Dispatches from Cuba: A weekend in Trinidad

Physics Today‘s Toni Feder recently traveled to Cuba to learn about the country’s physics community and how it has been affected by the further relaxation of US–Cuba relations. She produced a series of blog posts about her experiences. You can read Toni’s previous post here .

Sunday, 11 December 2016

After the disappointment of not being able to meet scientists in Santiago de Cuba , I decided it would still be worthwhile to see more of Cuba outside of Havana. To get to Santiago by bus would take 15 hours—too long given I wouldn’t get to meet with physicists there. So, I’ve come for the weekend to Trinidad, a Spanish colonial town some 360 km southeast of Havana.

The trip to Trinidad took about six hours by bus (including a stop for lunch). Out the window, I saw cows, goats, horses, and a pig; coconut and banana trees; and many, many signs and murals supporting and commemorating Fidel Castro and the revolution. I also saw large, strangely shaped pieces of metal alongside the highway. I read later that they are meant to be dragged onto the road to prevent its being used as a landing strip for unwelcome aircraft.

In Trinidad, I was taken by bicycle taxi to my casa particular. Once settled, I set out to explore. It’s a lovely town! In the oldest part, the houses date back to the 16th and 17th centuries and are architecturally preserved. (Trinidad is a UNESCO World Heritage site .) In the city center, the streets are cobblestone. Throughout town the roads are shared by buses, motorcycles, pedestrians, bicycles, bicycle taxis, old Russian and American cars, and horse-drawn carts carrying goods and people.

The city is a busy tourist destination. Many front rooms of private homes double as stores. Among the local crafts for sale are paintings, items made of straw—hats, handbags, and the like—crocheted shawls and dresses, and fancy needlework on clothing such as the guayabera, the traditional men’s shirt. Women take woven cotton or linen and carefully remove threads to create a pattern with holes. The craftspeople make several different traditional patterns.

The ocean is a short 4 km bike ride from town. The water is beautiful, and the beaches were not crowded as I rode by. I biked back via a little town called Casilda, which, I later learned, provides samples of sand, soil, water, and sediment for analysis at an environmental testing lab in Havana. Among other things that caught my eye were a man having his hair cut right next to the sidewalk and a crib strung across a front patio, where it was hanging like a swing. Caged birds are common, as are people selling eggs or meat or some other single item in a doorway or through a window. I saw men walking the streets selling onions, garlic, bread, and brooms. Several women tried to sell me soap.

I entered a couple of stores. One had hardly anything on its shelves. Another was better stocked, with Barilla noodles from Italy, Kühne pickles from Germany, and huge containers of oil. Many people asked if I needed a place to stay, and almost everyone I passed said “hola” in a friendly way.

In one store, the seller invited me to sit down after I bought a crocheted shawl. During a long chat, Rosa told me that she had studied mathematics, become a teacher, and then became director of a school. She did her studies before the revolution and had to pay for her education, including for books. Since the revolution, anyone can study at no cost. So whoever doesn’t get an education doesn’t want one, Rosa said. I took the opportunity to ask her some questions, including about the education system and things I’d noticed in Trinidad. Now in her 70s, Rosa sews and crochets the items she sells. Her daughter and granddaughter live with her, and she rents a room to tourists.