Day 16: On to Trinidad

Awakened by someone walking through La Sierrita blowing a whistle to let everyone know it was morning. (I found out later it was a vendor selling perhaps bread or eggs.)

Bit by a tick at the nape of my neck. So sore. (That bite lasted a month or longer.)

Bed so uncomfortable I used my air pad on top. I've done that before. Sometimes when I have to sleep on memory foam and it's too hot.

I had a very sad incident today. In fact I couldn't write about it then but I'm sharing it now because distance has made it a bit easier to write about, but it still tugs at my heart that I couldn't do something. I was cycling along a rural farm road when a puppy comes romping up the road towards me wagging his tail. I picked him up. Only a handful, he's so small. And matted and scruffy looking. He rests quietly in my hand as I go up the road hoping I'll find his momma. I finally see some folks in a cart coming towards me. I hold up the puppy. They motion to me to toss him. I continue on. I see a guy coming through a fence gate. Again I hold up the puppy to him. Again he motions to toss him. What am I going to do with this puppy? I can't keep him. No one wants him. He's a disposable item in a country with starving animals. I come upon a gate with goats on the other side. I set him down. He scrambles to follow me but I cycle away. A bit down the road a man and a boy are walking towards me. I like to hope they found the puppy and took him in. There's was nothing for me to do. I couldn't keep him. But it still hurts thinking about it. Sometimes you just have to let nature take its course. This was one of them. What would you have done?

Later in the day these girls came running and waving and shouting out to the road. That was the only begging I saw in the countryside.


I gave them each a pack of cookies.


Arrived in Trinidad to the Casa Elio recommended but no English spoken. They were full so he called around and found me another place to stay. I'm a 1/2 mile from the town center in a very untouristy part of town.


Again it's lovely inside, especially upstairs where I am. I'm sitting out on an outdoor patio right now overlooking a very crude neighborhood.










Roosters are crowing. Someone's hammering metal. Birds are chirping. The temperature is warm but delightful in the shade. And I am showered and sipping fresh guava juice. Life is good. This is Nino's house and he speaks little English. And he talks a lot. I'm never sure what I'm agreeing to:). Something about 2 chiquitas coming tomorrow whatever they are. The translate app only works if you know how to spell the word. I don't. He won't type anything.

I'm eating out tonight because dinner at my Casa would be alone...well, there's no one at this restaurant :( And it's so lovely...winding through it to an upstairs outdoor patio. Quiet when you're the only one:)). (Except for the barking dog:))




Dinner was delicious: veggie paella. It came with a tomato, cucumber, cabbage salad and fruit, cookie, flan dessert. Yum. All for $12.50. And I was serenaded by a Cuban duet of guitar and shakey things...I don't know what you call them. A gourd on a stick with stones inside. Did I ever know a name for them? Not castenets. Not a tambourine. Hmm?

And when I stepped outside and checked my GPS to get "home", I was only a couple of blocks away. A lot closer than I thought. I make sure I mark my map with the location of my Casa so I can find my way back. I'd be so lost otherwise. How did we do this before? More stress, I'm sure.

So I walked through the dark unlit dirt streets back to my casa feeling totally safe.

Live YOUR dream,

BagLady

Day 15: Leaving Cienfuegos

I had a wonderful stay with Elio and Elana. Even met their daughter and his momma this morning. I suggested they needed a book for guests to sign so they started one.


After pictures and bike rides, I headed out of town. They had all agreed that the mountain route was not possible by bike, so I decided to do the back roads to the coast road. What an adventure that turned out to be. It looked so simple on my app. Just follow the blue line. Not! Very confusing back in the orchards on the dirt road. And people telling me not to go the way my app wanted to send me. And me not understanding their directions.























Ola! I did manage to get out on the coast road eventually but my route took me 6 miles longer than if I'd stayed on main roads:). And it was a lot more fun!! When I got to the turnoff for the mountains, I decided to go for it. So I turned up. There was a town about 5 miles up and I figured I could get a casa particulare there then head on. Well, it's quite primitive up here. The woman at the store where I bought water said there was no place to stay and that I could not take a bicycle into the mountains. Not possible. As I was preparing to leave someone comes and tells me to stop. A young man has offered a place. For $20 with meals. So I followed him home. This is a true Cuban experience!! He's sold me his bed! He's going to his grandparents for the night.


I'm sitting at the table watching Momma clean the rice for dinner. He just gave me a bracelet that he made. How do these miracles happen to me? I couldn't have orchestrated this. And tomorrow I'll ride back down and take the coast road. I came up that hill just for this and it was worth it!!!

There are banana, mango, and coconut trees in the back yard. It's lovely and rustic.





















The bathroom is the most primitive I've been in. Washing in a bucket. Flushing with water from a bucket. Wiping with newspaper and putting it on the basket. This is probably how many people live here.

Daniel, the young man, is quite a horticulturist. The plants around the yard are all his doing. And there are potted plants and hanging plants everywhere! He wants to work in a museum for plants. He does little log gardens and sells them in the market. His girlfriend, Yumi, does nails. What an artist she is! She showed me samples of her artistry and I was flabbergasted at her talent and creativity.







Tonight for dinner we had rice, beans, some pork, and yucca, fritters, and a salad. I skipped the salad but everything else and it was delicious! After dinner Daniel and Yumi gave me dancing demonstration.

Later we went to the girlfriend's house and through the help of Google Translate and Yumi's bright mind and some English we had a lot of laughs! What an extra special evening this has been!!!!! I'm blessed, that's for sure. Best $20 I've ever spent. And Daniel will make good use of the money. I know that. So kind!




Live YOUR dream,

BagLady