Volcano Choir’s Repave album, Tame Impala’s Lonerism, Purity Ring’s Shrines & Polica’s Shulasmith got me through the 5-hr early morning bus trip from Varadero to Cienfuegos. I don’t think the musical build was coincidental as I was becoming increasingly excited to get the hell off the bus. 
I arrived at Cienfuegos around lunch & for CUC$3, I agreed to a taxi to my casa. Thank goodness Carlos was my driver as he was a lifesaver given the casa’s address & map location on Airbnb was not at all correct. After helping me search the supposed intersection for the casa with no success, Carlos offered to use his mobile to call (Cubans are charged per call) as I had the phone number of the owner w no working mobile. No answer but being a capable taxi driver, Carlos actually had the owner’s info saved in his phone, complete w the correct address so he happily took me the remaining 6 blocks. And refused to accept more than CUC$3. Most taxi drivers would’ve dropped me with no second thought so bless Carlos bc he saved me hours of lost time. He’s agreed to scoop me on my return trip to the bus station so I look forward to thanking him again. Sweet & helpful Cuban people keep impressing me everyday. 
Cienfuegos felt a bit more international than what I’d seen to-date in Cuba – almost Parisian in a sense w colonnaded boulevards & columned buildings. It has a nice city center w a grand square where locals congregate as well as its own Malecon along the bay – a mini version of Havana’s – that leads to a lovely inlet called Punta Gorda. The small city size makes it very accessible so I spent a lazy 3 days roaming around, relaxing, reading, eating & listening to live music. The food here seems especially delicious so given its size, I think perhaps better food per capita than Havana bc while I found great success in Havana w a couple spots, I also had some pretty average meals. No average meals in Cienfuegos. 
While enjoying a lunch, I thought about the bus ride here. Very few people got off the Trinidad-bound bus to first visit Cienfuegos. Trinidad, after Havana of course & Varadero for the beach, is probably the trendiest place to visit in Cuba if people can fit in it their schedules & aren’t afraid of buses or wish to splurge on private cars. But boy are they missing a gem in Cienfuegos. Once again, I feel very blessed to be able to take this time & an entire month to visit Cuba as I am thrilled to have discovered this beautiful city.