Official Parking

Our collectivo to Trinidad was arguably one of the oldest. From our casa we had elected the Option 2, route from Cienfeugos to Trinidad, which took in a stop at El Nicho, a rainforest walk and series of waterfalls.
In the front row were an elderly couple from Belgium and in the back row squeezed alongside us was mother and daughter from Poland. Our driver, a younger Cuban than our other previous drivers. He somehow got the vehicle moving and rattling along the highway after pumping up the tyres in Cienfuegos (unexpected weight of two well-fed Australians perhaps?).

El Nicho was settled high in the nearby mountain range and involved a lot of tight bends on the road to access it. Our driver must have felt like he was in a 1940s car film as he throttled it around the corner with four of us squeezed in the back seat holding on, changing down to first gear on the steep sections.
The waterfall involved a lovely jungle trek and various pools along the path of the creek. After 30minutes you reached the main waterfall and a large open pool to swim in. The water was cool and held small fish and crabs on the edge. Plenty of tourists took a dip and we took a moment and enjoyed sitting on the edge just relaxing. It was a nice change from hectic Havana. As we left the waterfall, back in our collectivo down the mountain, we came across another vehicle pulled over with its bonnet up.

Along our journey we had become accustomed to the waves, honks and smiles the collectivo drivers exchanged on the roads, they appeared to be a very close knit group. So it was no surprise our driver pulled over to check on his friend. The tourists from the other vehicle were all standing outside and inspecting the engine, relaxing in the shade or sneaking a banos stop. A quick look into the engine and we could see it had lost its timing belt, as well as the bolt that held the wheel in place. Another collectivo slowed down and a quick exchange and gesturing suggests that he saw the bolt and rubber belt back up the road. So the driver of the broken vehicle starts his slow walk back up the hill in search of his missing parts. Our driver asks if we can all get out as he wants to help his friend by giving him a lift. We do and he zooms off with our bags. We seem to think he is an honest fellow and dont worry, and tell the worried Polish ladies as much.
Very shortly after, another collectivo comes around the corner, along with our vehicle in behind. It turns out the third collectivo down the hill was smart enough to pull over and collect the parts on the way down the road.
So together, they all refit the parts and start the engine up. it sounds very sick, but maybe that is the way it is meant to sound. Off we go again, following the friend all the way out of the forest to make sure nothing else falls off.
An hours drive and we make it to Trinidad. Another lovely coastal town of Cuba.

There is some slight confusion as we arrive in Trinidad, we are given the address for a house, which turns out we are not staying at. The residents tell us we are to go to Casa dos. Our collectivo driver does some gesturing and posturing to suggest he has driven so far and cant go any further. We end up bundling back in the car to follow the host on his bicycle to the correct address which is a newly built Casa and our home for the next four nights.
We could tell it was newly built, in many ways, as parts were still well under construction. We didnt mind though, a good bed, shower and toilet was all we needed.

Our prethoughts of Trinidad were that it would be a small town like Vinales, we were surprised at the size and rapid growth due to tourism of some areas. An old central square with all roads leading inwards, made it easy to navigate. Nestled into a hillside provided an easy stroll and a pleasant vista over the town.
We struggled at first, like entering all new towns, to find the mercado and a place to acquire water and any food. Signage in Cuban towns is nonexistant, only opening a door and peering in can you uncover what is inside and whether it sells anything. We've also grown accutomed to the lines out the front of the stores. That is another sure sign there is something to purchase inside. For some reason, most stores only permit a certain number of shoppers inside at one time. A guard stands at the front door, with the line of people waiting outside, as one person exits, another goes in. We're not talking about over crowding here. Simple five people in at a time, but Cuba is not in a hurry and neither are we.

We spend our first couple of days wandering the streets and admiring the architecture and history. On our third day we hire bicycles and cycle along the coast. We were in search of a nice swimming beach and knew of the tourist popular destination of Playa Ancon. We were hoping to avoid the crowds and sneak a place further along the coast line. The ride was lovely, nice and flat with a cool sea breeze. At our first point of call the beach was a little too rocky with waves crashing on its edge. We knew it became sand further along the peninsula so we kept riding. We came to a little cut away of vegetation leading down to a beach. A gentleman was standing on the road and started a conversation. It was good snorkeling here and for $5cuc he would give us some snorkels, as well as mind our bikes and belongings while we swam. It was very tempting but we chose to continue our journey and see what else we found, we could always ride back.
Further along the road another group of people were offering $8CUC to mind our belongings and provide snorkeling equipment. We rode on.

Another very small sandy patch and an elderly man yelled some spanish at us. Possibly some money required to use his beach but we werent certain and kept riding. He kept yelling at us as we rode off.
Finally we made it to the end and were greeted by a restaurant, we rode passed that to a small beach section and leant our bikes against a tree. We sat on the sand and a cuban fellow walked over to us. He explained that he was the bicycle parking officer and to lean our bicycles against the tree cost $1CUC each.
We asked if it cost the same if we put them on the other side of the road, he pulled out a card from his wallet which was a small printed piece of paper that read, 'parking guide, $1CUC per bike'. Supposedly this was the same in all of Cuba, to rest your bike somewhere on the beach cost $1CUC, which was frustrating for tourists who had hoped to save some cash by riding bikes around.

After some discussion, we chose to continue our exploration of the long beach and see if we could find a free spot to rest. We backtracked a kilometre between the sandy beaches and walked our bikes between some trees to the water. Sure enough, no one was there and we were able to lean our bikes on the ground free of charge. The only other people we saw were four individuals approximately 100 metres to our right on the beach. At first we thought it might be a picnic, then it quickly became some form of religious seyonce. Three of them stood facing the water while another fellow held some pigeons by their feet and shook the birds around the peoples bodies fluttering its wings. Although this seemed odd, we didnt see any harm in it. This was a perfect spot for us to rest and swim.
While the rest was lovely, sitting under a tree listening to the waves, the swimming was a little rough. The water temperature beautiful, but the rocks underneath and the heavy swell and crashing waves made it more like a gym session than an idyllic swim in the Carribean. Eventually Ian ended up holding sticks in each hand in order to assist his balance in the water as the waves crashed over him and the rocks slid underneath.

After a few hours we opted to go visit the tourist Playa Ancon for a comparison. Some further riding and we made it to the start of the sandy beach. Here we met another bicycle parking guide asking for money. We asked if we could walk our bikes further along the back road but were told it was closed due to construction. We also couldnt walk our bikes along the back of the beach, that wasnt permitted. If we wished to continue, we could walk, but had to pay $1CUC each per bike to leave them here with the official national bike parking inspector. After another discussion about this, we figured we had little choice. The beach was beautiful, soft sand and easy waves. The only downside, the thousands of lobster red tourists in various tiny togs. Small bars sat under the trees at the back of the beach and Cubans would walk up and down offering food or drinks. We were hungry so needed to eat. We didnt enjoy the surroundings, but the beach was definitely lovely. After a few hours of laying about in a patch of shade, we made our way back to our bikes and began the 15km ride back into Trinidad, aware that we didnt have lights and the Sun was getting low.

On our ride back into town, we did appreciate passing through the smaller suburb of Casilda. This area definitely felt like the locals residence and there was also some commission style housing. Locals liked to stare and call out to us. At one stage a man sitting on some rail tracks minding some children yelled out if we would be willing to take one of the children for him. It seemed he was tired of his babysitting/parenting. We were also equally surprised at the number of horses on the loose, eating grass by the side of the road. We had become accustomed to stray dogs, cats and chickens. Here it seemed the roaming horses were also a part of the local town feel.

Another day in Trinidad and we walked some more. We spent time in a brewery that had a local band playing particularly loud cuban music. The darker beers were okay and the barbecue chicken was almost entirely cooked and the locals weren't shy in standing up for a bit of salsa dancing.
We enjoyed our time in Trinidad, moments when we sat in the square just relaxing, watching chidren practice dance moves, or horse and cart owners asking tourists for rides around town.
It is hard not to see that tourism is such a huge industry for these areas and yet, a few blocks away from the main strips you find yourself walking through locals sitting on the footpath chatting amongst very run down buildings and look into the windows of houses with only one or two rooms.

Our casa hosts were delightful. We enjoyed our time and while thinking we may wish to see new parts of Cuba before returning to Havana for our flight home, a part of us enjoyed seeing Cienfuegos again and walking some areas there that we were interested in.
So another collectivo booked for the following morning and we would be on our way. Muchos Gracias Trinidad.