The whole family of the casa also decided to get up and say goodbye to me.
On the bus I prepared for long ride across the island and settled into my seat. Our first couple of hours were the same route as the one we came here with the taxi. I once again realized how rural the place is - Horses and oxen were still used to till the fields.
About half way between Havana and Trinidad we stopped for lunch at a bus stop that had sandwiches and also a little Zoo with all sorts of animals, including peacocks and crocodiles.
When we arrived in Trinidad in the afternoon, there was already a rickshaw driver waiting for me at the bus stop to pick me up and who called me out by name.
There were a couple of people leaving but he knew I was Andreas (he must have recognized me by my beard). I didn't really want to be driven to the Casa (which was not even 500m away) by a Rickshaw, but now couldn't really refuse (not sure why I didn't refuse)... smart setup between the casa owner and the rickshaw driver - of course the two CUC for the ride weren't included in the price for the casa.
All these little tricks add to my spending and really make Cuba not as cheap of a place as one would think.
The room in this casa had direct access to a little bar that was situated between the rooms.
For now I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the terrace to finish of "Carrie" and swapped it for a german version of the Book "Mission" by Preston & Child.
It was time to explore this town a little. Together with Habana Vieja and a white sand beach, the streets of Trinidad are probably the quintessential scenes of Cuba, with it's old colonial style houses, squares and churches. Very soon I found the famous Market square and the casa de música with its steps.
I am not really a big fan of Salsa but it is part of this town, so I ordered a beer and sat down and was a bit disappointed when, just then, the music stopped.
Back at the casa I met an Italian couple and we had a little chat. They were very nice people and we decided to go on an excursion to cien fuegos the next day and share a taxi.
We also went to find some dinner together and have a couple of Mojitos on the stairs of the casa de música. This place is famous for it's performances of different Salsa bands and the local bars take full advantage of this by pushing as many drinks on the visitors as possible. We were just sitting there for maybe 15 minutes and were asked 7 times if we wanted another glass of Mojito, while it was still half full.
Despite that I really enjoyed the evening out with my Italian friends.
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