Cuba - Lonely Planet [240]
It’s easy to miss the small Casa de los Mártires de Trinidad (Zerquera No 254 btwn Antonio Maceo & José Martí; guided/unguided CUC$1/free; 9am-5pm), dedicated to 72 Trinidad residents who died in the struggle against Fulgencio Batista, the campaign against the counterrevolutionaries, and the little-mentioned war in Angola.
Grass grows around the domed bell-tower and the arched doorways were bricked up long ago, but the shell of the ruined Iglesia de Santa Ana (1812) still defiantly remains. Looming like a time-worn ecclesial stencil, it looks quite ghostly after dark. Across the eponymous square that delineates Trinidad’s northeastern reaches is a former Spanish prison (1844) that has been converted into a tourist center, the Plaza Santa Ana (Camilo Cienfuegos; admission free; 11am-10pm). The complex includes an art gallery, a handicraft market, a ceramics shop, a bar and a restaurant.
Five blocks south is Taller Alfarero (Andrés Berro; admission free; 8am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri), a large factory where teams of workers make trademark Trinidad ceramics from local clay using a traditional potter’s wheel. You can watch them at work and buy the finished product.
Activities
There are a couple of DIY hikes worth doing if you can take the heat and the uphill gradients. For views and a workout, walk straight up the street between the Iglesia Parroquial and the Museo Romántico (Calle Simón Bolívar) to the destroyed 18th-century Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa, part of a former Spanish military hospital situated on a hill to the north of the town (use insect repellent). From here it’s a 30-minute hike further up the hill to the radio transmitter atop 180m-high Cerro de la Vigía, which delivers broad vistas of Trinidad, Playa Ancón and the entire littoral.
Another option is to hike west out of town on the (quiet) road to Cienfuegos. Pass the ‘Welcome to Trinidad’ sign and cross a bridge over the Río Guaurabo. A track on your left now leads back under the bridge and up a narrow, poorly paved road for 5km to Ranchón El Cubano (Map; admission CUC$6.50). This pleasant spot within a protected park consists of a ranchón-style restaurant that specializes in pez gato (catfish), a fish farm, and a 2km trail to a refreshing waterfall. There are also stables here and opportunities to partake in horseback riding. If you hike to El Cubano from Trinidad, you’ll clock up a total of approximately 16km. With a stop for lunch in the ranchón, it can make an excellent day trip. Alternatively, for CUC$15 you can organize a day excursion with Cubatur Click here including motor transport.
Closer to town is the Finca de Recreo María Dolores ( 99-64-81; Carretera de Cienfuegos Km 1.5), a rustic Cubanacán hotel that runs horseback-riding trips to El Cubano (CUC$15, four hours) and boat trips down the Río Guaurabo to La Boca (CUC$5), and hosts sporadic fiestas campesinas (country fairs).
The bike ride to Playa Ancón is another great outdoor adventure. Once there you can snorkel, catch some rays or use the swimming pool or ping-pong table. The best route by far is via the small seaside village of La Boca. Click here for information about bike rental.
Courses
At Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera) you can take drumming lessons (9am to 11am Saturday) and dance lessons (1pm to 4pm Saturday). Dance lessons are also available with popular local teacher Mireya Medina Rodríguez ( 99-39-94; Antonio Maceo No 472 btwn Simon Bolivar & Zerquera),