More Workers On Their Own Account
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Published: October 20th 2017
Australia
The smokestack of the sugar mill at Australia town.Today was a long travel day from Vinales to Cienfuegos. After bidding farewell to our host Sisa and giving Sophia one last pet, we headed out of Vinales at 8am. Our route took us back east towards the outskirts of Havana, and then southeast. Our stop for lunch was at another family run restaurant, this time at the 56km marker. The fried chicken was phenomenal. What was odd about this restaurant was that it had a table displaying various toiletries. The toiletries were sealed with cling wrap, and most of them looked imported. There were hefty price tags on them. Apparently, importing toiletries and reselling them at a significant markup is a thriving business for some workers on their own account.
After lunch, we drove for a bit before making a rest stop in a town named Australia. Apparently, the Cuban government named sugar producing areas after countries that produced sugar. After that break, we headed towards Playa Giron, also known as the Bay of Pigs. During this portion of the drive, Tony showed us a short video by
">vox.com on the history of US-Cuba relations and a longer documentary on the same subject. Both documentaries were surprisingly neutral. This put a lot of the random
snippets of information in my head into historical context, especially the exhibits from the Museum of the Revolution which we visited in Havana. The history of US-Cuba relations is so complicated and fraught with misunderstanding and miscommunication that I cannot even begin to surmise it in a blog post.
At the Bay of Pigs, we visited a museum about the failed US invasion at that site. There was no English signage at this museum so poor Tony had to interpret everything. On the surface, the exhibits seemed quite factual and neutral; I'm not sure how much Tony filtered his interpretation of the exhibits for his spoken narrative. One exhibit took a lot of care to emphasize that the American prisoners of war were treated well. According to the film we watched earlier on, only exiled Cuban Americans participated in the invasion and it was quashed within 72 hours. The captured prisoners of war were returned to the US in exchange for baby food and medicine, yet another indication of how economic isolation can negatively impact ordinary people.
We had a swim at the nearby beach after viewing the museum. The beach was rocky, but the water was warm,
Cienfuegos
The Palacio Del Valle. This used to be a residence. The lower level is now a restaurant and the upper level is still used by the family that built this mansion. shallow, and clear. Jeff stepped on a sea urchin and had to dig the spine out of the sole of his foot. After the swim, we headed onwards to Cienfuegos.
At first glance, Cienfuegos seems like a somewhat run down former colonial backwater. There are colorful houses everywhere but for every one of those, there were many more that didn’t appear to be maintained well. Cienfuegos is different from other colonial towns in Cuba in that it was founded by the French. I don’t know much about differences in colonial architecture but I did note that the road along which the restaurant where we ate dinner that evening was very wide, with an elevated tree-lined pedestrian path in the center of the road - a definite departure from what I observed in other towns. I immediately noticed that there were iron grilles over most windows and doors - usually a bad sign. When asked, Tony clarified that Cienfuegos isn’t known for high crime, that the window grilles was part of the design of the buildings, and that we would see the same in Trinidad. In fact, crimes against tourists are rare because the penalties for such crimes are especially
Cienfuegos
I just love this photo. Two people of different races engaged in friendly conversation. The woman has a cool umbrella, and there is an interesting contrast in colors. Maybe I have a future as a National Geographic photographer? severe.
Before checking in, we drove along the waterfront road to see an old mansion called the Palacio del Valle, which was done in a combination of European and Moorish styles. The waterfront looked very inviting and I would have liked to stroll along it if we had the time. We then checked in to our guesthouse before heading out to dinner. We are in the nicest accommodation of our trip so far; too bad we’re only staying in it one night. Tomorrow, we will explore more of this town.
The guesthouse we are staying at is owned by a couple with a 17 year old son named Christian. Christian was our main liaison as he was the only one who spoke English. Christian helped us get settled in, and in the morning he came over with his parents to prepare breakfast. He turned out to be a very engaging kid and we really enjoyed chatting with him throughout the morning. He plans to forgo college to train as a tourist guide, as this is where there is money to be made. Knowing how little college-educated workers make in official state jobs, I can’t blame him for aspiring
Cienfuegos
Wide sidewalks under colonades. In an Asian capitalist country, these sidewalks would be chock full of stuff for sale. to become a worker on his own account. He supplemented English lessons from school by watching English films and reading in English. We found it hard to believe that he had his first one-on-one English conversation with a native speaker when his family opened their guesthouse barely 11 months ago. He followed our group as we walked around the central part of Cienfuegos this morning so that he could observe Tony in action. We loved his ambition and attitude and we know that he’ll do well whatever path he chooses.
During our walking tour, I noticed that the buildings in the town center had colonnades and wide shaded sidewalks. Perhaps this was the French influenced architecture. Tony wanted to take us to a fine arts museum but it was closed, so we pretty much just wandered around the town center and the town square. After the walking tour, we checked out and moved on to Trinidad.
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alex waring
Alexander Waring
French Colonial Influence
I agree with you on the French colonial influence here. I'm no expert either, but wide boulevards and shuttered windows are a key sign of their influence I believe.