Cuba - Day 8, January 10th

We are both still not well so activities are curtailed by the need to stay reasonably close to a bathroom and due to, speaking for myself, fatigue related to dehydration and almost zero calorie intake since this GI upset began.

So we spent the morning relaxing in our new home. The roof top access gave us a nice view over this area of the city and of the life on the roof which includes drying clothes and storing water for their homes in large, usually plastic, containers.

In the distance in the above photo you can just see the harbour and the dome to the right is the Palacio de Gobierno, the home of the provincial government.

A reminder to click on any photo to view a larger image.

Bob was very partial to this roof top feature and spent some time reading there.  I thought it was too hot, even mid morning, so didn't join him, except to record the scene.

The photo below is looking down the stairway which leads to the roof.

The image to the right was made from the roof access stairway looking through the grating to the dining area.

I included the photo below of the roof top table (the one at which Bob is sitting reading - above) because it tells a bit about our host, Amed. There were 3 bottles of water lying on a piece of heavy black plastic. We puzzled about this for a while before asking Amed about it. He said it was a bit of an experiment. He had read or someone had told him that leaving bottles of water on a black background in the sun would heat the water enough to make it safe for anyone to drink. We didn't go into how he intended to test this, but I was certainly not about to volunteer. But this seems characteristic of Amed who is constantly thinking outside the box, questioning, looking for solutions to problems and exchanging ideas - we had lots of fascinating discussions with him while we were staying at his home.

Sunset from the Casa roof top. Note the sliver of the bay and the dome of the provincial government house.

We did get out briefly to walk a bit in the area near our Casa Particulare, which is only about 5 or 6 blocks from the central square, the Plaza de José Marti, in the downtown area of Cienfuegos. Here Bob (and me and my camera) is walking on the pedestrianized boulevard that extends from the Prado to the to the Plaza de José Marti and it is filled with people everyday but Sunday, when it is, eerily, quite empty. The dome of the government house on the plaza is just visible.

A bit about José Marti, whose image seems to appear everywhere in Cuba. Even at the Plaza de la Revolución there is a huge statue of Jose Marti (none of Fidel Castro - see earlier blog post). According to portrayals of Marti, he was a truly extraordinary man, a pioneering philosopher, modernist writer, poet and revolutionary.  He was a force in debates on issues such as slavery, independence and "freedom". His writings, said to be a unifying influence on Cubans around the world, encompass an enormous range including essays, novels, poetry, political commentary, letters and even a children's book. Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol for Cuba's bid for independence from Spain in the 19th century. For more about José Marti go to José Marti.

An aside comment - I am reminded by the photo above with Bob walking down the boulevard, that one of the things we noticed, especially in Cienfuegos but in Havana as well, was that many walkways and streets undergo a cleaning - either sweeping or washing - at least once and sometimes twice a day. Not all streets of course - we found some, especially in Havana that were quite dirty and littered with trash.

At the plaza in central Cienfuegos, on the north side of the square, is the beautiful Teatro Tomás Terry.

It was built in 1887 to honour the Cuban industrialist Thomás Terry who, through involvement in all aspects of the economy, from the sugar trade and slave trade to banking and imports, became the dominant businessman in Cienfuegos and, at one point, possibly the wealthiest man in the world. It is said that one of his very profitable ventures was purchasing ill and malnourished slaves, nourishing them back to health and selling them at a substantial profit.

On the west end of the plaza is the Arco de Triunfo, a unique structure dedicated to Cuban independence and, quite possibly, the only "Arc de Triomphe" outside of Paris.

Also at the west end of the square is the Casa de la Cultura Benjamin Duarte, formerly the Palacio de Ferrer 1918. It is a very striking structure (described as "neoclassical") with a domed roof top cupola which, reportedly, offers an excellent view of the city. Unfortunately, like many buildings in Cuba, though it was supposed to be open by now, it remains closed for repairs.

I like this dark, rather gloomy image - maybe because it expresses my disappointment that we were unable to get in to the building and up to the cupola.

On the south side are shops and cafés in the areas under the arches but the dominant structure is the domed Palacio de Gobierno, the home of the provincial government. Visitors are not allowed in but one can sneak a peak of the palatial staircase through the front door. Of course we checked it out but, while it is nice, it is less impressive to me than I had hoped.

On the southeast corner is the Casa del Fundador, the oldest building in Cienfuegos, now a hotel, but originally the residence of the city's founder Louis D'Clouet. I don't have a photo of it but in this image, though you can't really see much, it is on the left with the Palacio de Gobierno facing.

La Catedral de la Purisima Concepción is on the northeast corner of the square. It still serves a religious function though, as it is undergoing major renovations, the area open the public is quite small and in the lower end of the nave where there are rather rough looking benches and a makeshift altar. We visited the Catedral twice and at the second visit we did manage to see the front of the nave, and through all of the scaffolding.

We had heard from our hosts, Amed and Ines, that there is to be a concert at the Teatro Tomás Terry tonight, so we decided to find out about the program, price etc. Unfortunately, I had decided not to take my camera - unfortunately because when we got to the Teatro we found that we were allowed (for 4 CUC's) to go into the Teatro just to see what it was like. It turned out that the orchestra was rehearsing but more interesting than the orchestra practice was the theatre itself - fortunately Bob had his iPhone camera so these photos of the inside of the theatre are Bob's.

Then home for a rest and the ongoing effort to make sure our fluid intake at least keeps pace with fluid loss - not easy to do when we are losing due to both our illness and substantial loss from perspiration in the persistent near 30 ° C temperatures.

As the day progressed it became clear that the wisest choice was for us to forgo the concert tonight, but we would try to go on Saturday instead when, with luck, we would both be healthy. So, Amed and Ines went to the concert without us.