Last night we were given our brief for today. We shall be travelling inland to another UNESCO World Heritage Site –  Valle de Los Ingenios. Sugar cane was processed and transported from here and it relied upon a large slave population. The journey will be by wooden train pulled by a steam locomotive and we shall be shooting in monochrome. My assignment is to take a series of photos for a magazine article featuring the valley near Trinidad as a destination when in Cuba.

We walk down to the station in Trinidad to catch the train. It is 08.30 and already scorchingly hot. The sky is azure blue and cloudless. It would be easy to have walked past the platform and ticket office. The track was largely overgrown and barely visible through the lush growth of grass.

We had a while before the train departed and this was an excellent spot to people watch and capture the mood of the place.

Eventually the engine was attached to the wooden carriage, we climbed aboard.

The whistle blew and we were on our way for the 90 minute journey. This was a wonderful way to see the countryside. The train travelled slowly. Children waved at us and we watched the locals going about their daily routine, which I suspect has remained unchanged through most of the last century. The only real clue to the present day were the occasional motor bikes or cars. Mules, push-bikes and foot seem to be the main mode of transport.

Passengers were allowed to sit in the engine compartment if they wanted – this of course involved generous tipping and also stepping over a large gap between carriages. I decided not to venture up there but enjoyed some time standing on the rear platform and looking back down the track. Every so often the the train travelled over wooden bridges. These seemed decidedly unsafe: the ancient structures creaked and swayed as the train chugged across them. I felt like I had travelled back in time. This really was an exceptional experience and a must do if you are ever in Trinidad.

On arrival in Valle de Los Ingenios, I tried to take some shots of the train that did not include any modern day trappings but that proved impossible. I was disappointed as my aim had been to try and depict Los Ingenios as it had been a hundred years ago. Even in such a remote place some element of modernity creeps in. I therefore change my mind and decide to represent the town as it is today..

…but making sure that each shot reflects the past and the town’s sugar industry and lace-making history.

I set off up the Main Street. Lace is hung out along the road and ladies vie for business. This is the first place I have been that people are more aggressive in their sales technique. Clearly the lack of tourism has made life very hard for these people and, if you stop to look at the wares you are thronged. I decide to buy something on my way back but for the present walk determinedly and swiftly to the main square.  A tall tower stands over the town. There is a man there with a peregrine falcon which he has raised from an egg. He is very enterprising and before I have a chance to say no, the bird is on my hand. It’s actually rather cool to be so close to such a beautiful creature and I give him some pesetas before paying the small entrance fee to climb the tower.

From the ground the tower does not look that tall. I start my ascent which initially is easy, but each level is narrower with less headroom.

In places the wood is rotten, the handrails wobble and are not secure and I seriously question my sanity. Every time I finish one flight and stand on the intermediate platform I wonder whether to turn back. I decide to persevere and the views from the top are terrific.

What is not so great is the way the whole tower is definitely moving with the wind. I do not linger and am glad to make it safely back to terra firma.

I wander around looking for inspiration. Matt joins me and makes some location suggestions and helps with composition. We sit and have an ice-cold homemade lemonade. Suitably refreshed I continue with my assignment.

I finish my shoot at the old slave quarters where graffiti depicting slavery has been painted on the walls lest we should forget those dark days.

Taxis take us back to our hotel. The views along the way are magnificent.

We have the afternoon to go through our photographs and pick our best six to display to the group before dinner. We have a discussion about where to have dinner. Apparently there will be a power-cut in town tonight but the hotel will have light. Good as last night’s meal was, nobody can face another bill fiasco. We opt for dinner in town at Le Giroud. It has a generator so we just need to walk there and back in the dark. We are getting quite good at that now. I have a calzone pizza which is quite excellent, washed down by a few caipirinhas, which are also spot-on.