Category: Cuba, 2013

Revolutionary Fervor and Whispering to Horses

May 1

May Day, Labor Day in Trinidad, and we head down very early to the parade site, Cespedes Park, where people slowly gather. Once the time comes, though, just about the entire town is there, some of them under government pressure to come, others because they want to enjoy the festivities. The mood is jovial, a number of bands play and signs proclaim support for socialism, for Fidel, for the revolution, for the Cuban Five, who have been held in prison in the US for more than fifteen years on charges of spying and many pro-Chavez signs.

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After watching for over an hour, Henry, Doug and I retire for coffee in a fancy hotel lobby on the square. Henry and I are able to see some of Doug’s fabulous black and white photos on an iPhone. They are stunningly good. Doug is a professional photographer whose style is very different from Nevada’s, but whose photos are every bit as good. You can see his work at www.douglasethridge.com.

The group meets and we retire to Julio’s house to relax, then bus to the Grill Caribe on an oceanside beach. We spend several hours relaxing on lounges under thatch-roofed cabanas and lunching. Around three, we bus to a farm owned by a friend of Julio’s. Julio gives us a very interesting exhibition of horse whispering, in which he gains control of a horse he (says that he) has not seen before through the use of body language. As it is very hot, we all opt to be dropped back at the hotel to shower, change and relax before dinner.

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Bus back into town and wander around again photographing whatever catches my eye in the way of buildings and people. These wandering around times may be the best part of the trip.

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Meet up with Dustin to go to the restaurant he booked, right next door to the one we ate at last night, 1514 Restaurant. Antique pieces, open air courtyard and musicians with two excellent rumba dancers. We certainly have not been short changed on music and dancing, a predominant theme of our trip. Delicious lobster dish, beautifully presented, with creole sauce and vegetables which, with three chi-chis and tip comes to twenty CUCs.

Taxi back to hotel to pack and ready for tomorrow morning’s departure.

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