Really early start for this excursion, having us on the bus by 6:30 am. After a couple of resort pickups, we ran through Varadero and headed south. The tour was called "The Three Cities Tour" and provided the opportunity to see more of rural and urban life in Cuba.

Our route took us through Cardenas, Jovellanos and Januey Grande before heading east on the main auto route to Santa Clara. Once again, the landscape moved from coastal plain, to mountain and valley, and then inland agrarian fields and plantations. The roads were absolutely scattered with hitchhikers, any manner of beast from dogs, to horses, to chickens, and further cluttered with bicycles, horse drawn carts and classic cabs. Needless to add, but a tricky place to drive.

Our first stop was Santa Clara. The purpose for stopping there was to visit the Che Guevara Monument, Mausoleum and Museum. Our interest in Che is new, perhaps brought on more by Janie's Cold war classes at DrJH than anything else. We had sourced several documentaries that looked at Che's life (and death) and had some very good background on his impact as a revolutionary. We arrived mid morning at the Che memorial. After about a 15 min wait, we entered the mausoleum which is the final resting place of Che and other revolutionaries from the Bolivian campaign.The tone of the space was quiet and respectful. Alongside is a museum, with a broad cross section of artifacts and photography articling Che's life and his exploits during the revolution. It was very well done, and even presented information in English for visitors. Peter and Monica really enjoyed the museum exhibits and were among the last in our group to leave. Above the complex is a cast monument of Che, and an impressive facade of sculpted stone that overlooks the plaza below, used for political rallies. We then departed for our second city of the journey, Cienfuegos.

It must be said, that the highways and byways of Cuba are an attraction in themselves. The collection of pedestrian traffic and modes of transportation is near comical. We saw chickens, goats, horses, dogs... hitchhikers, riders in the backs of vehicles, carts and motorcycles... classic cars, horses and carts, tour buses... to drive in Cuba requires attention to detail! I thought openly of how in Nova Scotia we can't decide whether to put walkers and ATV's on a trail... yet every manner of transport and beast roam the routes of Cuba. An interesting experiment!!!

Once in central Cienfuegos we stopped at Parque Jose Marti for about 40 min to explore the park, peek around the shops, and just stretch the legs and take pictures of the colonial architecture for surrounding the plaza. At the parks centre is a monument of Marti, and it was a great space to sit and look at the surrounding buildings, monuments and especially "people". We then boarded our bus and headed to the harbour front to dine at Club Cienfuegos. We ate "buffet style" inside, enjoying the chicken/seafood dinner and a cold Cerveza Bucanero!!! Great view of the waterfront outside and a gorgeous colonial building.

The trek from Cienfuegos was a rural route that wound through the mountains and along a coastal highway to Trinidad. Upon our arrival we headed directly for the UNESCO heart of the community. Actually, Trinidad hit us rather abruptly, with vendors and jiniteros pushing us fairly hard to buy trinkets, cigars, Che pesos, and flat out pan handling. Our guide, Huberto, angled us toward the colonial Plaza Mayor through a series of markets. In fact, we got separated from Peter quite quickly (he wandered away from us) in a long street market and we scrambled to snap him up. A busy couple of minutes, but no harm done and lesson learned.

Trinidad, like the many cities we ventured to in Cuba, is worn. Yet, one can quickly recognize in the architecture and planning that these cities were once a splendid thing. Trinidad's Spanish colonial architecture abounds in the area around Plaza Mayor in the core of the city. The colours were brilliant, with yellows, blues, and the majestic Royal Palms and plants at the centre. The rugged cobbled streets are a feat in themselves. We stopped under umbrellas at an open restaurant/bar area on the cobble steps that pass to the right of the Church of the Holy Trinity near the plaza. Had drinks and rested from the afternoon sun. I think at this point we were feeling the effects of a long day, in a foreign place, with the knowledge of a substantial driving time back to Varadero.

Although this was an ambitious day taking into consideration the driving time and the kids, this was perhaps the only way we could have seen these three cities this easily. Monica and Peter were real troopers and are really the best of travelers for their age. We would have been hard pressed to accomplish this on our own in Cuba... and the tour was informative and economical. We arrived back at the Barcelo at about 9:45 pm just in time to grab a quick bite from the buffet restaurant. With a short night cap, it was off to bed with lots to think about!