Sunday, 6 November 2022: Views of Historic Trinidad

I get up at 7:00 AM, only now it’s 6:00 because of the time change.  I munch on a cold, leftover pizza slice and cheese balls.  Around 7:40, I head up Calle Simon Bolivar and through the Plaza Mayor, continuing northeast.  I pass through some rather seedy neighborhoods as the streets gain elevation passing the Discoteca Ayala which is located underground in a cave.  The street turns to a rough road which climbs the hillside toward the telecommunications tower at the top of Cerro de Vigia (“lookout hill”).  Along the way, I enjoy nice views looking down on the city and the cool morning air. 

The tower is surrounded by a fence so I steer clear of it but a man motions to me to come over to the tower area.  He says I can come in through the gate – there is a mirador (view point).  The only stipulation is that I can’t take photos of the tower or associated equipment.  He is a very friendly, older chap named Carlos.  He shows me a ladder I can climb to get to the roof of a building.  The views up there are terrific:  southwest toward Trinidad with the Caribbean coast in the distance; north toward the mountainous Topes de Collantes; and northeast toward the Valle de los Ingenios which I visited yesterday. 

Carlos tells me there were 13,000 male slaves working in the Valle de los Ingenios in the 19^th Century.  He points out various landmarks from the rooftop mirador.  After climbing back down the ladder, I thank Carlos for his help and hand him some pesos as a regalo (gift).  He appreciates getting gifts from tourists to supplement his meager salary.  Carlos works 24-hour shifts at the tower.  He arrived at 8:00 this morning and will leave at 8:00 AM tomorrow.  He runs the entire facility while he’s here including dealing with the power blackouts.  I’m guessing that Carlos has an engineering degree or other technical training and is now working for peanuts. 

Carlos offers me a slice of guanabana, a large fruit that grows on a tree here at the tower.  I find it pulpy and messy but tasty.  He tells me that under the Batista dictatorship his family had a small, prosperous farm but lost it all after the revolution.  I’m reminded that decent middle class people got screwed by Castro along with the rich, powerful, and corrupt who deserved to get screwed.  The Cuban story is not as simple as those on the left (or on the right, for that matter) want us to believe – it never is, is it?

 

I head back down toward Trinidad and follow a different route once I get to the edge of town.  Along the way, I walk through an open market area.  There are various venders with the usual tourist stuff such as license plates with colorful drawings of classic cars identifying their name and year.  I see a “Che beret”.  Do I really need it?  It’s probably overpriced like the cap I bought in Havana.  The seller wants me to try it on.  It fits and has a draw string to adjust its size.  The price?  600 pesos.  Might as well – that’s only $4.00.

I arrive back to my room and finally catch up on these notes after a couple hours of writing.  The power goes off at 2:00PM.  I had wanted to visit museums and churches this afternoon but had forgotten that the power might go out.  I tried one museum and it was closed.  I couldn’t even use wifi anywhere. 

I head back to the Café Muñoz mid-afternoon where they fix me a plate of beans and rice with a side of fresh tomatoes.  The wait staff and I have another pleasant conversation.  After lunch, I take a walk to get some last photos of the city then return to my room to read a book I’ve just bought about the U.S. mafia in Havana prior to the revolution. 

After the power comes back on at 7:30 PM, I walk over to the Café Jazz to dig some cool sounds.  The waiter gives me a seat right in front of the bandstand and brings me a bowl of gazpacho (very good).  A combo gets cooking after 8:00 – the keyboard and bass players are very talented.

 © Will Mahoney 2022

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