We’re still in temporary “armchair traveler” mode courtesy of Colombia’s nationwide quarantine. In lieu of new adventures, we’ve been reminiscing about some of our previous trips and remembering what we loved best about each place. Here’s our first installment about our voyage to the Galapagos Islands in 2017.
Over Christmas and New Year’s in 2016-2017, we spent an unforgettable two weeks in Cuba.
Giant depiction of Che Guevara in the Plaza de Revolución. The bleachers were left over from the funeral of Fidel Castro, who died just before we got there.
President Obama was just about to leave office and had made a historic visit to Havana the previous March. And Fidel Castro had just died a month before we got there. It was an interesting time to visit Cuba: there was an overall feeling of transition and optimism in the air, travel restrictions for U.S. citizens had been eased, and there was still plenty of hope that relations between the U.S. and Cuba would continue to normalize. Of course, the opposite has happened over the past four years (here’s a more recent article about life in Cuba today). We feel very lucky to have seen this vibrant country when we did.
We started in Havana and then traveled by bus to the colonial cities of Cienfuegos and Trinidad. Here are the photo highlights from all three cities. Just like the Galapagos post, we aren’t going into a lot of written detail here. To read more about the trip, check out our detailed blog posts on Cuba.
Note: All photos are all in galleries. You can click through each one for larger views.
Havana
Havana was everything we had imagined it would be, and then some. Chaotic, colorful, filled with iconic old cars and exuberant people who live their lives mostly outdoors – in the streets, on the balconies of decaying old mansions, on the Malecón. Havana was emblematic of Cuba as a whole: filled with contradictions and on the verge of big change, which we hoped would be for the better.
National pride in the Vedado district
Colorful decay everywhere
Cruising down the Malecón with Morro Castle as a backdrop
Typically teeming Havana street
Balcony living. The huge fans with the floppy blades caught my eye.
Streetside society
Chewing the fat in El Centro
Veggie hawkers, El Centro
A morning bike tour through lovely Parque Almendares
Lots of ways to get around
These people were getting into a collectivo, a shared taxi ride. We crammed ourselves into several of these.
Some of these cars are running on a wing and a prayer. And some aren’t.
An immaculately restored beauty
This one has seen better days
So much incredible architecure, some beautifully restored . . .
And some not. The half-moon stained-glass windows that we saw all over Cuba are called medio puntos.
In front of the Capitolio
El Gran Teatro de la Habana
Colorful laundry, El Centro
The balcony of our last casa particular (shared housing), in a beautiful old mansion
Floor tile detail
Street kitties
The towering memorial to Jose Martí, one of Cuba’s most important statesmen
Panoramic view of Havana from the city’s tallest building, with the Hotel Nacional on the left. The hotel has a turbulent history.
Classic car owners waiting to snag tourists near the Hotel Cohiba
Lots of Fidel propaganda everywhere.
Iconic posters at an outdoor book and record stall
Front porch haircut
Detail of archway entrance to the sprawling Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón, Havana’s main cemetery
This is the grave of a woman and her baby who were miraculously preserved. See our Havana cemetery post for the full story!
A beautiful family crypt
Nun detail from the elaborate monument to 25 firefighters who died in a terrible explosion in 1890.
Detail from another lovely crypt
Bats in Cuba mean good luck, brotherhood, and faithfulness. Just check out a Bacardi rum label.
Totally random: Russian sheet music on the sidewalk
The storied La Floridita Bar
The La Floridita was a famous haunt of Ernest Hemingway’s.
Girl group in the La Floridita
Cannon at the Castillo de San Salvador
View from atop Castillo de San Salvador with Morro Castle in the background
Mural, Havana bus station
Cienfuegos
After several days in Havana, we took a half-day bus ride to the port town of Cienfuegos, a lovely city filled with beautifully preserved, historic-landmark buildings in the French style (owing to the fact that the town was settled by French immigrants in the early 1800s).
The fabulous Palacio del Valle
Just a couple of dudes out for a row and a smoke
This beautiful old mansion was a vision in blue
The Club Cienfuegos, once an exclusive private club and now open to the public
The Club Cienfuegos from the harbor side
Fair maidens
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. We were surprised to see so many functioning churches, and practicing Catholics, in this communist country.
One of the many long and airy breezeways fronting the buildings on the main parque.
The Palacio Ferrar, a famous landmark
Chess under the watchful eye of Che
Cubans really love to hang out and enjoy each other’s company.
Music is everywhere in Cuba. The guy with the guitar was a tourist who decided to join in. The other guys didn’t seem to mind too much.
Lovely Cienfuegos bathed in late afternoon light.
Another view from on high
The main parque, looking towards the Teatro Tomas Terry
This couple was cutting a rug!
The end to another picture-perfect day.
Trinidad
From Cienfuegos, we took the bus to Trinidad, where we spent a memorial New Year’s Eve with the family who hosted us in their casa particular. Trinidad is one of Cuba’s most historic and picturesque towns, replete with cobblestone streets, plenty of horse- and oxen-drawn carts, and bright-hued, tile-roofed adobe buildings. The town is a beautifully preserved UNESCO World Heritage site, and the clear late-afternoon light and vivid colors make it a photographer’s dream.
Trinidad is bursting with color.
Typical Trinidad street
A dude hits his stride in front of a lovely old church
A family heads for home
These two were real characters!
John makes a new little friend
Just off the Plaza Mayor
The road up to the Candelaria de la Popa church
The church walls are barely standing.
The House of Football
Horse meeting
A handsome cowpoke
Pick your ride
So many beautifully restored buildings
Early evening street scene
Yay – the cake is here!
A peek at a beautiful medio punto.
Kids playing with tops – imagine! in a picturesque street.
Eye-popping color
A storefront clock repairman and his customers
Side-by-side frutería y carnicería
Night falls at our casa particular
The family we were staying with shared a sumptuous New Year’s meal with all their guests.
Lady bartender
Trinidad night, with the beautifully illuminated Candelaria de la Popa in the background
Nighttime dining al fresco
Thank you for sharing in our Best of Cuba memories! Next up: Peru
Spectacular photos! Such incredible memories. Cuba is one of those places I’d like to visit as well. Probably on my Belgian passport. 🙂 Havana’s streets and buildings reminded me a bit of Cartagena. Of course, the culture is different and the old cars add to the charm. And I recognize a hint of New Orleans architecture in Cienfuegos. Ooooh, to be able to travel internationally again! Thanks for the virtual photo tour!
Thanks so much, Liesbet! You wouldn’t have any problem getting into Cuba on a Belgian passport. Didn’t think of Cienfuegos resembling New Orleans, but I see your point with the wrought iron balconies, etc. Someday soon we’ll all be making new travel memories!
John and Susan – Your photos here are absolutely breathtaking. Thank you for bringing Cuba to us. I greatly enjoyed this vicarious travel. I look forward to joining you in Peru!
Thanks for taking me along. Loved the tour of Cuba. Have a friend who lives in the U.S. who had to leave everything — home, business, and savings behind when Castro took over. He was American and had married a Cuban. Life is interesting…..
Glad you enjoyed it, Muriel! We’ve heard so many stories of people whose lives were upended by the Cuban revolution. It’s such a complicated and mysterious country (we wrote about all the contradictions we encountered in our very first Cuba post, “The Cuba Conundrum”). Hope you’re doing well!
Those are some really nice shots! I love the colors and the energy of the people. I’m glad you went to Cuba during that short timeframe before things began deteriorating again between the two neighbors.
Love, love, LOVE your photos! You’ve captured Cuba’s heart and soul. I really enjoyed seeing Cienfuegos, a town we didn’t get to. Thanks for your perspective on this unique country. So beautiful!
Thank you, Kelly! Cienfuegos was really interesting. The Bay of Pigs is nearby and is now a spectacular diving site. We had to save it for our next visit. Hope all is well in your world!
Ooooh, super cool about the diving site! Cuba must have some great ones since it’s not overrun by the world. Thanks for the tip! Hope you’re doing well as well. 🙂
Such fabulous photos that really capture what Cuba is all about! I so enjoyed seeing it through your eyes and remembering our time there. A confounding and brilliant place. We didn’t go to Cienfuegos, choosing instead to go to Viñales, so I enjoyed seeing some of it here. We thought about doing a day trip from Trinidad to Cienfuegos but were a bit full up with preserved Spanish Colonial towns at the time so chose instead a day on a yacht going to one of the outlying islands. Alison
Thanks, Alison! We feel like we just scratched the surface on our visit to Cuba. We’re looking forward to getting back there and visiting Viñales and Santiago de Cuba, among other places. A yacht trip to an outer island sounds perfect! Susan
Yes, Cuba’s had a pretty tough time with COVID, I think, and they’re not through it yet – just like the rest of this part of the world. Hope you get to visit someday!
So many amazing photos! Cuba’s been on our wish list for ages and so we can only hope that conditions allow us to visit at some point in the near future.
Thanks, Ian! We would LOVE to hear your perspective on Cuba. Maybe you can get there as part of your next visit to South America 🙂 Hope you and Nicky are doing well. Still in Spain?
I haven’t been to Cuba yet and would love to visit this country someday. Your post filled me with wanderlust. Thanks for sharing the post with vibrant photographs.
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28 Comments
Spectacular photos! Such incredible memories. Cuba is one of those places I’d like to visit as well. Probably on my Belgian passport. 🙂 Havana’s streets and buildings reminded me a bit of Cartagena. Of course, the culture is different and the old cars add to the charm. And I recognize a hint of New Orleans architecture in Cienfuegos. Ooooh, to be able to travel internationally again! Thanks for the virtual photo tour!
Thanks so much, Liesbet! You wouldn’t have any problem getting into Cuba on a Belgian passport. Didn’t think of Cienfuegos resembling New Orleans, but I see your point with the wrought iron balconies, etc. Someday soon we’ll all be making new travel memories!
John and Susan – Your photos here are absolutely breathtaking. Thank you for bringing Cuba to us. I greatly enjoyed this vicarious travel. I look forward to joining you in Peru!
Thank you, Donna! Peru’s going to be challenging since we were there for a month and have well over a thousand photos between us. Wish us luck 🙂
Thanks for taking me along. Loved the tour of Cuba. Have a friend who lives in the U.S. who had to leave everything — home, business, and savings behind when Castro took over. He was American and had married a Cuban. Life is interesting…..
Glad you enjoyed it, Muriel! We’ve heard so many stories of people whose lives were upended by the Cuban revolution. It’s such a complicated and mysterious country (we wrote about all the contradictions we encountered in our very first Cuba post, “The Cuba Conundrum”). Hope you’re doing well!
Those are some really nice shots! I love the colors and the energy of the people. I’m glad you went to Cuba during that short timeframe before things began deteriorating again between the two neighbors.
Thank you, Bama! We feel very fortunate that we got to see Cuba when we did. We hope we get to return someday. Hope you’re doing well.
FABULOUS photos. I especially love all those featuring the local cast and crew. 🙂
Thanks so much, Henry! Have a great day – we hope to move up there soon 🙂 Cheers, John and Susan
Love, love, LOVE your photos! You’ve captured Cuba’s heart and soul. I really enjoyed seeing Cienfuegos, a town we didn’t get to. Thanks for your perspective on this unique country. So beautiful!
Thank you, Kelly! Cienfuegos was really interesting. The Bay of Pigs is nearby and is now a spectacular diving site. We had to save it for our next visit. Hope all is well in your world!
Ooooh, super cool about the diving site! Cuba must have some great ones since it’s not overrun by the world. Thanks for the tip! Hope you’re doing well as well. 🙂
What a fabulous selection of photos. You have really transported me! Mel
Thanks so much, Mel!
Such fabulous photos that really capture what Cuba is all about! I so enjoyed seeing it through your eyes and remembering our time there. A confounding and brilliant place. We didn’t go to Cienfuegos, choosing instead to go to Viñales, so I enjoyed seeing some of it here. We thought about doing a day trip from Trinidad to Cienfuegos but were a bit full up with preserved Spanish Colonial towns at the time so chose instead a day on a yacht going to one of the outlying islands.
Alison
Thanks, Alison! We feel like we just scratched the surface on our visit to Cuba. We’re looking forward to getting back there and visiting Viñales and Santiago de Cuba, among other places. A yacht trip to an outer island sounds perfect!
Susan
Beautiful photos! It looks like a truly special place. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your comment, Cindy! Have a great day.
Fabulous photo’s. Cuba is on our list for life after COVID. The UK government say we can go there but Cuba has too many restrictions for now.
Yes, Cuba’s had a pretty tough time with COVID, I think, and they’re not through it yet – just like the rest of this part of the world. Hope you get to visit someday!
So many amazing photos! Cuba’s been on our wish list for ages and so we can only hope that conditions allow us to visit at some point in the near future.
Thanks, Ian! We would LOVE to hear your perspective on Cuba. Maybe you can get there as part of your next visit to South America 🙂 Hope you and Nicky are doing well. Still in Spain?
I haven’t been to Cuba yet and would love to visit this country someday. Your post filled me with wanderlust. Thanks for sharing the post with vibrant photographs.
Thank you for visiting – hope you get to visit Cuba someday. It really is a special place.
Wonderful photos! I just love the colours and vibrancy and those wonderful old cars. Cuba is a place that I regret not having visited (yet).
Beautiful pictures, I would love to visit Cuba one day!
Thanks! We hope you get to visit Cuba someday.