A Day in Trinidad - Thursday

A Day in Trinidad - Thursday
More sickness in the group. One of our crew was too sick to travel with us today. BUT, as we pulled away from the hotel, he was seen on the balcony smoking a cigar. Hmmmm.
An hour and a half to Trinidad. This is a old town that was founded in the 17th century as sugar plantation town. It became very wealthy as it sugar flourished in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, with the abolishment of slavery, competition from sugar beets, and the beginnings of the independence movement, it lost its luster. By the time of the revolution in the 1950s, it had become in major disrepair. In the 70s, the state begun to restore the buildings to colonial splendor. By 1988, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tourism flourished. The center of the old town still has cobblestone streets with real cobblestones. Nobody sprained an ankle, though. Nowadays, private businesses are beginning to return. The government now allows some private bed and breakfasts, and Trinidad now has the most in the nation. No big hotels, which is the reason we went to Cienfuegos.
The town itself is quaint. There is a central square with some old churches which have been converted to war museums. The view from the top of the bell tower was wonderful. Looking at the rooftops, I did notice the distinct lack of TV antennas or satellite dishes.
Lunch at a nice restaurant, and Ann had delicious lobster tail. Every place we eat we are serenaded by a little band, which subsequently comes around to sell CDs for $10.
After lunch we had free time to shop and explore. That's when I went to the top of the bell tower. The museum had pictures of Fidel and Che, which I will try to upload some pictures. At the end of the free time, we met for lemon aide, and went to the house of the "horse whisperer", who is a friend of Chris's. A few people were missing, and we found two of them. As I am writing, we are still looking for our last companion. He never showed up at our meeting point, and not at any other place we had been. Our guides actually checked with the police, local hospital, our hotel and tour guide company to no avail. After searching for an hour, we left Trinidad and came back to Cienfuegos,where he met us at the door. It seems he had been waiting at a different spot, and finally took a cab back. He bargained the price from $65 to $40, and said he probably could have done better, but was tired at that point! Anyway, alls well.
At this point we were too tired and otherwise stuffed to go out for a big dinner. Many of us met at the bar and had pizza and beer. Even that was too large, so when a straggler came by, she got the leftover half pizzas! The band here was pretty good, so another $10 CD purchase! We were approached by a retired Cuban baseball showing us his pictures and selling shirts and baseballs. Sorry guys.



Stephen J. Rockower, MD
President, MedChi 2016-2017
The Maryland State Medical Society

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