Sancti Spiritus, Cuba

We picked up a car at the end of our time in Camaguey so that we could drive ourselves around.

Having heard many stories about Cuban roads (how bad they are) we only planned a small trip for the first day to get a feel for the conditions.

The roads were okay, the car was great, but all the other types of vehicles also on the road were the challenge - new hire cars, pre-1959 cars, Russian lada's, tractors, motorbikes, bicycles and horses and carts. Mr Seasons and I have written a travel piece about driving in Cuba here.

Our first stop with the car, was a lovely town called Sancti Spiritus.

It was founded in 1514 and recently beautified for its 500th anniversary.

The main square was Parque Serafin Sanchez.

The yellow building (below) is the newly restored Hotel Perla de Cuba - now a three storey government run shopping centre.

The green building seemed to house more shops or a bar - we didn't go close as there was loud music being pumped from a CD player and government 'sales' people hanging around a table spruiking the glories and wonders of solar panels. None of the locals payed them any attention, so we didn't either.

On one eastern side of the square was the Hotel Plaza (blue).

Looking back through the Parque towards Perla

We didn't have long to explore Sancti Spiritus - just one afternoon. But we made the most of our time and strolled around the cobblestone streets (many were pedestrian only). The houses were single storey buildings with shingle roofs.

Houses lining Plaza Honorato with a glimpse of the beautiful blue church steeple.

Sadly, the photo (below) of Puento Yayabo, does not do justice to the rather god-awful smell coming from the river. It was built by the Spanish in 1815 and is the main route to Trinidad - our next destination.

Puento Yayabo over the Rio Yayabo

Next to the bridge is a decent bar called Taberna Yayabo where we picked up an afternoon beer along with a plate of olives and cheese to snack on. Fortunately the breeze was blowing most of the god-awful smell in the other direction.

The beautiful blue Iglesia Parroquial Mayor del Espiritu Santo claims to be one of the oldest churches in Cuba (the original wood structure was built in 1522). The present stone building was erected in 1680 and the bell tower was added in the 18th century.

Serafin Sanchez himself - a local hero from the war of Independence.

Evening in Sancti Spiritus & Parque Searfin Sanchez

This post is part of Saturday Snapshot.