La Perla Del Sur….Pearl of the South. Cienfuegos is about 150 miles over land from Havana, but more than 400 miles by ship. About 60 miles from the Bay of Pigs, it is located on the southern coast of Cuba. There is one tourist area that has been renovated and cleaned up, with shops and restaurants, and as you can see, a whole street of kiosks with vendors selling souvenirs. This area is just off of the Parque Marti, which is where all the government buildings, theater, churches, and statues are located. The coast area is gorgeous, with blue water and a walkway along the Caribbean. But as you can see in the first four photos, the people live in squalor. The buildings are deteriorated, moldy, and badly need paint. There were horses tied up to trees along the street we walked. The man driving the horse carriage saw us taking a photo, and yelled, “One CUC,” requesting payment for riding past us! People sat on their stoops (we didn’t see any porches to speak of) to catch a breeze. Some children yelled “Hola!” Several teens followed us for a while, asking questions in Spanish and wanting money. Cienfuegos is no Havana, but it gave us a glimpse of how people in Cuba actually live.
