Today we shall spend most of the day in a coach. We are heading south across the island to Trinidad – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are told it has changed little in the last few centuries. I am looking forward to seeing it, but first we must endure the journey there – 5 hours of driving plus stop-offs. We drive to Cienfuegos for lunch and come across a bike rally on the outskirts. We park briefly to watch and are surprised by how hot and humid it is. Havana was hot but not like this as there was a strong sea breeze. Here the air is sultry and humid – it feels very tropical which Havana strangely did not.

We find a hotel in the centre of Cienfuegos and sit in the shade by the pool for lunch. The setting was very pleasant – lunch was unexceptional.

We stop off at Palacio de Valle which is on the outskirts of Cienfuegos. It is a beautiful old Moorish style palace. The brief is to capture unusual aspects of the building….

We arrive at our hotel in Trinidad – Mystique Trinidad La Popa at 16.30. The hotel is beautiful, as are the views and the rooms.

We walk down the cobbled steps from the hotel into the main square of Trinidad.

We are eating at a little restaurant called Sol Ananda which is just across the square. It is in a house which dates back to the mid-eighteenth century. The food was pretty good and in fact all meals so far have been reasonable. It was just the first night’s dinner that was terrible.

After the meal we head off to a salsa club and we all decide to not drink Cuba libres but to stick to beer and rest our livers. This is a great plan but the problem is that the bar has no beer and cola. We have no option but to drink mojitos and daiquiris. We are to discover that food, drink and electricity shortages are all very common in Trinidad.

The locals are friendly and one by one we are encouraged to join in the dancing and are patiently taught how to salsa. It should be simple but I don’t think the rum was aiding my cause. It seemed very straightforward in my bedroom the next morning!