Part 4 – Cuba Harley Tour from Havana to Cienfuegos and Trinidad
The morning begins high above Havana, with each new move into the hotel we live higher up and enjoy a great view over Havana. The city doesn't have a lot of high-rise buildings, which is one of the reasons why it has a beautiful atmosphere and makes you feel so comfortable here.
You don't get crushed by high-rise buildings around you. Most of the houses look finished, but the external appearance often deceives us about what is sometimes beautiful in the houses. We should have this experience especially in Trinidad.
CIENFUEGOS IS OUR FIRST DESTINATION
After a good breakfast we set off. Today we have Cienfuegos and Trinidad on our agenda. I'm particularly excited about Trinidad, the third largest city in Cuba was once very rich from cane sugar. Let's see if there's any of the wealth left today.
The colonial city has a history that goes back over 500 years, but it is often forgotten that even before the revolutionaries, Cuba had an eventful time that continues to shape the country today.
We leave Havana and drive to Cienfuegos
We drive through Havana, people are waiting in traffic and waving on the streets, large-volume, bubbling V2 engines are not part of everyday street life here. The young Cubans in particular always wave in a friendly manner; these impressions would be unthinkable for us.
We leave Havana on the motorway, which for our standards is more of a wide country road that we drive on. Large holes suddenly appear in the asphalt, but Ernesto and Camilo know every hole in the road on the tour and warn us in good time. Today we will drive around 380 kilometers, some of it will be overland, the first stage will be on the highway directly to Cienfuegos.
There are no traffic jams on Cuba's highways, so we get through very easily. We glide very relaxed over the track on our Harleys and enjoy the adventure.
Shortly before Cienfuegos we stopped for a gas station. Cubans like gas stations to be a meeting place and many people like to come here for an espresso. What's strange is what kind of vehicles pull up at the gas station or what the Cubans carry around with them.
A Cuban carried his fighting cock with him, these bloody fights are part of the negative image of Cuba and, as is often the case in competitions, there are many losers and it's not just the cocks.
Cockfights
Cockfights are popular in Cuba; Cubans place bets among themselves, without any bookmakers. A rooster is worth approximately €50, which can be more than a month's salary.
ICE BEAR MAD DOG Scooter 50cc
The fact that you can find something like this here is a 50cm Mad Dog Scooter from Ice Bear with a Honda engine from the USA, I have no idea how it got to the island. It is a huge construction and the exhaust is even original, the device can reach over 70 km/h.
Filling up in Cuba isn't a problem, we always had someone pay for it and had nothing to do with it, 10 CUC was usually enough.
Then we continued towards Cienfuegos, we drove a little overland and at some point we arrived in the town.
Cienfuegos is located south of a bay in Cuba, it looked good on the map. It's an old colonial town, unfortunately it's a bit shabby today, but it must have been a magnificent place back in the day.
Gold leaf from earlier times can still be seen on some houses, as well as mosaic stones, beautiful old colonial buildings. We first drive to José Martí Park, on the way there we can see that it might be worth taking a closer look at the city. She has the nickname,
CIENFUEGOS – “The Colonial Pearl of the South of Cuba”.
Now we are on the way to the Los Delphines restaurant, which is located on a headland south of Cienfuegos. The question arose for us: why is the restaurant called Los Delphines? So far we have only found good food in Cuba, we hope it stays that way.
Lunch at Los Delphines Restaurant, Cienfuegos
We were a bit speechless as to where we ended up here, it's an absolute insider tip. And now the question of the name of the restaurant has also been clarified, it's called Los Delphines, because as you can see in the next photo, The dolphins swim right past the jetty from the restaurant.
We were just eating, but that was actually an experience; these big wooden chairs were actually just waiting for us.
We continue towards Trinidad, we drive along the sea and leave Cienfuegos by land towards Trinidad.
Long roads that lead into the valley
The roads are quite good, but you have to expect horse-drawn carts everywhere; driving in Cuba is something different.
You can also find long roads and valleys here, there are urban forests to the left and right and then lots of sugar cane plantations and whatever else the farmers grow.
Suddenly we pass a fire department.
The Cuban sun sets behind us
There is still some smoke behind us, but also a beautiful sunset.
A typical picture on the roadsides of Cuba
In front of us there are two Cubans on the road with a broken down vehicle. This happens quite often, but most car owners know very well about their cars and their faults.
Instead of a bus, today it's the back of a truck
Overland, Cubans travel everywhere, even if it's in the back of a truck. There is also a street bar at this transshipment point, where you can get the national sugar cane drink, espresso or even cerveza beer.
We have reached Trinidad
The sun shimmers golden over the country in the early evening and we have now reached Trinidad. Another old city from colonial times that used to be brimming with wealth. Unfortunately things look a little different today, but we will still experience that Trinidad has a very special charm.
Arrival in Trinidad
We drive into the city over the cobblestones, the Cubans are amazed again, the Harleys are not part of the everyday cityscape here. We will stay in Trinidad for two nights, the city offers a lot that is worth seeing.
We are standing in front of our accommodation, as is often the case, from the outside you wouldn't think that there is such a beautiful interior in the house. You will find out more about this in the 5th part of the Cuba tour.
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