Trinidad

From Santa Clara, our next stop was Trinidad. It cost $8 and took 3 1/4 hours to travel 137 km--our route took us back through Cienfuegos.

Bus station in Trinidad. It's in the center of the historic district.

Trinidad is an adorable town, earning a designation as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The streets are cobbled and the buildings are colorful.

Plaza Mayor in the historic center. It's made of 4 fenced gardens with a palm tree in the center of each garden. 

Surrounding Plaza Mayor are colonial mansions

and even a pirate.

Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad--the Church of the Holy Trinity, located in the northeast corner of Plaza Mayor. A church has stood on this site since 1620 but the current building was finished in 1892.

The Museo de la Lucha Contra Bandidos is located 1 block northwest of Plaza Mayor. The bell tower is part of an 18th century church and convent. Admission to the museum is 1 CUC and you can climb the tower for a panoramic view of the city. 

You can take a carriage ride around town

or walk around the neighborhoods.

Some tourists were on horseback

while others were in classic cars.

Local life

with horses outside of houses

On a small hill beyond the end of Simon Bolivar is a dilapidated church--the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa del Barco. There's supposed to be a 5-star hotel nearby but we couldn't find it.

A strange thing to find in such a colonial town was Bar Yesterday, located on Gustavo Izquierdo, where the decor is dedicated to the Beatles, 

including 4 life-size statues of Paul, Ringo, John & George.

2017 03 10