Cultural Cuba - Cienfuegos, 2020 Saturday January 11

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January 11th 2020

Published: February 6th 2021

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Restaurante Pio Cua

Heavy wood and tasty food

Fog misted our goodbyes to the beautiful valley of Viñales. We left at 8:00 for a long day of driving from the far western part of the island to Cienfuegosin the south-central region.

Early morning was busy in the villages. Even outside the villages, small groups of people and individuals lined the road seeking transportation. In every village horse-and-carts moved goods and people around. Other people walked steadily, making their way to various destinations. On the porches of some houses, family members sat peaceably as the day began. The road became busy with trucks, a few cars, motor bikes, bicycles, and our bus. Mid-morning we stopped at a small café, built for the purpose of supplying travelers with services, including drinks and toilets; it charged for parking.

Our route took us towards Havana, and the increase in goods trucks (Russian models) was noticeable. As we approached the outskirts of Havana, buses of various types predominated. Some were trucks fitted with seats and a roof-cover. Many were blue city transit buses, and a few were the double-sized articulated buses, all crammed with commuters. Because of the US embargo, fuel for transportation is so limited that buses such as our own

Lunch at Pio Cua

Green bean salad, tilapia, chicken, rice and beans, cassava, bread and sauce, papaya

were encouraged to take passengers, if empty of tourists. There are even tickets that are linked to the state tax system for payment. Private cars can take up people any time for whatever price. State cars are required to pick up passengers. There are inter-city buses and the train, but capacity is insufficient.

Driving away from Havana’s traffic, I noticed long stretches where there were flat uncultivated fields full of low bushes and random trees. Daniel told me these were used for cattle grazing, because the soil was unsuited to crops. Farmers plant Moringa trees, because the leaves are rich in calcium and protein for the cattle. Moringa oil was a health craze some years ago. When the leaves are very young, Cubans make salads from them. On one side of the road were vast stretches of tall, dark green trees. Daniel said they were African Mahogany, used for making local furniture; the wood is not good enough for export. The trees are harvested under license from the state, and each one must be replaced by three more, to eventually achieve reforestation. (

">Watch my video of scenes along the road on this day and other days.)

Lunch was a quick

Bahia de Cochinos

Site of the invasion

but pleasant meal. We stopped at Pio Cua, a large buffet restaurant that did good business from tours. We said hello to some Australians, whom we met again later in the day. The selections were limited and well prepared. I had roast chicken (quite a robust chicken), tilapia in tomato-onion-green pepper sauce, seasoned rice, cooked cassava dressed with olive oil, onions, and garlic, plus ripe papaya – a favourite I eat once or twice a day here.

Down the road from Australia (the village’s actual name), we saw a disused smoke stack that marked the location of the Cuban army commander’s headquarters during the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, or Playa Girón. Daniel had shown us three documentaries during our long bus ride; the two longest were from the History Channel (to ensure “objectivity”, presumably). Since the documents have been unsealed in the US, the wide consensus is that whole operation was an unrelieved disaster from conception to execution. Cubans seem proud that they had better intelligence and acted with more discipline than the anti-revolutionary force that fronted the US aggression. Much of this was also expressed in the Museo Girón, where texts, photos and artifacts told the story of

Cuban Peewee

the short-lived invasion and honoured the Cubans killed in the defence. I felt quite sickened by bullet holes in the shirt and pants of clothing worn during the invasion.

Welcome emotional relief came a short distance away, where a specialist guide took us on a short nature walk to see birds. At first, we just walked around the small gravel parking area, taking advantage of the openness to see a Cuban peewee and then a mockingbird perched on electrical wires. Delighted, I saw my adored Flame trees, at this season covered in their long, dried seed pods, called “shack-shack” in Antigua. We crossed the road into a forested area, where our guide confidently pointed out birds, and one lizard, while I incompetently tried to follow his gaze. A beautiful white snail posed without moving, and we were shown a similar but empty shell, home to a hermit crab about the size of a thumb. Termites were in trees, leaving long tracks up to convenient holes. I was happy to get a picture of a turkey vulture on the wing.

Driving into Cienfuegos was the first time I have seen billboards showing the new president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel,

Hotel La Union courtyard

Rooms over-looking a charming courtyard

who came into office only in October. The billboard showed all three presidents, Fidel Castro, Raoul Castro and now Diaz-Canel.

Our Hotel La Union was an old colonial style building, with marble stairs and shuttered windows. The full-length shutters in my window opened by pulling down a long rod, revealing a French-balcony right above the streets. I came to enjoy the street sounds, never loud enough to keep me from sleep. Daniel told us about the roof-top patio where the sunset could be seen over the roofs of the old town. My timing was a little off, and I saw only orange clouds. Carolyn and Stephen had seen the sun set, and with happy resignation I joined them for a piña colada – not usually my favourite drink, but made excellently, and perfect in the warm breeze.

View map of trip to date.

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