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towards the main plaza. The walk was a fairly lengthy,
and I was even having doubts about my direction, until
I crossed the main Prado Avenue, and the downtown
appeared. The sun was still rising, and the plaza was
mostly empty, so I was able to photograph the buildings
without obstructions. So often in Cuba, the "Kodak
Moment" has tourist busses parked in front. After
leaving the Parque Marti plaza, I decided to walk down to the docks
to see where the ferry terminal was, and then walk down
the Malecón several kilometres to Punta Gorda, where
the rich resided before the revolution. Adjacent to
the Malecón, on a small beach fronting the bay, some
youths were sparring, coached and umpired by a man, and
watched by several spectators. It appeared to be a
regular organised event.
From there, I headed along the wall, then over a few
blocks, where I saw a man trawling the shallow bay
bottom with a home made net scoop. Walking further
along, the buildings became more ornate, as before the
revolution, this was an exclusive neighbourhood. The
buildings' opulence culminated in the Palacio del
Valle, an elegant restored mansion. Further along, as
the point narrowed, the homes were more dilapidated,
but on the Punta Gorda's tip was a nice new park. I
returned and toured the Palacio, and then went across
the street for a cheaper brunch.
I was pressed for time, as the Jagua ferry left at
13:00, so on the way back, I got on a horse colectivo
taxi. I was the first customer, but after a bit, eight
more passengers got on, all women, four absolutely
beautiful. After alighting from the taxi, I walked
over to the ferry dock, where there was a big crowd
waiting. It more than filled the passenger ferry,
which was fairly new and in a lot better shape than the
one in Habana. The ferry took about half an hour to
travel across the bay, and the first stop was a quaint
little island. The second stop after that was at
Jagua, where I departed with a women who showed me
where the old fortress was.
The fortress was not opulent nor
fully restored, but it was interesting. It was built to guard the narrow
channel to the bay, long before any other communities
or structures existed in the whole area. I stopped
for another beer at the local bar before returning to
the ferry dock for the 15:30 ferry back to Cienfuegos,
where I rushed down Calle 25 to get another photo of
the power plant across the bay, then back to the Parque
Marti for some more shots, before I finally walked up
Avenida 54 to return to the bus terminal. Avenida 54
was very impressive, as it was the most opulent, clean,
and interesting shopping street I saw in Cuba. Many
businesses had nice signs, a rarity in other locations.
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