Cuba Cross Over 2014 - Trinidad | Monday, March 3 - 35km

Today is free of activities so you can plan it as you wish. We recommend an excursion to Valle de los Ingenios. The fertile plateau with its surrounding hills of the Sierra del Escambray owes its name to the sugar mills built at the beginning of the 19th century. There is a little railway leading to Manaca Iznaga, originally used to watch the slaves while working in the sugarcane fields. You will moreover be able to notice the social structures built during the boom of the sugar industry. Overnight at the Hotel Finca Maria Dolores. Dinner included. (breakfast, dinner) - Trip Notes

I couldn’t face eggs this morning so had a couple of small rolls with plum jam after the meagre plate of fruit, coffee and juice. Contrary to the trip notes, today we would cycle! As we left the hotel, located by a river, a local walked past with his catch which gained approval from our bus driver Rudi.

 

We biked out to Manaca Iznaga, a restored sugar cane mansion with watchtower, after first stopping at Mirador Valle de los Ingenios. We climbed up the tower for a look and then had a demonstration of how sugar cane was crushed into liquid guarapo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then cycled back into Trinidad where the day's organised activities ended. Five of us had lunch at a nice little place near the local AA (handy..) and Matthias and I walked around a little bit before catching a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi was 57 years old and in really bad shape!

 

Lunch spaghetti

Most of us pre-ordered spaghetti for dinner which turned out to be a very small serving with no seconds! Lucky I had spaghetti for lunch,,,, and the entertainment tonight was the same as the gang saw in town last night!

Dinner spaghetti..