5 January 2024, Cienfuegos, 25km
Hostal CubaLinda, $25 (R428)

A Sunday of oddly Cuban disappointments...
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Just 12km south of Cienfuegos, is a lake that is home to a resident population of some 2000 flamingos. My brother hired a bicycle in town and the three of us cycled south in anticipation of a pleasant morning. It did not occur to us, because none of the information available to one says so, that viewing the pink flock is more complicated than wandering to the edge of their lake and maybe climbing an observation tower.
We arrived at the entrance to the park late-morning. As we were feeling peckish, we decided to have a quick bite at the little cafe there before purchasing our tickets. Done with our (mediocre) rolls, we approached the ticket desk to be told the site was closed. We were a tad confused until the young woman behind the counter explained that to see the flamingos required taking a rowing boat, and that the "boys" only worked between 0800 and 1100. She said she had seen us order food, and had assumed we had just popped round for a bite to eat. This assumption might have made sense had the cafe been a culinary delight... What can you do? We rode a little further to a bridge over water and there watched pelicans dive for fish, but it was not what we had hoped for.
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We had also planned on this lazy day to eat Castro's Coppelia ice cream for the first time. Only to find that Coppelia is closed on a Sunday. A Sunday! Exactly the day on which an ice cream parlour should be open to families and cyclists!
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On a subsequent day in Havana, we found that the cigar factory is closed until mid-January. December and January are peak tourist season in Cuba. One reason to visit Cuba is cigars. If I wanted to attract tourists and persuade them to spend hard currencies on a product unique to my island, I would be open when they were there...
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DID YOU KNOW that the tradition of cigar-making in Cuba dates back to the indigenous Taíno people, who rolled tobacco leaves for smoking?
The practice was later adopted by Spanish settlers and by the 19th century, Cuba became a leading producer of cigars.