Cienfuegos
We awoke to blue skies and Cienfuegos suddenly started to look more inviting. First order of business was sorting out our onward travel, so we walked to the bus station. On the way the streets were full of people going about their daily business, the taxi service for the locals was horses and carts, there were people selling all sorts of things from the back of their bike, which along with those on electric scooters created a strange mix of old and new. There weren't quite as many of the classic cars that we'd seen in other towns, but they were still around.
At the bus station the ticket office was closed. The timetable posted on the wall indicated that the bus didn't leave until the afternoon, so as we wanted to get away earlier we arranged spots in a shared taxi with a man standing out the front - the things you do in foreign countries that you wouldn't even consider at home, for all we know the guy could have been a scam artist or serial killer. However no money had changed hands at this point so we thought we were pretty safe.
We then walked all the way along the Malecon to Punta Gorda, with its mixture of architectural styles, ranging from grand French style buildings to a 1950s style American hotel next door to another building straight out of the Arabian Nights. As we walked, in the distance we could see the dome of the unfinished nuclear power plant, which is 90% complete but with the breakup of the Soviet Union who were fundng the construction was never completed.
The yacht club had the best spot on the bay and was full of bus loads of day trippers there for a buffet lunch, if you're looking for a free lunch it would be very easy to blend in and join the queue. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the town centre. we could have spent less time here as in the 24 hours we'd been here we'd pretty much seen all there is to see, save for a couple of small museums.
We awoke to blue skies and Cienfuegos suddenly started to look more inviting. First order of business was sorting out our onward travel, so we walked to the bus station. On the way the streets were full of people going about their daily business, the taxi service for the locals was horses and carts, there were people selling all sorts of things from the back of their bike, which along with those on electric scooters created a strange mix of old and new. There weren't quite as many of the classic cars that we'd seen in other towns, but they were still around.
We then walked all the way along the Malecon to Punta Gorda, with its mixture of architectural styles, ranging from grand French style buildings to a 1950s style American hotel next door to another building straight out of the Arabian Nights. As we walked, in the distance we could see the dome of the unfinished nuclear power plant, which is 90% complete but with the breakup of the Soviet Union who were fundng the construction was never completed.
The yacht club had the best spot on the bay and was full of bus loads of day trippers there for a buffet lunch, if you're looking for a free lunch it would be very easy to blend in and join the queue. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the town centre. we could have spent less time here as in the 24 hours we'd been here we'd pretty much seen all there is to see, save for a couple of small museums.
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