Getting adventurous in Cuba
After enjoying Cuban beaches and the town of Trinidad, there was still more to see. Not too shabby for a place we had expected to find boring! 5km from town and another 2km on foot through wild vegetation, we found our destination.
Coming across this natural pool and its waterfall felt magical after our hike. This day was grey and overcast but no less hot, so we were sweaty and ready to jump in and cool down.
Mother Nature decided to get a head start, however, by opening up the skies as soon as we arrived. This picture won’t win any photography awards, but check out the size of those rain drops!
The rain and the hike meant that we opted to bring only the little camera on this trip. While I think it was a good decision – water and weight are not my friends – it does mean that our pictures are, in a word, crap. Sorry about that.
You’ll just have to take my word for it that this place was special. Luckily the rain quickly stopped, and we were able to swim and soak in tree-filtered sunshine. With this little guy for company.
As on our catamaran tour, we ran into several other friendly tourists and enjoyed sharing the afternoon with them. As the thunder once again crackled ominously, we all decided to head back to civilization. The start of our hike looked like this – please note the completely white sky.
About 5 minutes later, those white clouds poured down absolute BUCKETS. I mean, it was biblical. I had our sadly abused point and shoot in its case, in a plastic bag, under my shirt, and I still had to wipe water off it when we got back. Luckily, it was still warm, and we were all wet from swimming anyway, so the whole situation was funny rather than desperate. Although our group may have looked a bit desperate when we rolled up to the restaurant at the trail head wringing water out of our clothes and hair.
So, to recap: Trinidad has tropical beaches, a cute city center and outdoor adventures. If I’m any judge of a destination, I suggest you make haste. This place won’t stay sleepy for long.
More in this series:
We’re going to…
Preparing for Cuba
Snapshots from Cuba
La Bodeguita del Medio: following Hemingway in Cuba
The heart of Havana Vieja
Communist Cuba: seeing it for ourselves
Our Havana tour
Trinidad, a colonial gem
Cuba’s best beaches
The casa particular: where to stay in Cuba
One day in Viñales
All of your blog posts have me so much more excited about Cuba than I ever would have been. To be honest, it was never a place that super llamar’ed mi atencion and now I REALLY WANT TO GO.
It is one of my favorite destinations, which is especially impressive since I was so excited about it that it could have easily been a let-down.
Woah, that’s some crazy rain. But I can definitely see how a place like that would be magical. <3 Like Kyle said, I want to go there NOW!
I’ve never seen such heavy rain! It was definitely tropical.
It sounds sooo amazing! Sometimes being caught in the rain is fun!!!
I just kept bursting out laughing at how ridiculous it was.
Afternoon downpours in Cuba…always catches us by surprise..one minute your dry and the next…soaking wet..there is nothing else to do but laugh
no time to hide anywhere 
It’s part of the Cuban tropical adventure.
Oh yes, we got absolutely soaked but enjoyed ourselves at the same time.
Whenever I see a watering hole like that I think crocodiles because of my time in Australia – how lovely to be able to swim in one of those!!
Ahhh, scary! No crocodiles here.
Those are some crazy raindrops! I get to Cuba again, I’ll have to check out Trinidad. I like your honest reviews…now to check out the next posts!
Trinidad is a must-see in my opinion. You’ll just have to go back to Cuba!
Oh, I’ve been in those biblical downpours! I think you did a great job with your point and shoot. The pics looks inviting. I’ll bet that restaurant was a welcome sight.
Thanks! Sadly a bunch of photos turned out blurry because that camera is in need of cleaning, but these are alright.