Cienfuegos, or One Hundred Fires

There is no story of 100 fires. Señor Fuegos was an early city father, though the city was founded, in the late 1800s, by French settlers. This is considered a modern city, and it looks it. The architecture is French-inspired, the buildings in the center of town are freshly painted and lovely. A few blocks off the central square, they’re not so well maintained. But, overall, in much better shape than Havana.

What is that man doing? Well, he had just climbed over the balustrade onto the balcony — having just shimmied along the outside of the building from the balcony on the left! Couldn’t tell if he was washing windows or working on wiring!

I wandered around the side streets, going in and out of stores. I guess we’d call this a department store — a little bit of everything, from lumpy beds to hair scrunchies.

Traffic waited for him to finish his drink.

Once a private home, then a restaurant famous for its paella. Now it’s government-run, and, according to our guide, the paella is ‘Ewwww.’ #