Life Is A Movable Feast

After touring Cienfuegos, Carol and I hit the pool.  It’s a beautiful setting, and very relaxing, even if the water was surprisingly chill, given how hot it was.

I had made an early dinner reservation for the top rated restaurant on TripAdvisor, Camila’s.  It was set right on the water (looking east from Punta Gorda).  The reason I went with 5 pm is not because we are old (Editor: No comment) but because the sunsets are supposed to be spectacular.

We found a taxi – a fellow right outside the hotel.  It was a 1959 baby blue Chevrolet.  I hopped in the front seat, while Carol, Lucy, and Charlie went in back.  I turned around to talk to them, and it seemed like they were a million miles away!  The car was huge.  Our driver spoke beginner English, but was eager to talk.  The gears ground, the car belched smoke.  There was no AC, but we were only going three kilometers or so, down to Punta Gorda.

We got there plenty early, so we went out on the dock for a pre-dinner cocktail.  A man swam from the next door dock, pelicans flew and alighted.  We saw two men out on a small boat.  The absence of boats on this beautiful bay was striking – we saw one cargo ship, a couple of ferries, and one or two small boats.  I remarked on the lack of boats, and Charlie reminded me that the government is not a fan of boats.

If this bay were in the US, Europe, Australia, or lots of other places, there would be pleasure boats and sailboats zipping this way and that way.  It made for a pretty and calm sight, but a lonely one at that.

I went to check on the sunset.  Went too soon, so I came back and we hung out on the Adirondack chairs on the dock, eyeing a pelican who was floating nearby.  Then, around 5:25pm, we all headed over to the west side of the point for a sunset show.  I will let the pictures below tell the story of the dramatic orange sunset.

Dinner was fabulous (next time you are in Cienfuegos, be sure to go to Camila’s).  The staff called our 1959 Chevrolet driver, and we headed back, people watching as we went.  We headed back up to the rooftop bar at the hotel, where we were serenaded once again by music.  It’s a pretty good way to spend a day in the life.