Drive to Vinales

Thursday, February 09, 2017
Vinales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
 






 

Today was going to be a bit of a waste. We were leaving Trinidad and would drive 7 hours to Vinales. For some reason our tour has a number 8 route instead of a circle route. Today would be mostly spent on the bus.  




 

We had our morning breakfast and were glad to be leaving this Casa which just a vacant house and not a 'homestay' we were promised on this trip. We each had our issues with this house and were expecting something nicer in Vinales as payback. 
 
 
 

1130am we stopped for lunch even though we had a big breakfast and just sat on the bus. The reason was we wouldnt have another opportunity and this was the best option. The buffet didnt open till 12 and we didnt want to wait or have a buffet meal so we just ordered take out sandwiches. There was a skinny hungry dog waiting for scraps which was common in Cuba. 

 
 
 

Later in the day we made a highway stop for bathroom break and drinks. I wanted to get ice cream but all the freezers were empty. I got a 1 litre water bottle for $0.70P and they had rare coke in bottles instead of cans for $0.50P. There aren't many shops in Cuba and they dont sell any junk food so buy up when you get a chance. 



 
 
 






























As we arrived closer to Vinales there was a viewing platform and restaurant where we had horizon views across the landscape. 

 
 
 












































 
 

In Vinales a group of hosts for each Casa was waiting for our bus to divide us up and take us to each home. I was by myself again. 

 
 










 


















 

I had a poorer looking older guy but there's a lesson not to judge as the Casa was really nice after the Trinidad two day ordeal. 

 
 

The family lived in the front room and the three side rooms were given to guests. I had an ensuite, rare hot water, and good water pressure. The shower was strange like 1920s telephones where you had a separate mouthpiece which was in fact the portable hand held shower as well as the mounted head. 

 
 

There was a German family staying in the other two rooms. By chance the family door was open when I went to collect my passport back. They just had cement walls, cement floor, sitting on garden chairs, watching an old tv sat on boxes. What a difference. They must have poured their live savings into giving the guests the nicer rooms. 

The owner also had a small hatch in the cement floor outside he would climb down with a machete to chop bananas off trees in the small hill beside. 

 
 

We had two hours freetime so I walked to the town square to find the wifi. People from our group were there and one guy kept talking so I didnt get to use the wifi right now. 

For dinner we went to a windy hilltop restaurant. I had grilled tuna which came with soup and rice for $12P, one of our more expensive meals. On the way back I told them to drop me in the town square to save me a walk so I could use the wifi. 

 
 





























 


 
I had 65 junk emails from being offline so long. 

      


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