search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
DESTINATIONS CUBA | MILLENNIAL TRAVEL


buildings and elegant restaurants set on shiny cobbled patios – and ornate structures such as the national theatre, a baroque-style palace that wouldn’t look out of place in Paris. But there are also rough-and-


ready streets, where half-destroyed cement houses crumble into the roadside and iron bars barricade the doors, candy-hued vintage cars sitting out front like something from a 1950s film set. We explored all of it on a tour of Old Havana on the first morning, and on our return a week later, whizzed along the Malecón (the seafront promenade) in an open-top Chevrolet.


But my highlight was the nightlife, with spots such as King Bar and FAC luring a young, cool crowd with salsa, techno and other music, plus guitarists in pretty much every restaurant you come across in the buzzing, atmospheric old quarter.


Music is the heart


and soul of Trinidad; live bands play on street corners throughout the day


TRINIDAD


It wasn’t only Havana that impressed with its nightlife; just as lively was Trinidad, our next stop on the tour, around four hours east of the capital. This elegant colonial town was one of the wealthiest spots in the country in the 19th century thanks to its sugarcane industry. Today, its Spanish-built, frescoed mansions remain, brushing against neat cobbled plazas, pastel-coloured churches and perfectly-manicured casas in turquoise, pink, green and other striking hues.


It has a distinctly different, more laid-back feel compared to Havana, with rooftop bars and restaurants lining tranquil, labyrinthine streets, and horse-drawn carts jolting around. But music is still its heart and soul; live bands play on street corners throughout the day, and salsa dancers perform on the outdoor steps by the main square every night. Afterwards, the crowds pile off to La Cueva – a 3,000-capacity club built in an underground cave, where acrobats perform among stalactites and stalagmites illuminated in purplish lights (spectacular, if a little peculiar). The tour gave us free time to do as we pleased – a good selling point for younger travellers who want to do their own thing – so several of us opted for a trip to El Cubano National Park the following day. From here, we trekked through lush-green forest and dangling


 HISTORIC SIGHTS


Che Guevara’s Mausoleum, Santa Clara: It was in the small city of Santa Clara that Che Guevara – the iconic Argentinian revolutionary, appointed by Fidel Castro with the aim of establishing communism in Cuba – overthrew authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista in 1958. Today Guevara and 29 revolutionaries are buried here, with letters, firearms and more teaching visitors about his life.


Bay of Pigs: The American CIA sent 1,400 soldiers to overthrow Fidel Castro and his left-wing ideologies here in 1961 – it failed, dampening relations between the US and Cuba. It’s now a stretch of crystal-clear water that attracts divers and snorkellers and is well worth a quick stop on the way from Trinidad to Vinales.


travelweekly.co.uk


20 JUNE 2019


71


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88