RURAL CUBA

An Interesting Lunch Stop

On our way to Trinidad, Cuba we drove through rolling hills in the rural countryside. We passed sugarcane, coconut palms, bananas, fruit orchards, and royal palms. I saw one farmer plowing with a team of oxen. It was a pleasant ride.

At noon we stopped for lunch at Hacienda Iznaga (1835-45). We dined on the patio overlooking the valley while some really fine musicians entertained us. The ground pork was shaped in curly cues. It was unusual and very good. Yellow rice and a vegetable salad accompanied the pork and lunch was topped off with ice cream.

Years ago, it seems two brothers were in competition for this property. One said he’d build a tower as high as the well was deep. Water never was found, but the tower exists today. I was game to climb the tower and one of the fellows also decided to climb it with me.

After enjoying the view for awhile after lunch we left the patio  to climb the 136 steps to the top of the 43.5-meter (142’) high tower. What a fantastic view from the top! It was quite windy but we were well enclosed. Some of the steps were a bit wobbly, but we were careful and cautious and really didn’t have any trouble. My thighs were a bit sore for a couple of days afterward though.

This area is known for its lace work and fine linens and several ladies from the community were on the grounds displaying their work. The handwork was exquisite!  Everything was extremely reasonable, but unfortunately I have a house full of such linens as both my grandmother and mother did beautiful work, and my grandchildren were still too young to be buying for. I did help a fellow pick out a piece of linen for the lady who was caring for his animals while he was gone.

The day was a wonderful unexpected surprise, and the scenery was rather spectacular.

A Big Contrast

A NORMANDY GERMAN CEMETERY                              

   Late one day in Normandie, France our guide said, “I want to take you to the German cemetery. It is very different. Germany has to rent the land and it is less than half the size of the land grant for the American cemetery. The Germans had no choice but to bury two, sometimes three, men in a grave. And the large mound at the end of the cemetery contains body parts of many German soldiers. It is quite a contrast. Also there  are no French employees working the grounds.”

The stone markers with the names of the soldiers cut into them are set flush in the ground in straight even rows. There are many groups of 5 small black lava crosses scattered throughout the cemetery, but I could not determine any kind of a pattern. The center cross in each grouping of five is slightly larger than the other four crosses.

On top of the huge grass-covered mound stands a large black lava cross in the same design as the smaller ones on the ground. The tall cross stands between a mourning man and women. A granite stairway in the back leads to the top.

The grounds were neatly trimmed, but the whole area just seemed a bit dark. What the Germans did was dark!