Valle de los Ingenios, trinidad, cuba

---

Unfortunately the old steam engines are no longer working along the rail line from Trinidad to the sugar cane plantations in the Valle de los Ingenios. The valley name comes from the sugar mills (ingenios) built here in the early 19th century.

There is however a "tourist train" and this was one of the best value things we paid for in Cuba.

We were not sure exactly what time the train would leave Trinidad and even if it would leave at all! We gained confidence when a few tourists arrived and began to climb aboard. Finally after some shunting around our journey started.

A dilapidated diesel engine pulled our 2 open wooden tourist coaches along the old rail track along the valley. We chugged along through lovely rural scenery passing banana plantations. There were cattle on the track and in the distance were the mountain ranges. Superb scenery and a rail journey to remember.

After about 1 hour we came to a halt at Ignaza a small village. We visited the Ignaza tower with 7 levels and this is 45m high. This was built as a sign of authority over the valley by the landowner and also as a lookout point to supervise the slaves working on the sugar cane plantations. It was easy to imagine the time when the sugar industry was at its peak and how the rail network was used for transport between the cane fields and the many sugar mills.

At the next stop , we visited a local farm and had a grand tour of the coffee and fruit plantations and saw all the cows, pigs and hens.

We walked on the old steel railway bridge over the river and many of the rail sleepers were completely rotten.

The train runs once per day if it has not broken down!

The old railway sidings with abandoned steam engines in Trinidad are great to wander round if you like rail transport and history.

---

Comments

[Michelle Cavanagh]

Fascinating!
Such a world away from our own. Val watching over the slaves resonates with me at the moment as I'm reading Anna Karenina. Well serfs and slaves are much the same I think. What a great experience for you both. M xx