Bailey's Tuesday

A large part of our day was spent on the bus from Havana to Cienfuegos. Along the way we made stops for the bathroom and for a buffet lunch by the Caribbean sea. At our first rest stop, many of us ordered coffee served with a sugar cane stirrer. All of the different coffees we've had in Cuba have all been incredible. At this rest stop we ran into other students from Hackley School. We all took a picture together, shocked that we had found other new york high schoolers whom we compete against back home in Brooklyn. Our second stop on the road was for a buffet lunch. The restaurant wasn't able to immediately accommodate us, so we walked down to the rocks lining the ocean to explore and take some pictures. Instantly we smelled the salty ocean air. The water was extremely clear and filled with tiny fish. Parts of the rocks had broken off and allowed for small pools to form filled with hundreds of tiny snails. None of us wanted to leave this beautiful sunny spot. After lunch, we got back on the bus and continued on the road. Our first experience off the bus from Havana was in a large sunny Cienfuegos square where we found statues, beautiful trees, detailed architecture, and a small art gallery hidden on the quieter side of the street. After exploring the colorful circle, a few of us stepped into the gallery to find paintings and colleges hung in two narrow rooms. Deep reds and blacks stretched up to the ceiling in silhouettes, figures and block letters which contrasted against the pastel yellows and grays of the tile floor. I didn't notice the artist standing in the back of the room until he corrected us for taking photographs of his studio. He was in the process of pasting bits of black and white paper onto a large canvas to fill in the outlines that he had already drawn. As I walked behind the canvas I saw the afternoon light coming through the tall window hitting the back of the off-white canvas and its wooden supports. Propped up in the corner was a tall metal ladder with another canvas stretched over it. After observing for a few minutes, we filed out through the small door and back onto the bus parked outside where we drove 5 minutes to our new hotel in Cienfuegos. At the end of the day, we celebrated Jared's birthday with a traditional cuban cake of peaches, cream and sliced almonds. The woman who made it came out after and wished him happy birthday. Happy 15th birthday Jared!

-Bailey Chapin