorita is celebrating her quinceanera.

Trinidad’s Plaza Mayor is beautifully preserved.

This ceiba tree in Parque el Cubano is a magnificent specimen.