The Young and the Aging, a young Cuban woman takes a selfie next to a classic car near the Plaza Mayor of Trinidad.
Our ship reached the port of Casilda early Monday. After breakfast we boarded a bus that took us to the center of Trinidad. Trinidad is perhaps one of the oldest and most important historical cities in Cuba. Its fame and fortune came from the 18th and 19th centuries when sugar production was at its height and Cuba was a world leader in the export of this precious commodity. Wealthy land owners lived with their families in the center of town while their sugar mills lay in the near by valley of "Valle de los Ingenios." At one point there were over 30 sugar mills with more than 150 thousand slaves living in the valley.
Our first stop was at the city model or "maqueta." This architectural model provides a bird's eye view of the historical core of the city. Our travelers were met by the local historian who provided a description of the landscape, a chronology of the development of the city, and pointed out major buildings that are iconic for Trinidad. We also discussed Trinidad in the present and how this city has become a principal focus for tourism in Cuba as well as a center for entrepreneurship in the Island.
After our visit to the city model we continued our walk towards the Plaza Mayor, the historical center of the city. Our guide, Yaima, provided details of the building's owners and their roles in the sugar industry. We visited the main cathedral, various museums including Palacio Cantero among others. We also paid visit to one of Trinidad's emerging artists, wood carver Lazaro Niebla and Liani's casa de croche, where our travelers were presented with their artwork and their story as emerging Cuban artists. We continued our walk through town with a final presentation on Santeria at the local Yemaya temple and continued to Guitarra mia for lunch.
After lunch we boarded our bus to Iznaga plantation where our guests were introduced to the processing of sugar cane in one of the most iconic sites in the valley. We ended our tour with a delightful walk through Guaimaro, another plantation with an extraordinary history. We also had a chance to try a raw sugar cane juice called guarapo and relax on the grounds of the farm. After a brief bus ride we returned to our ship just in time to depart for our next destination.
Fabio Esteban Amador is an archaeologist and explorer and a host of the National Geographic Mundo television series Mysteries of the Underworld. Originally from El Salvador, Fabio Esteban studied fine arts at the Art Student League of New York and the School of Visual Arts. Following his dream to become an expedition artist, he then studied archaeology at Rutgers University and went on to earn Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Mesoamerican archaeology at the State University of New York, Buffalo. His doctoral research involved excavating and mapping ancient Maya settlements in the Yalahau region of the Northern Yucatan peninsula, seeking clues into how these early societies expressed their identity through art and iconography.