Tuesday, 8 November 2022: A Relatively Uninspiring Day in Cienfuegos

A good breakfast at my casa particular at including pancakes.  The wifi here is spotty and I’m antsy as I want to track Hurricane Nicole as she bears down on Florida potentially interfering with my flights in two days.  I later learn that the wifi only works when Silvia’s son-in-law turns it on as they get charged by the hour.  Miraculously, the power stays on all day and night today. 

After breakfast, I walk north up Calle 37 and Paseo El Prado a couple miles toward downtown Cienfuegos (translation:  100 fires), a city of 150,000.  Because this city is on a large bay, it’s not as hot as the other towns I’ve visited in Cuba and there is usually a nice breeze.  I check out a Chinese Restaurant for lunch but there is almost nothing vegetarian on the menu and the selections are overpriced.  I’m getting burned out on sightseeing and decide to turn around. 

As I’m heading back toward La Punta (also called Punta Gorda), I hear some great Latin jazz coming from a building along El Prado.  I stand in the open door for a minute and a guy motions for me to come in.  Damn, these dudes are really going after it.  There’s a trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, electric piano, electric bass, and lots of percussion.  Appears to be just a garage band, but these cats are really good!  This is the highlight of my day.  But then, shit, after two tunes the jam session is over and everyone starts packing up.  I catch the tenor player’s eye and give him a big thumbs up.  He comes over to meet me.  I tell him I’m from the U.S. and loved what they were doing.  He’s very pleased.  This is probably the best music I’ve heard in Cuba. 

I check out the menu at a restaurant called Shambala.  They actually have Moros y Cristianos (beans and rice) on the menu.  The meal is nothing special.  It could have used some veggies.  All they have for dessert today is flan.  I give it a try and am not disappointed.  It’s a chocolate flan with butterscotch sauce.  My taste buds heartily approve and the prices are very reasonable. 

I take a moto-taxi back to La Punta and read most of the afternoon.  I’m able to get enough wifi to learn that there are no flight cancellations in or out of Fort Lauderdale so far.  Looks like Madre Naturaleza may save my culo (ass).  Nicole appears to be turning north and is predicted to hit north of West Palm Beach, about 100 miles north of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. 

For dinner, I have the choice of the two overpriced restaurants where I ate yesterday unless I want to go all the way back downtown.  Yeah, I know they’ve got atmosphere and are right on the water but this isn’t the Cuba I’ve become used to.  I choose Camile’s where I had the okra with rice yesterday.  I order spaghetti marinara.  It takes forever even though there are hardly any other customers in the restaurant.  The bad music they are playing on their audio system is so loud, I have to cover my ears while reading my book.  When the spaghetti finally arrives, it’s a miniscule helping in a small bowl even though it’s supposed to be a main dish.  I’ve had enough of this B.S.  I tell the waiter it’s ridiculously small and walk out, something I rarely do.  

I walk to Restaurante Largato (Spanish for lizard) next door which is practically deserted.  All they have is their fixed price multiple course dinner (way more food than I want) for $22.00, but I can order ala carte.  I’m pissed off and walk out.  Then I contemplate going to bed hungry (it’s about 7:30 PM and I’m not going to try to find a taxi to go back into town).  I swallow my pride and go back into Largato.  I order a vegetarian soup which is actually good but it’s a long wait.  I’m still hungry so I order some veggie balls which also take forever.  Usually, I don’t get bent out of shape about slow service because I bury myself in a book but this is nuts.  After I finish, I wait and wait some more and finally have to practically tackle the manager to get the bill.  I wouldn’t mind their inflated prices so much had the service not been abysmal.  I contemplate giving both restaurants bad reviews on Trip Advisor.       

  

© Will Mahoney 2022

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