the states: an eclipse in my hometown

I had three more days in Bloomington, I mostly took it easy.

I got the chance to spend time with my sister and nephew, which was lovely as always. Since I don't have a stable life it was very different from my normal. Plus, it was time with my sister, which is always awesome. At one point we left her house and went for a walk along one of the public trails through the city. I hadn't walked it before, so it was nice to see what I've been hearing about on social media for years. It was hot and humid though, so we ended up stopping into a cafe for drinks, and to cool down. 

Another afternoon was spent at the IUOP (Indiana University Outdoor Pool,) a place I used to work. It's not fun paying an entry fee into a place I used to enter for free, but oh well. I love the IUOP. Plus, I got to chat with people I hadn't seen in years.

That night I had dinner with Mom. Decent food, great company and conversation.

The next morning I got to have a massage I'd booked. I'd been looking forward to this all summer. My massage therapist is the mom of a dear friend, it was nice to catch up about our lives. I felt amazing when I walked out.

From there I walked to a fast food restaurant, Arby's. I'd made plans to visit with one of my high school swim teammates, and eat a giant roast beef sandwich. I haven't found roast beef sandwiches outside the states, so I wanted to take advantage while I could.

21 August was an important day for people who pay attention to eclipses. This eclipse was a huge deal, because it was going to be a total eclipse in many areas, and would cross across the entire continental United States. Media companies had been mentioning it for a while, more and more leading up to the event.

My hometown was supposed to have 96% totality. In other words, it wouldn't get completely dark, but the difference in light would be very noticeable.

After eating sandwiches Melissa and I moved to Steak n Shake, so I could have a (totally unnecessary) shake. While drinking our shakes we watched people. The entire eclipse took a while, with the most covered time being just a few minutes. The employees of Steak n Shake shared pairs of eclipse sunnies, taking turns going outside and looking up. I had a pair of the exclipse glasses from Dad, so I had my chance to look up and be amazed.

After eating, Melissa drove me home. I packed up everything and put it all in the car. We drove up to Indianapolis, stopping at a pancake house along the way. I'm a sucker for diners, even when I'm not super hungry.

My flight to Chicago left very early the next morning, and Dad had an early flight to somewhere as well. We stayed in a hotel near the airport, which made everything convenient.

As long as I have family in Bloomington, I'll keep returning.

As long as I live, I'll keep returning to the States every so often. For those of you who ask regularly or wonder, I have no idea if I'll live there again, but it will always be a possibility. 

cuba: the end in havana

Amazingly enough, my bus from Vinales to Havana arrived 30 minutes early!! This even with a 30 minute stop for food in some random place built just for buses going through. Not many of the people on our bus ate, as it was still too early for lunch. I think we also gained time because there were a couple possible stops to which the bus didn't go, I assume there were no ticketed passengers.

Anywho, it was lovely to arrive early. I walked out of the bus station and found a cab (who first tried to tell me that the price I wanted was too low. I was ready to walk away, and started to, before being called back. I checked into my new accomodation, (the same place I'd stayed in Havana just a few nights earlier,) dropped my bag, and started walking.

Even though this was my third time in Havana I still took numerous pictures of cars, and general life on the streets. Old cars definitely exist where I live now, but these classic american cars typically only show up at car shows.

My first sight was a museum, the museo Napoleonico. There was a 3 CUC entry fee, and no photo fee. I even asked, just to make sure. The building itself was awesome, regardless of what was in it, with one downfall: no air con, and no fans. If there were fans, they weren't turned on. It was slightly cooler inside than outside, but I could feel the sweat pouring off me.

Everything in the museum was about Napoleon. Everything. All 7000+ items were collected by Julio Lobo, a sugar baron, and Orestes Ferrara, a politician. His clothes from different battles, a representation of one of his dining rooms (which was quite possibly one of the ugliest rooms I've ever seen, with lime green curtains,) his bedroom, and various weapons used in his battles.

A library of books, all about Napoleon. There was also a terrace/patio on the top level, beautiful tile decoration, and great views in several directions. It was also the only place with a breeze, which felt amazing at that point.

Not too far from the museum was the University of Havana. The campus was really pretty, at least what I could see of it from the bottom of a giant set of steps. For whateva reason, the steps were blocked off by a rope, so I couldn't go any further. There was absolutely no shade anywhere near the steps, so when I sat in the middle of them to take a photo my bum was very toasty very quickly.

The benefit to the steps/campus being roped off was that no one else was in my photo.

From there I walked all the way to the tourist center of Havana, back in Havana vieja. It was an easy walk, almost entirely straight down one street, but it was long. This walk took me to something I'd wanted to see previously, but had been closed on the day I showed up. A theater.

This theatre used to be two buildings, not connected to each other. The National Theater and the Galician Culture Palace. Due to a recent renovation, (it had only been open a year or so when I showed up, after being closed for 3 years,) the buildings are now connected, and part of the same tour.

My entry fee was 5 CUC, again without a photo fee.

At first I was the only person in the tour. Then someone else came, and after a bit longer, a few more people. Most of the tour was in English, which was obviously convenient for me. When necessary, the guide tried to speak in Italian and French.

There are two grand entries, the guide said at one point all the columns I could see had been marble. Now, only two of them are still marble, the others are painted to look as if they're marble. I have to admit I wouldn't have known the difference if the guide hadn't said anything.

The theater itself was gorgeous. It was very similar to a classic European theater, very grand. As we walked in, the guide told us it was the oldest operating theater in the Americas, with many notable performers through its history. I imagine watching a performance from one of the box seats is quite an experience.

On the side of the Galician Cultural center, the main steps were absolutely fantastic. I could've stood there and stared for a few minutes. Absolutely gorgeous.

The whole complex is named for Alicia Alonso, a well known Cuban ballerina.

The tour ended at the cafe on the top floor of the cultural center side. Sitting in one of the seats near the windows offered a great view of the Capitol. Also on the top floor was an art exhibition, including some photos. Nice to wander around for a few minutes.

Next I walked along a street trying to find a restaurant named in the guidebook. I couldn't find it, and walked all the way around the entire building. Eventually I found it, mostly because there was a small queue of people. I wanted my turn, and was thrilled when the host told the people trying to cut in front of me that I was next. (I'm soooo used to people doing that, it's annoying.)

I was not terribly impressed with the restaurant. First, it was very dark inside, even though it was only 1600 or so. I get the idea of mood lighting, but this was waaaay too dark. There was one candle at my table, but it didn't help much.

After I ordered, my food came REALLY fast, which told me it had been preprepared, and had been ready even before I ordered. The shrimp was mushy, which told me it was frozen when it entered the kitchen, not fresh. It was so dark I could barely see my food, argh. When the bill came, it took them foreva to bring my change.

For tourist prices, it was a decent price for the amount of food. Compared to the few meals I'd eaten out during this trip it was not worth it.

On my way back to my room, I decided to use my last wifi card, since it was my last night. Thankfully there was a public park on my way, it was a wifi hotspot. After I used up my wifi time, I continued sitting on the bench just to watch people.

My original plan for the evening was to walk to the malecon for a last Cuban sunset. Unfortunately, just as I was about to go out and walk, it started raining. Pouring, actually. I ended up staying in, nothing exciting.

The next morning I packed up and checked out, and out on the street at 0845. It was easy to flag down a taxi to go to the airport, and when the driver said his price I was shocked. He offered only 10 CUC, which was less than half of what I expected. I double and triple checked, he confirmed the same number each time. The ride was smooth and got me to the airport in plenty of time.

I ended up paying him 25 CUC, which was the price I had originally expected to pay.

I looked for postcards at the airport, but didn't buy any since they were all priced at 1 CUC. There is no way I"m paying that much for a postcard, unless the city was absolutely stunning.

My flights back to Indiana were smooth, and on time.

I would love to come back to Cuba, to explore more of the island. Next time though, I'm not visiting in August though, it is waaaaaay too hot and humid.

cuba: vinales and cayo levisa

Getting from Havana to Vinales was easy, though not on time. I caught a taxi to the bus station in Havana, then waited. The bus was a bit late pulling in, and it was behind another bus. For a reason unknown to me, there is only one lane for incoming and outgoing buses at the main bus station of the capital city of a country. In other words, when one bus is late, or slow, or has a problem, it affects every other bus. Argh. Eventually, we boarded, and the bus ride itself was fine. Cold, as expected. I knew ahead of time to bring my malong with me on the bus.

There was a lady waiting for me as we pulled into Vinales, holding a sign with my name. At this point in the trip I'd really come to appreciate the system of casa particulares owners having 'friends' across the island. I never had to worry about finding a place to stay.

It was an easy, short walk to the house. Part of checking in was a glass of fresh juice, and a sandwich. Since I'd just come off the bus I wasn't hot so it felt good to eat.

Vinales isn't a big town, and is almost entirely dependent on tourists. It exists because the area around the town is gorgeous.

There are limestone karsts sticking up everywhere, and the locals grow nicotine for cigars. Visitors come to town, then book day trips and multi day tours to explore the surrounding area.

There are several tour shops on the main street of Vinales, but all were closed except one. Well, another one was open, sortof. There were a couple people sitting at deks in there, but neither was allowed to book tours, if I understood them correctly. What is the point of having a shop where only one person can take money, and that one person is out to lunch?

I queued up with everyone for the one place that was open, and settled on two options. One three hour walk through the nearby valley area, mostly to see some of the families and farm operations. I think it was called a culture walk, or something along those lines. I would've preferred a hike/trek through the limestone karsts, but that wasn't an option. I also signed up for a day trip out to an island with a pretty beach.

After getting my tours sorted I went back to my room, changed, and filled my camelbak with water. While on the bus into town I had noticed a sign for a national park. I knew I didn't have time to get into the park, but I was hoping for a couple pretty overlook spots.

I walked out of town following the main road, which went up a hill. The hill kept going for a while, a lot longer than I expected. Since the road wasn't straight, I was never sure when I would finally get to a place where I felt like turning around.

I finally decided to turn around not long after coming to a restaurant where the tables were built on decks of a sort, designed to take advantage of the beautiful landscape view. I took a few photos with my tripod, but I was covered in sweat, yuck.

From there I walked back home. I didn't feel as though I'd done or seen very much but Vinales is a small town, and I didn't find it easy to get out and explore outside of town.

The next morning I was up in time to have breakfast before meeting up with my tour. Breakfast was what I'd come to think of as standard for my entire trip: fruit, a big pitcher of fresh fruit juice, eggs, bread with meat and cheese slices, and tea.

I went back to the tour office, and met up with everyone who had signed up for the same walking tour.

It ended up being a small group, just me, a father with two of his almost adult kids, and two irish chicks on holidays. (I loved the mix of English accents, though I think it surprised our guide.) Our guide gave us some introductory information about the area and what we would be seeing, then we started walking.

The entire town of Vinales is surrounded by tobacco farms. The trails we followed took us through and around several of those farms. Our guide knew everyone it seemed, and had plenty of information for us about all that we were seeing.

We passed one family that was cooking a giant pot of stew to celebrate one of their sons coming home from army basic training. We watched one man roll a cigar. Another man was happy to pose for photos on the porch of his home. We saw kids riding horses all over.

We saw all kinds of fruit trees. We saw a giant cart full of corn that hadn't yet been husked. We saw pigs in a barn, they 'greeted' us by almost climbing the walls of their pens.

At one point we sat and had a drink from a little bar that catered entirely to tourists. Since it was hot and humid, all of us appreciated the break.

While sitting and drinking we all got to talking. Since one of the adult kids in the group was studying international relations at university, I took the opportunity to ask his thoughts on current world geopolitics. It was a really good conversation.

Eventually it was time to walk back to where we had started in town. Everyone said goodbye, and I took the opportunity to go to the baseball stadium we'd just passed. Baseball is the national sport of Cuba, I was a bit gutted I'd missed the season. Then again, attending a game in this weather didn't sound very appealing.
I found an open door, so I took the chance to walk around the field, and pretend throw a couple pitches. The view the players have from the field has to be one of the best I've seen from any baseball stadium: they could see several limestone karsts. Very cool.

From there I went back to my room to lay down, cool down, rehydrate, and relax.

Later in the afternoon I decided to go see the one sight in town: the municipal museum. It was tiny, just three rooms. I was the only visitor, and there wasn't much to see, so it only took me about twenty minutes to stroll through looking at everything.

Even though I wasn't really hungry, I decided to get dinner at a local restaurant. I saw a menu listing ropa vieja, which I'd enjoyed in Havana, so I opted to try again. The listed menu wasn't the same as the menu they handed me, so I asked about the difference. The waiter said there were 'lunch' and 'dinner' portions. It isn't normal for me to want a smaller portion, but this time I did. Even so, I was pushing myself to clean my plate. When I got the bill I noticed 10% had been added to the bill, a tactic which annoys me. I didn't recall seeing this on the menu, but I wasn't in the mood to ask.

After eating I wanted to walk off the full feeling in my belly, so I decided to walk through town. It took all of 15 minutes, so I did it again. And again. Like I said earlier, Vinales is not a big town.

Since I was finished with everything I could do in town, I decided to use one of my internet cards for an hour. It dropped out twice within thirty minutes, so I gave up, and saved what was left of the time on that card for another day. This is what happens in a country with state controlled internet access.

That night I arranged with my landlady to have breakfast earlier the next morning (0700) so I could eat before boarding my tour bus. It worked out really well, and I made sure to eat and drink everything she fed me. I don't think there is a thing as too much fresh fruit juice.

I boarded my bus on time, at 0820. It took off, and almost 90 minutes later we got to a small port. I guess it wasn't really even a port, just a single dock. Since we'd arrived early, we had to wait for our boat to arrive. The queue developed at the end of the dock, there was absolutely NO shade. I was surprised that people stayed pretty quiet, and very well behaved.

When the boat came we all boarded quickly, and it took off. It was a double decker ferry, which took us to Cayo Levisa. There is nothing to this island except a resort, with a beach and mangrove swamps. To most people that probably doesn't sound exciting, but I was thrilled to have another day to spend on a beach.

I found a chair, and got myself sorted. I put my camelbak under the chair, so it was sortof protected by shade, and I spread my malong over the chair so the plastic didn't get too hot. I went in the water, which felt amazing. White sand and blue water made a happy me.

I spent the rest of the time laying out, flipping over every 30 minutes and going into the water each time I flipped. I spent an hour eating the lunch that was included in the price of the excursion, which was okay but not great.

I did get burnt, but it could've been much worse.

I queued up with everyone else to get back on the ferry boat, and made sure I sat in the shade. Being somewhat burnt made the cold bus ride back even colder, but I didn't mind. I didn't eat dinner in town that night, as I'd already eaten two meals that day, which was a lot for me by my Cuban standards.

The next morning I ate breakfast even earlier, at 0630. Then I paid for my room, and walked back to the bus stop. If I ever come back to Vinales I want to make sure I get further out into the valley. I want to explore/hike the karsts in particular.

cuba: havana for a day

I know this was in my last post, but I'll repeat a little bit here: there was drama for me when traveling from Cienfuegos to Havana. I'd bought a bus ticket, and arranged a taxi from my accomodation to the bus station. The taxi picked me up, then picked up three other travelers. I don't know where the miscommunication happened, but the taxi driver thought I was going with them, all the way to Havana. Just after he passed the bus station I realized he wasn't going to stop, so I asked what was happening.

He said they were going to Havana, why would I want to go to the bus station. I said because I had a bus ticket, and I didn't have extra cash to forego the ticket AND pay for a private taxi. It would've been faster, for sure, but it wasn't in my budget. This being Cuba, I didn't have the option to go get more money from an ATM. The taxi turned around and dropped me at the bus station, but he wasn't happy about it. I still wish I knew how the miscommunication happened, because I know I'd told my 'landlady' that I only wanted to go to the bus station.

My bus from Cienfuegos arrived in Havana thirty minutes earlier than it was supposed to, even with a 30 minute stop for lunch, which was awesome. I caught a taxi at the station, which took me to the casa particular I'd booked in Havana. It wasn't the same place as where I'd stayed when I'd first arrived, but that lady already had a guest. This new place was actually a separate appartment I had all to myself, yippee!! The air circulation was non-existent, I knew I'd have the fan and air con on when I came back. 

Just as I was getting ready to head out for a walk, it started raining. Pouring. In other words, I had to wait. 30 minutes later, I started walking. The streets were wet, but life was coming back outside again. I assume Cubans know how to deal with massive amounts of rain, as it happens on a regular basis.
I walked all the way to a local ferry. The map that came up on a travel app took me through some non-touristy streets, which were in worse shape than the touristed areas of the city. It's always 'fun' to walk around constant piles of rubbish, and avoid puddles at the same time.

At the same time, I enjoyed getting to see locals living their normal lives. At one point I was on a sidewalk with plenty of space for someone going the other way. A man walking the other way decided to walk so close to me that I felt his hands on my body. Totally inappropriate and totally unnecessary. Argh.

At the ferry station I figured out where to go, then just waited. This particular station has two routes, and of course the one I wanted had just left when I got there. Sigh. Security took a quick glance at my purse, but that was it. There was no posted price, but locals clearly knew how much it was, so I watched how much they paid. I'm pretty sure I overpaid, but it still wasn't that much. Other travelers paid more than me, and no change was given.

The ferry ride was 15 minutes, across the bay to the side with a couple older fortresses. These were built and used when Cuba was involved in various wars for independence, and wanted to protect itself.

I disembarked, and followed a couple sets of stairs up the hill. At the top of the hill was a small park with a giant statue of Jesus. This made me think of the photos I've seen of Christ the Redeemer who overlooks Rio, in Brazil. The views over the bay, and the rest of the city on the other side were really nice. There were still massive clouds rolling through the sky, with occasional rain.

I found the street leading to my next sight, and kept walking. Rain started to fall, but wasn't too bad. It did get worse just as I arrived at one of the forts.

I stood for a few minutes under the protection of an old gate, and figured out where to go next. This gate had a price list on the door, but when I tried to go in, someone came out and said the gate was closed. Okay then.

I followed the walls of the fort and came to another gate, and fortunately this one was the proper entry gate. I looked around for a place to buy a ticket, but never saw one.

This particular fort had more views of the city across the bay, as well as old cannons still pointing in that direction.

The clouds were still dark, and now there was plenty of thunder and lightning. I was a bit nervous about staying outside, but no one was closing the fort, so I hoped I was okay.

The fort has rooms dedicated to various aspects of life in the fort, weapons used over the years, people involved in the various battles, etc... As expected, some of the displays were more interesting than the others. I liked walking along the fortress walls, looking in all directions better than any of the displays. I don't know if it was too hot for most tourists, or the weather was too bad, or what, but there weren't many people visiting this fortress even though it was a unesco designated sight.

One of the exhibits didn't have much to do with the fortress or fighting. It was all about Che, and the life he led. There were pictures of him in various countries, as well as the names he used. There were descriptions of major events in his life, always with a positive spin. (I didn't expect anything else.)

At this point I realized I was really tired, and ready to go back to my room, instead of visiting the other fort. I walked back to the ferry station, and didn't have to wait long for the next boat. I paid with a 20 CUP note, and waited for change.

I could tell the man didn't want to give me change, (as that was the equivalent to the amount the other foreigners had paid,) but I could see that locals had paid far less, and he seemed to understand that I had seen how much the locals had paid. I got 17 CUP in change, so my ticket cost just 8 cents if you're using US currency!!

I followed various streets until I got to a pedestrian street with cafes and small shops. I didn't want to eat at a full blown restaurant, and going to a supermarket for food wasn't really an option. This street gave me cheap options like the pizza I chose. Who doesn't love a $1 pizza?

After eating I walked back to my room, stopping for a couple of the iced 'juices' along the way. Even though it was cloudy and rainy, it was still hot, so the cool liquid felt amazing. Unfortunately my room in the flat didn't have amazing circulation, so it was not so fun when I got back. The combination of the fan and aircon sorted everything out, but I felt too guilty to leave it on all night. I turned it off, then woke up in the middle of the night sweating. Sigh.

The next morning my 'landlady' helped me catch a taxi (old school american classic cars ftw!!) back to the bus station. Sadly, my bus did not depart on time. Even though this was the main bus station of the capital city, they had just one lane where passengers get off the bus. The same lane was used to board the buses, meaning traffic jams are constant. Sigh. At least I got where I was going eventually. 

cuba: cienfuegos

It was an easy and short walk to the bus station in Trinidad, and my bus from Trinidad to Cienfuegos departed on time, which was much appreciated by all the travelers. After getting off the bus in Cienfuegos I saw someone with my name written on a piece of paper; this man put me in a taxi which took me to another casa particular. As much as I love finding my own place to stay, having someone waiting for me at the bus station was quite nice. I love walking around and figuring things out on my own, but sometimes convenience is really appreciated. (I'll admit that this appreciation usually comes along more often in hot weather.)

After arriving at the casa particular I found out it wasn't the one originally intended for me, as the original one was full that night. They'd arranged for me to stay somewhere else one night, and at the originally planned one for one night. I'm not a huge fan of moving around every day, but oh well.

Even though I'd been on a bus, and not out in the heat, I was still tired and hot. I relaxed for a couple hours in my room, reading and dozing off. This room had two double beds, each covered in a purple satin thing. Very shiny, definitely not my taste, but the beds were comfortable.

At some point I decided to get out and walk. I knew I'd be in the city for just a couple days, I needed to get started exploring. My casa wasn't too far from the main square, I followed a main street to get there. The street I was walking is called the Prado by locals (according to the guidebook,) and has a pedestrian walkway down the middle, between the lanes going each way. I wanted to walk in the middle area, but without shade that wasn't a great idea. The powers that be must've known/thought about this when the street was built, but obviously didn't do anything about it. 

The center square is called parque Jose Marti, after the leader of the country from the 19^th century. There is a statue of Jose in the middle, bright and white. There is also a gazebo in the park, with people sitting on the benches when they're in the shade. (In other words, you can watch people rotate around the gazebo during the day.)

Also in the park area is an arch of triumph. Think arc de triomphe in Paris, but MUCH smaller, and MUCH less impressive. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have given it the same name at all. 

As I walked through the center of the park area I noticed three girls dressed up for quinceniera (sp?) photo shoots, complete with over the top dresses. Just like what I'd seen in Havana, the makeup was overdone, in my opinion. All three girls had make up and hair ladies in attendance, to fix things between photos.

There is a church on one side of the square, high on my list of sights to see. The Catedral de la Purisima Concepcion. Unfortunately, it was closed. I could see a side door that was open, but it was behind a locked gate, argh.

As I walked back toward the front door I noticed a group of French folks knocking on the door of the church. It opened, so I followed them in. I listened as the priest said the church isn't normally open outside of services right now because of the ongoing renovations. They were sloooowly replacing the stained glass windows, as enough money came in for each window. In general, the church was not terribly exciting.

On another side of the square, not far from the church is the Teatro Tomas Terry. It was built to honor a Venezuelan industrialist, in the late 19^th century. It's a beautiful theatre, patterned after the grand theaters of Europe. The only difference is that this one is made of wood, not fabric, because the local weather wouldn't treat fabric/cloth well at all.

The wood ceiling is painted, but the painted area doesn't cover the entire ceiling area. There are boxed seats along the sides of the upper levels, of course I walked through them. I also made it a point to stand at the front of the sitting area, and turn around to see all the seats. I have no idea how often performances take place.

After leaving the theater I walked to the side of the park across from the church at which I'd started. This was where I could see the Casa de la Cultura Benjamin Duarte. The house is mostly in ruins, though one room was being used by kids rehearsing a dance performance of some kind.

The reason visitors come to this casa is the chance to go up a fancy staircase to an upper level, and then up to a roof. There was a 1CUC fee for this, but since it was the first fee I'd paid in the city, I didn't mind.

The tiling on the upper floors was lovely, and in decent condition. A couple of the rooms up there were being renovated, so I could see the designs on the ceilings being fixed up and repainted.

The view over the park square was great from a small tower on the corner of the roof. The top of the tower wasn't super high, but it was only big enough for one person, and the way to get up there involved going up a super narrow spiral staircase. While I was up there I watched several people start to go up, only to see someone coming down, and have to make way. 

Another fancy building, on the fourth side of the park is called the Palacio del Gobierno. This is a government building, so it wasn't open to visitors wandering around, but I was able to peek in and enjoy the view of the grand staircase. When I asked, the security guy said it was okay if I took a photo.

Right next to the palacio is the local history museum. The view of the grand staircase when I walked in there was pretty grand as well. The fee was small, and the museum itself really wasn't that big.

The exhibit that sticks in my head was a setup of a chess set, with soldiers as the players. I also remember the stained glass in a few of the windows. After Santiago de Cuba, I know that the stained glass is a Cuban tradition started by the colonials, who wanted to enjoy the sun, but wanted to cut some of the heat of the light.

Since I'd see the square as well as the buildings surrounding it, I decided to keep walking. I followed a pedestrian street lined with vendors selling kitchy souvenirs. How do they do that in the heat? Especially when the street practically reflects the sunlight/heat?

I kept going until I got to a marina of sorts. Nothing exciting, but I'll always appreciate being near water. The air wasn't moving, the heat was really getting to me even though I'd only been out for a short time.

Since I'd already drunk all the water I had with me, and didn't want to risk heat stroke, I walked back to my room. I drank cool water, laid down, and dozed a bit more.

After my break, I went back out and walked to a cemetery. I was expecting an entry fee, but there wasn't one.

I wasn't thrilled when a guy volunteered himself to by my guide, but I learned a bit through a combination of Spanish and English. Though I hadn't wanted the guide in the first place, I tipped him as I left.

The cemetery was walled, and basically split in half with another wall. One side was full of the graves of rich folks. The other side was full of the graves of people without much money. Needless to say, there was a huge difference between the two sides.

On the way back through the city center I walked through the city square again. I ended up speaking with a Belgian family for a while. We talked politics, the parents said the last US elections had been so noteworthy that even their 9 and 11 year old children had opinions. Hmmm.

I walked back home so I could get more cold water from the fridge. My water bottle was doing a great job of keeping cold water cold, but I was drinking all of it, and needed more. After heading back out, I followed the Prado in the opposite direction from where I'd walked earlier.

Eventually I got to the beginning of the local malecon.

This happened to be the starting area of the Carnavale festival, which happened to be taking place the two nights I was in town, yahoo!!

One side of the street was a wall on the water, (that is, the malecon,) the other side of the street was filled with stands selling food and beer. I wasn't hungry (the heat, as I've mentioned earlier, had taken away my appetite,) but I still had a pulled pork bun, just because it looked good. I also found a vendor with the flavored ice drinks I'd come to love so much.

There were vendors selling beer (BYO cup,) and fried chicken, and spaghetti, and churros. There were stages set up in a couple areas, the live music was loud and fun. I walked most of the length of the malecon, and got to see a beautiful sunset. It felt like the entire city was out at Carnavale.

As I was walking back toward the start of the malecon area, I noticed a whole bunch of floats lined up and lit up. People were dancing on each of them, each with separate music. That was fun to watch, as was the parade of people behind each of them. After all the floats was a parade of people in costumes. More fun to watch, of course.

The next morning I had a good breakfast in the house, then packed up my stuff and moved it to the original place I was supposed to stay. This turned out to be more of a guesthouse, with several rooms for guests. My room wasn't ready, but that was okay. I dropped off my bag and started walking.

My one and only aim for the day was another cemetery. I followed a main street, past graffiti murals and whatnot, including a couple thank yous to Fidel Castro. Cienfuegos still has a revolutionary mindset.

The looong walk took me to Tomas Acea cemetery, another walled cemetery. This one was far less crowded, and each of the monuments was much more grand than those in the rich area of the cemetery I'd seen the day before. The administration building in the center of the property was so big and grand I thought it was a separate museum.

There was a 1CUC entry fee for this cemetery, but it included a map, which was handy. I was the only visitor while I was there, except for a family cleaning up one of the graves. I walked every path of the grounds, looking more closely at some of the memorials than others.

The way back toward my room seemed longer and hotter than when I'd walked to the cemetary. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I got back and my room was ready. This place was indeed a guesthouse, and there was a pool!! The water wasn't the coolest, but it felt really good to put on a bikini and jump in. There were a few deck chairs, I grabbed one of them. There was another family hanging out, from Barcelona. Sometimes they spoke English, sometimes Catalan, and sometimes Spanish. I loved hearing them switch so quickly between the languages. It was a great couple of hours of relaxing.

Since Carnavale was still taking place I walked back toward that celebration. Along the way the thunder started, then came the rain.

Heavy, soaking rain, so I took cover like everyone else. Standing still is exhausting when you have to do it for a while. I noticed some kids playing hide and seek or tag out in the rain, they were having a blast. Once you're wet, why not?

After the rain stopped, I had another pulled pork sandwich from the same vendor. I listened to a few more bands at the various stages around the area. I noticed fewer people were out that night, probably due to the crappy weather. When the thunder and rain started up again, I decided it was time to go home.

After getting home I watched the last bit of the last evening of the world athletics championships, which were taking place in London. This particular place had TVs in each room, definitely not a common occurence. This was the last major event of Usain Bolt's career, and he was fast, to say the least.

The next morning I sat down for breakfast and was rather disappointed. For the first time during the entire trip, breakfast did not include fresh fruit. Instead, there was a small bowl of fruit cocktail. I love the stuff, but it was not what I expected after a couple weeks of amazing fresh, tropical fruit.

I'd arranged with the landlady to have a taxi drive me to the bus station, and he picked me up on time. Then he drove to another casa particular to pick up three more passengers. Then he drove past the bus station on the way out of town. I'd been talking with the other guests, and found out they were taking this taxi all the way to Havana.

I asked the driver why we hadn't stopped at the bus station. He seemed completely flummoxed, and said we were going to Havana. I told him I already had a bus ticket, and needed to catch my bus. I knew the taxi would be faster, but I already had the ticket, and had most definitely not agreed to paying more for a taxi ride.

He wasn't thrilled but turned around and dropped me off at the bus station. I wonder if my landlady arranged the taxi, thinking I wouldn't mind?

Would I come back to Cienfuegos? I don't know. Probably not, but I've learned never to say never. I"m really glad I was there during Carnavale.