Cuba: Cienfuegos & El Nicho

Cienfuegos was a more fleeting stop-off on route between Playa Gíron and Trinidad. Following almost a week in the countryside and on the coast, the French colonial architecture of this south coast city was another distinctive side to Cuba. The drive was only an hour and a half and once we arrived, we dropped our bags in the casa and headed out into the city. First we wandered around the city centre, a highlight of which was the Palacio Ferrer, a grand building currently under renovation - great for architecture geeks! Then we walked out to Punta Gorda, the city's peninsula with large and elaborate houses and park at the end, where locals were swimming and we enjoyed a good ol' piña colada.

Food-wise, we had two very good dinners in Cienfuegos: at Restaurant Bouyón 1825 we enjoyed a BBQ or parrillada in the back dining room of the restaurant for a very reasonable price, and at Finca del Mar I enjoyed a delicious and beautifully presented octopus carpaccio starter with great views out over the bay. It was certainly a more touristy and pricey affair, but a nice treat that should be booked in advance.

Most reviews recommended Cienfuegos as a day trip or for a single night stay, as it really doesn't take long to explore in itself, however it's a useful base for excursions in the surrounding area. We decided on two nights and spent our full day on the beach at Playa Rancho Luna (though quality wise it's probably not worth the trip if you're heading on to Varadero).

Cienfuegos is the start of an excursion to the El Nicho waterfalls organised by Cubanacán, the state run tourist agency. It had been high on my list of to-dos shortly after starting research our trip, and even better since after the trip we would be dropped off in the next city, Trinidad. Early in the morning we were picked up by our private jeep and drove the two hours through the citrus fields in convoy with two other jeeps up into the mountains. Our tour guide Ray was a real character ("I have 3 sons by 3 different women!!") with a clear passion for his job and country and told us so much about everything we saw throughout the day, about the nature, agriculture, society and culture in the region.

The waterfalls themselves were a sight to behold, and we donned our swimming gear and took a dip! Of course, little did I know, around the corner as we about to head off for lunch (and still drying off from our swim!) Ray the guide took us off to a quiet viewpoint, and Dan proposed!!! So our pictures are pre-engagement, but hey, who cares! Needless to say, with the last stop Trinidad in our sights, this was the best bit of the trip!

Viva Cuba!

Looking back on when and why I first became fascinated with visiting Cuba, it must have been a combination of studying Spanish at school, and an exhibition on the iconography of Che Guevara that was on at the V&A back in 2006. My topic of choice for my A-Level speaking exam was Che, when I researched his life and the adopted country he fought for, and so it began. Throughout university, like a student of the 70s, I had the exhibition's poster on my wall, the famous photograph of Che's face gazing out into my room. During this time I also became really interested in urban agriculture, and discovered how Cuba is world renowned for growing food in the city. All in all, I became mildly obsessed with this communist island isolated in the Caribbean!

As plastered all over the media in recent years, the country is on the brink of change. With its progressive relationship with the United States, it felt like it was now or never to make the trip. We wanted to see what we could of authentic Cuba, avoiding the resorts and staying in the casas particulares, or B&Bs, of everyday Cubans that there are in each town or city.

Cuba truly is an island of contrasts: every city and town we visited was vastly different from the next. Even with its social structure there are distinct differences in wealth of the citizens, but what doesn't change is the friendliness and inquisitive nature of the people. Plus what we discovered (to our delight) is that the food wasn't as disappointing as we had expected, in fact quite the opposite!

In a place where very few people speak English and it does feel like you have stepped back in time by at least 30 years, the trip wasn't what I would call relaxing, rather more of an adventure, but that was what we were looking for. First stop: Havana!