Cienfuegos, Cuba

Walking around Cienfuegos' pretty town centre, it's easy to see why the Cubans have dubbed it ‘the pearl of the south’. The city is an architectural gem, incorporating influences from the wide range of people who have settled in this pleasant coastal place.

Cienfuegos’ first settlers were French, arriving in the early 19th Century. I can immediately feel the presence of these early settlers as I walk down the pedestrianised Street Boulevar, which is wide, palm-lined and popular with the city’s locals for their evening promenade. 

Everywhere I walk, there are beautiful buildings. I pass the governor’s palace, with its cheerful yellow pastel paint job and its lovely white wrought iron railings. Here can be found the local museum, and its Moorish-style courtyard, which is full of lush tropical ferns and palm trees, sparkling little fountains and a convenient bench from which to take it all in.

My next stop is Parc Jose Marti, named after the legendary Cuban soldier-poet who led freedom-loving Cubans against the Spanish crown. Marti began his political activism young, writing political tracts against Spanish imperialism at the age of just 15. He spent time in prison for treason, studied law in Spain, and spent most of his life exiled from his homeland. On foreign shores, he wrote tirelessly, composing poems and essays, arguing for democracy, social justice and freedom for all of Cuba’s people. In 1895, the Cuban War of Independence began, and Marti smuggled himself into the country to join the fight. He was killed in battle later that year, but through his death, he galvanised the rebels, who were eventually successful. Today, he is a national hero. His white marble statue, standing in the centre of his park, casts its long shadow over me as I enjoy the fresh air of the park.

I leave the park and head to the City’s famous harbour. I find a seaside cafe and settle down on its terrace, overlooking the port that once brought in the city’s French immigrants. Today, freighters from all over the world arrive at the port, connecting the country with the global economy despite the US embargo. As the sky darkens, the multicoloured lights of the port start to come on, and, as I watch a great ship leave for foreign shores, I realise that I too am nearing the end of my time in Cuba. I finish my drink and head back to the hotel, ready to begin the last few chapters of my Cuban escapade.