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A View From The Roof In Cienfuegos Cuba | Adrian Seah

The sticky heat lingered in the afternoon air like a damp blanket, stifling and energy-sapping. It was midday, and the streets were quiet. The few people ambling about-children in the school uniforms, topless men with sun weathered skin hauling large sacks, all keeping close to the pastel coloured buildings, trying to stay within the thin sliver of shade provided by the low rise houses lining either side of the street. Children with homemade toys, constructed out of string and other rudimentary materials play on the streets, oblivious to the heat, whilst men are huddled around low tables by the walkways, lost in games of chess and dominos. Cienfuegos, Cuba’s Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South), is a somewhat sleepy town, sharing her name with Camilo Cienfuegos, national hero and one of the key figures of the Cuban revolution. Founded in 1819 (curiously, the same year Sir Stamford Raffles founded my homeland of Singapore) by French immigrants, the city retains its distinctively French vibe in its street layout and architecture. Wrapped around Bahia de Cienfuegos, a stunning natural bay, the historic city centre is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site…..

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