48 hours in Trinidad among streets of colors, music, mangoes and paradisiacal beaches
The obligatory stop on your trip to one of the islands with more rhythm, life and charm in the Caribbean. What not to miss on your way through Trinidad?
Whether it is the first or the umpteenth time you visit Cuba there are stops that must be made whenever you return to the island, and Trinity is one of them. . With Camaguey It is one of the colonial cities that are still standing in the center of the island and it is a enclave worth admiring and enjoying whenever you have the opportunity . A tourist city, but that has still managed to maintain over time the Cuban essence that it can boast so much about.
Because as soon as you set foot in it, everything else is forgotten and the desire to discover it step by step begins, calmly . Without schedules, reservations, guides, or impositions... as you feel like at any time! Trinidad it's time to soak up all of it, drink it sip by sip during the day and sip at night , learn through her faces: the tourist, the bohemian, the fighter, the rebel, the beautiful, the chaotic... but live it, as if there were no tomorrow!
Color permeates everything in Trinidad
Located just 4 hours by car from Havana, it is the perfect enclave to continue discovering this unique island. With Viñales, Cienfuegos, Santiago de Cuba and Varadero , is one of the stops that every traveler makes at least on their first contact with Cuba.
As data was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 . You won't need more than 48 hours to discover the essentials of Trinidad and its surroundings, but we already anticipate that you will want to stay for a long time in one of the many colorful houses that adorn the streets of the city, drinking canchánchara, eating shrimp or lobster and admiring the sunset from one of the magnificent beaches located a few minutes by car from the town.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
5:00 p.m. After having installed ourselves in one of the dozens of guest houses that can be found at every step of Trinidad (it is advisable to take them with breakfast that for a modest price of 5 CUC they offer you juices, coffee, all kinds of tropical fruits, buns, toast and even eggs if the day allows it), we have no choice but to start walk the narrow streets of the center of Trinidad.
Cuba's most precious colonial jewel
We can start the route by Plaza Mayor guarded by the Iglesia Mayor de la Santísima Trinidad and for him Museum of Colonial Architecture. For a panoramic view of the city we will only have to go to the Municipal History Museum and go up to its roof to appreciate the views.
In the same square we will find the Stonecutter's Palace and the rest? strolling and strolling, even if the heat and humidity are not too pressing, we can consult the free tours that they carry out every day around the city and that with just a small donation we will learn more about the history and the origin of Trinidad as a colonial enclave of Cuba.
8:00 p.m. Once the necessary and mandatory cultural stops have been completed, we can give way to the long-awaited hedonism and fun. And it is that people come to Cuba for many things, but above all they come to laugh, to eat, to dance and to drink. And in this locality, they know quite a lot about all this.
Before dinner we can drop down the stairs of the House music _(Calle Cristo) _ to enjoy a refreshing mojito, a daiquiri or a cachánchara (Trinidad's star drink) . In addition, these stairs are one of the points with Wi-Fi in the area so it will be the perfect time to connect to the network (after having entered the password obtained on our previously purchased scratch card) to check the plan for the next day or upload the required photo to our Instagram feed... all this to the rhythm of background music!
Neighbor in Trinidad
9:30 p.m. For dinner we must not miss the San Jose Restaurant _(328 Calle Gutiérrez) _ and try the delicious lobster cocktails they prepare, accompanying dinner with a tasty frappé lemonade and some of the many cocktails they have on the menu.
It is a tourist place but it has not lost the quality of its dishes and for which it is worth paying the price, which is a little higher than the rest of the places around it, but so little that you hardly notice the difference. For about 12 CUC per person you can have dinner! It is advisable to go early because you usually have to wait for something, although the service is usually fast.
11:00 p.m. After dinner and although the next day we have to get up early for the excursion, we can lower the food in the best possible way: DANCING!
And where to do it? If we feel like discovering and moving to the true Cuban rhythm The House of Trova _(29 Calle Cristo) _ is calling us. A symbiosis between Cubans and tourists where music, dance and drinks are the only things that matter. Ideal place to start with our salsa and Latin dance classes.
Plaza Mayor of Trinidad
SATURDAY
10:00 a.m. After having given us a succulent breakfast tribute in the guest house where we stayed, it's time to go out to the street to converse with some of the taxis, whether official or not, to see how much it would cost us to take us to the Nicho Waterfalls Natural Park, a reserve located within Topes de Collantes Natural Park located between Trinidad and the revolutionary city of Cienfuegos.
11:30 a.m. El Nicho is the best-known part of the park open to the public, it can be accessed for 10 CUC (Cuban convertible peso) and in which we find a route with a path of almost 2 km in which to coexist with nature and with spectacular waterfalls, pools, caves or waterfalls where we can take a good dip.
Yes indeed! The water comes from the mountains so we must be prepared and aware of its frigid temperatures , but still most refreshing. It is recommended to bring comfortable shoes and a backpack with water to be able to carry out the excursion in the most comfortable way possible. When we have already taken the last dip, it is time to go up a little more following the signposted route to a spectacular viewpoint from where we will have a wonderful panoramic view to appreciate the beauty of the place, take a deep breath and feel very lucky. One of the lungs of Cuba was this.
The Niche, in Trinidad
Tope de Collantes Natural Park is located in the Sierra del Escambray , 800 meters above sea level and is one of the most protected natural enclaves in Cuba. Both the government and the locals in the area are responsible for the protection and conservation of all the fauna and flora of the place.
This park has a lot of history behind and during the time of revolutionary welcomed many troops of Che Guevara in the fight against Batista dictator and some uprisings against Fidel Castro.
3:00 p.m. On way to Hundred fires we can stop at some of the dozens of roadside stands to taste the tasty and colorful tropical fruits that grow in the area, such as mangoes, bananas, papayas or guavas. An explosion of flavors at a price that will make you laugh!
The Niche, in Trinidad
4:00 p.m. We arrived at Cienfuegos (named after the Spanish soldier José María Cienfuegos Jovellanos), also known as 'The Pearl of the South' and we begin to discover the historic center of this city that was declared World Heritage Site in 2005 . Its colonial air can be felt in every corner of this enclave that can be discovered in an afternoon.
What not to miss? stroll through the Paseo del Prado and San Fernando street, until you reach the Plaza de Armas and the José Martí Park. From there it's just a few steps to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Tomás Terry Theater and the Provincial House of Culture . If we continue to the south we will reach the Cienfuegos boardwalk, the perfect place to rest having a cocktail and admiring the beauty of the sea.
Hundred fires
9:00 p.m. Back in Trinidad, it's Saturday and the body knows it. After going through the guest house we have an appointment at La Botija _(71B Calle Amargura) _, where the people queuing at the entrance of the tavern already predict that we are facing one of our favorites in the city.
Delicious food, attentive service, affordable price, many mojitos, cacháncharas and daiquirís... all this accompanied by live music that will make us even get up on the table to dance as soon as we have finished dinner.
11:00 p.m. We can always go up the stairs again House music where the environment is more than assured. But if we want to try something new the La Cachanchara tavern _(90 Calle Real del Jigüe) _ is another of the best options.
We are in front of one of the oldest buildings in the city and here they make the famous spirit drink called cachánchara and so traditional in Trinidad (although it was invented in the eastern region of the island at the time of the independence wars against Spain). Made with cane liquor, honey and lemon juice It is a bomb that we must try at least once during our stay in the city.
Ancon Beach
00:00 Where to end the night? If we ask this question in Trinidad, they will send us to the mythical club **La Cueva (its official name is Disco Ayala)** located just 15 minutes walk from the Plaza Mayor. The only thing we will have to go through is a path that is not too well lit but with which we will find both tourists and locals who go to the same place as us.
Once there, commercial and Cuban music will accompany us until well into the morning. As its name indicates, we are facing a nightclub inside a cave, distributed in several cavities or spaces: the bar area, the entrance, the dance floor, the bathrooms... Nothing to envy to the Cova d' in Xoroi in Menorca!
SUNDAY
11:00 a.m. After the party the night before, it's time to relax 'a la bartola' in one of the best stretches of fine sand and crystal clear water in the south of Cuba (those in the north of Varadero and the Keys are another story): Ancon beach . They only separate 12 km from Trinidad to reach a small piece of paradise with the possibility of get there for 8 CUC in a collective taxi . 4 km long to walk, sunbathe, take the respective snapshots to decorate our Instagram or to do some of the water sports offered in the surroundings.
Trinidad, you have to live it
2:30 p.m. To eat we have a couple of options. Well go to one of the resorts located on the beach or if we prefer to stay on the beach under the umbrellas and for a small price order food to eat it in the same place where we have the towels, so it will not be necessary move! Yes indeed, all the while accompanying the day of sun and sea with one mojito after another.
7:00 p.m. . If we don't have any more scheduled trips, the best we can do is stay in Playa Ancón until sunset. Watching the sun go down from this enclave is magical and most intoxicating. The only thing we will have to do is agree with our taxi driver the time of the return trip because there comes a time when the collective cars return to Trinidad at a certain time, we are not going to run out of transport.
It is possible during our trip that we decide to extend the stay more. What else can we see around Trinidad?
- The Valley of the Sugar Mills located in an extensive plain composed of the Agabama-Méyer valleys.
- The city of Santa Clara and its particular tribute to Che Guevara where you can find the mausoleum with the rest of Che and other fighters.
- The crystal clear waters of Cayo Las Iguanas and Cayo Blanco.
The colonial pearl of Cuba awaits us.