We arrived at the bus station to find we had been listed for the 2.30 bus rather than the 11.15 as booked, possibly due to a computer error, but we weren't too sure, but this is Cuba, so had to wait! The only consolation was the bus was quicker, so we only arrived two hours later than expected. Marilyn was there to meet us and took us to her casa, in fact the only modern house we have stayed in during our trip, with a purpose built annex with two comfortable guest rooms with the best hot water in Cuba! Marilyn also spoke excellent English and soon explained what there was to see.
We had a wander round the village, which is growing as more people build casas to serve the tourist trade. In fact, nearly every house in town is a casa with the main streets lined with restaurants and Marilyn told us that the increased demand for food has raised prices for the locals too, so it is difficult to make ends meet without a way to earn CUCs from the tourists.
Nearly every house had rocking chairs ...
We found a bar called Tres Jotas with a great people-watching verandah and amazing Daiquiris, in our view better than those in El Floridita, and we managed to stop by each evening, just to check they really were as lovely as the day before!
Marilyn cooked for us one evening and produced a lovely spread with lobster for me and spiced pumpkin for Chris. Generally the food in Cuba has been simply cooked, mostly pork, chicken, fish and shellfish served with rice, beans, salad and some sort of root vegetable. In most places vegetarian means just eating the side dishes, and while Chris has not gone hungry, it did become a little monotonous after a week or two. Fortunately, in a handful of places he had a real result with several inventive dishes and also managed to find pizza and pasta. There are few green vegetables here, just cucumber, some green beans, the odd bit of green pepper and the occasional lettuce leaf but salad is usually served with shredded white cabbage instead. In fact, the more I think about it, I've probably had more mint in mojitos than green vegetables!
In the Vinales valley, huge limestone outcrops called mogotes loom over lush tobacco fields. Europeans mainly from the Canary Islands came in the 17th and 18th centuries to settle and grow what they claim is the best tobacco in the world.
Marilyn arranged for us to go on a horse riding tour of the El Palmarito valley with her friend Roberto, and we were joined by Camille from Marseille. We had thought it would be around 3 hours, and I was a bit apprehensive as my last riding experience was not a happy memory, but all was fine. My steed Chocolat was docile and well behaved as we left the houses of Vinales behind us and walked on well-trodden paths, between fields until our first stop, a small tobacco farm. We saw the tobacco growing, which takes 2-3 months, then the leaves are harvested by hand in February before being dried for a couple of months hung on poles in storehouses where they turn from green to brown. They are they are packed into a bundle with cinnamon, citrus peel and other flavourings and rehydrated so the leaves are flexible once more. We saw a cigar being rolled by hand, with the tobacco for the core laid on the binder leaf and rolled together, then being finished with the wrapper leaf. Camille was a smoker and was first up when offered one to try, then Chris took up the challenge too. The end of the cigar is cut and dipped in honey before smoking, and while I had a puff ... when in Cuba ... that was more than enough! Chris enjoyed the experience, especially once he was back on his horse Cococola, pretending to be John Wayne! We also stopped at a coffee farm where we had a drink and were offered coffee for sale, and a mirador where more refreshments were available, but the tobacco farm was the highlight, and around 5 hours later we returned to Vinales, fortunately not nearly as saddlesore as I expected, although it did take a couple of days to wear off!
We used the hop-on tourist bus which took us to a network of limestone caves called the Cueva del Indio, which we walked partway through, then were taken the remaining way by boat, then into the Valle del Silencio to see the view of the Mogote dos Hermanas, or twin sisters. The final stop was a mural commissioned by Fidel Castro in the 1960s depicting evolution on the island from molluscs to man, called the Mural de la Prehistoria. It was very garish and out of place and we hopped straight back on the bus having taken a picture. The last attraction was a small botanic garden made by two sisters, which had few plants in bloom as it is wintertime, but strange faces peered out from the greenery ...
We had thought we might go hiking in the valley, but it became obvious that whether by horse or foot, we would need a guide to take us to tobacco and coffee growers on route, and having done this once already, we spent the last day, my birthday, at the beach.
The day began with a surprise birthday cake with my name on it for breakfast! We have been spotting these elaborately iced cakes all over Cuba, in every colour! I can tell you the icing seemed to be like uncooked meringue, so I guess egg white and icing sugar, and nearly an inch thick. Underneath is a sponge cake with jam in the middle, and just in case it isn't sweet enough, it is then saturated in sugar syrup!
Marilyn arranged a collectivo, a Cuban shared taxi, to take us the 60km to Cayo Jutias, a secluded island connected to the mainland by a causeway. It took around 90 minutes for the driver to negotiate the pot-holed road which deteriorated the closer we got, and we shared the huge Chevrolet with four Germans and a couple from the Netherlands. The beach certainly was idyllic, although being pretty unspoilt with just a couple of beach bars, by the time we arrived the sun loungers were taken, but the sand was soft and the sea was azure blue and very warm.
Our trip is drawing to an end, and tomorrow we take the bus back to Havana ...
Vinales - Mogotes & Cigars
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Vinales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
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2025-02-15
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Val
2017-03-04
Fabulous writing and photos Elaine. I will share this with my family. When I am asked about my trip in Cuba I don't know how to sum it up as there were so many experiences. You have captured the essence of Vinales - it is spot on. Say hi to Chris.