My boyfriend and I wanted to see Trinidad, but only had a day to fit it into our schedule. Our AirBnB hosts in Santa Clara got us a taxi driver for 80 USD who would drive us to Trinidad, wait during the day, and drive us to our new AirBnB in Cienfuegos. The drive from Santa Clara to Trinidad took about 3 hours because we drove along the mountains. It took about 2 hours to drive from Trinidad to Cienfuegos along the water. Overall, we spent about 5 hours in Trinidad and didn’t have time to explore outside of the main city and the Valle de los Ingenios.
Our gracious taxi driver
View from the road
Valle de los Ingenios
Before making our way into the heart of Trinidad, we stopped at the Valle de los Ingenios. Trinidad and the Valle de Los Ingenios are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The valley was used for sugar production, and the main plantation for tourists is the Manaca Iznaga. After getting out of our car, we walked down a cobbled path lined by stands with people selling items for tourists. You can see the watchtower from a distance, which looks aged with time. To the side of the watchtower lies some of the former plantation owner’s house, and beyond the watchtower, you can see the village of Iznaga. Walking on the plantation grounds, we could feel the past and get a glimpse into the history of the land.
Cobbled path leading to the former owner’s house
The watchtower
Part of the former owner’s house—now has a restaurant
Plaza Mayor
We drove into the town of Trinidad. The streets are cobble stoned and lined with colorful, quaint houses. The plaza mayor is easy to notice because of the open space and greenery inside the square. We tried to go to some of the museums that are recommended, but many of them seemed to not exist. We spent most of our time walking around and enjoying some food, drinks, and live music.
Plaza Mayor
Street in Trinidad
Some live music at a plaza
Dog relaxing by a window
The Ginger Globetrotter 