Stage Five Clinger In Trinidad!

I arrived in Trinidad greeted my a throng of aggressive locals with places to stay and taxi services for hire. I was looking for Carlos, owner of the casa I had reserved, who said he would greet me at the station with a sign but no sign and no Carlos. One of the taxi hustlers said Casa Carlos is very far..needs taxi..seven blocks. I started walking as Carlos found me. It was actually two blocks, shady taxi guy!

Trinidad is a pretty charming and well reserved colonial town. Night and day compared to Havana with its slow pace and mountain breezes. When I say slow, shop workers are often found napping with their head down during open hours. I can't tell you how many times I've walked in and out of a shop without them knowing.. it's pretty amusing! I've spent my days wondering the cobbled streets and wondering some more. There is a nice strip of beach you can get to and back for CUC2, Playa Ancon.  

One early evening, passing the Restaurante Marin Villefuerte, the owner ushered me over and offered me the locals price of CUC6 for a 3 course lobster dinner vs tourist price of CUC15. We communicated this via writing of numbers on the hand. The lobster tail was the size of my plate! 

Trinidad is also where I would run into Levi and Caroline again, along with their friend Mike. The funny thing about meeting people in my travels is that regardless of how long the first encounter lasted, the next time you randomly cross paths again, it's like old friends with hugs all around! I guess it's a comfort sort of thing to see familiar faces again while anonymously in foreign lands. Mike, "how did you guys meet?" Levi, "during interrogation! We were trying to make it out the exit door!" We laughed about our interrogation incident at the airport and coordinated to meet for dinner in Havana and hopefully for the taxi ride to the airport for our 6am flight to Mexico City. Coincidentally, our travel timing from the U.S. to Cuba was the same and on the same flight. I'll have to ask if Ernesto from Toronto helped them with the ticket.

Local life in Trinidad includes folks making from what they have. Families

go around in the late afternoons, walking down the local streets offering what they have to sell. The casa I am staying at buys bread daily from the bread lady..there's a banana guy that comes around on a donkey cart..a floral lady..etc. My favorite has got to be the half pig/dog that roams the streets of this town. It was the older Cuban man dressed daily in his suit, fedora and often found smoking a cigar but that was before he started to make kissing lips at me. Back to pup...the cute yet creepy pup that's been tracing (stalking) my footsteps the past couple of days might be a close second. True story-stalker pup! I said hello to this little mutt by the Plaza Mayor on my first afternoon here and since then, stage five clinger! I turn around and it's there. I speed walk to the other side of town and I turn around, it's there. I'm sitting at an ice cream cafe reading for about three hours and I see it across the corner four times. I'm going to miss the little guy.

One thing I'm not a fan of is the cat calling. It wasn't this bad in Havana but perhaps folks in Havana are hustling more and folks in Trinidad are just bored? I've received multiple marriage proposals on a daily basis. Cubans would put the cat callers in Spain to shame! 

 My last evening in Trinidad, I found a spot that had tacos on the menu!! Albeit, a mosquito in the restaurant seem to have had me for dinner. This serves as a testament to how well those Ben's 30% Deet Wipes works as I've always brought them with me but forgot on this trip. Talk about craving.. tacos and chips but I had yet to find chips in Cuba other than the imported Pringles for CUC6. I had three tacos and gave one to this poor dog I see everyday that looks beyond malnourished.

I left Carlo's Casa early morning as my bus to Varadero left at 730. Did I ever talk about what a zoo Casa Carlos is?! The common place is palatial with super high ceilings and antique wood furnishings with a bunch of antique radios on display. He is an art critic or something like that. A walk through the commons at 630am darkness was an adventure. There was a dog, a cat, a butterfly and two parrots..oh and not to mention the huge cockroach that greeted in the bathroom in the morning! 

Anyway..if you're ever in Trinidad..I recommend Casa de Carlos Sotalongo across Plaza Mayor. At CUC25 ($25)/ a night including breakfast, it's a steal! Just don't expect any water pressure from the showers.....at all!