Home Walking the Neighborhood
Bayamo, Viñales, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Matanzas
Bayamo


A calm, pleasant city



with a lively pedestrian-only street, with lots of shops


in one of which we were ganged up on by a bunch of giddy waitresses
 



who quickly appropriated our hats
 
Viñales


Another  pleasant town


with many unpaved streets
 



lined by colorful and creative houses



(in stark contrast to Havana and other cities with grander structures)
 
 



walking along one of these streets I encountered LaAraña, who was hosing down the street in front of her house, to calm the dust

An ebullient woman, she laughingly made semi-suggestive gestures with her hose

As I chatted with her, she was joined by 88-year-old Aurelio...
 



...who himself engaged in humorous, suggestive gestures--to her great delight

What a pair!
   
Cienfuegos


On one of our walks Liv struck up a lively conversation with some boys on their way home from school
   



they were delighted to practice their English with her
   
Trinidad



Hmmm, are we on a Walt Disney set?


No, just an ordinary Trinidad street...
   



...many of which are cobblestone
   
 


On one of her walks, Liv met this
woman (with her daughter in front of their house) who walked her to a pottery factory where she works.
  
   



Half a block from our casa particular we saw a house purification ritual in progress
   



A Santeria ritual
   
Matanzas



Setting out for a walk, we head toward the river
 



and shortly encounter Idania...
   



...who works at the Varadero Golf Club

we're still in email contact
 


up ahead...
   




...a pig has been slaughtered


we continue walking
 



past more busy people
   



we pass this old relic...
   




...part of this string of buildings whose glory has long since faded,


while across the river
   



some structures that never had glory to begin with
   



We cross the river (bridge on the right) 
   



and presently encounter  Rogeli, whose  house lacks class--but his own élan suffices


We chat merrily for some minutes

Lovely man 
   


That evening, in a small plaza, we came across a rumba gathering

Matanzas is known for being very involved in the development of rumba in Cuba

Cuban rumba has a flavor quite distinct from salsa

16-second video
https://youtube.com/v/X1q7ALXHL50
Lee's home page

Cuba Index

Previous    Walking the neighborhood - Havana Vedado

Next    Trinidad, Music & Dance