2019-06-22 Casa Zunilda & Raya Homestay, Cienfuegos to Ivon y Tony Homestay, Trinidad, Cuba

Unfortunately only one night had been booked for us at Casa Zunilda & Raya Homestay so today we continue our Cuban adventure and head for Trinidad

Breakfast had been organized early for us so we would have plenty of time for the tour of Cienfuegos before being driven to Trinidad

A great dining room !!

Our hosts have pet turtles with their own little pond

It would have been fabulous to have another night here with our generous and friendly hosts, Zunilda & Raya …… next time

Casa Zunilda & Raya Homestay is well positioned near the end of a narrow point with water across the road and directly behind the house. ……. it has been a lovely experience staying here

Our guide and driver arrive to continue our tour

We start our day with a guided tour of Cienfuegos and visit some of the places we had seen the prior day …… we walk to the nearby Palacio de Valle which is a wonderful example of the stunning architecture found in Cienfuegos

We next visit Sculpture Park which is near La Punta Gorda where we had been staying

There are many modern sculptures haphazardly displayed around the park

We next visit the Club Cienfuegos, a rather elaborate yacht club with an amazing Colonial clubhouse, restaurants, tennis courts, swimming pools and marina

A fine example of the wonderful French inspired architecture of Cienfuegos is the Palacio Azul Hotel

Our driver drops us off with our guide in the busy centre of Cienfuegos where we visit several historic buildings

The Government Building (City Hall) stands in one corner of the historic center of Cienfuegos, originally called Plaza de Armas however now the square is known as Parque de José Marti

On another corner stands the Purisima Concepcion Cathedral

There are some fine examples of colonial architecture all around the historic center

The colorful interior of one of the many hotels in the area

Vintage cars are popular here too!!

We next visit the famous Cuban theater, Teatro Tomas Terry

Beautifully restored ceiling with gold leaf and frescoes …

A well photographed statue of legendary Cuban singer, Benny More is found in the main street of Cienfuegos

The statue of José Marti, a national hero stands in the centre of the park which is named after him

We then visit the local undercover market

As we leave Cienfuegos we pass thousands of mango trees all laden with ripe mangoes …. it seems a waste for the industry not to do anything with them!!!