Views From Other Lands: Vinales

March 30 - Havana - Vinales

We had breakfast with Erik and Elvis. Our cab arrived and we find that there are 3 in front seat and 3 in back seat...we decided not to make a big deal out of it. What we found out was the guy sitting next to me in the back seat was a co driver and ended up driving the last 1.5 hrs of the trip.

The ride was fine, it was interesting to see the country side and how rural and urban living compared to each other. Country life felt, at least to me, to be slower and more laid back.

Which in Cuba is really funny. Cuba runs on Island time, which means that if things get done, great, but if they don't, there is always manana. I have adopted this, and feel that it would be much more helpful for urban dwellers to get into that mind set.

Vinales is a quaint place, code word for small and dusty. There are probably more casas here than in Vieja. Every house has one or two apartments to rent out to visitors. The casa that Bill and I are staying is somehow connected to Erik and Elvis, I don't recall the connection, perhaps brother in law, sister in law, third cousin's wife's nephew from their first marriage....I think you get the idea. It is a small place with private bath, ac, fan, and reading lights.

Immediately after arriving we were hit up for a tour. Horseback riding, hiking, tobacco farm, coffee plantation, and a cave. We bit and wondered if it was the right thing we did. We will know tomorrow. It was sold as only 15 minutes of horseback riding, which was fine by me, some hiking, some education, a cave, and cigars. Sounded good to us!

We wandered around the town and had a sandwich and beer at Cuba, a cafe on the main drag. Exploring further around we decided to take the hop on hop off bus, however, it seems that today it stops at 3, which is what time it was. Sigh.

We took a cab up to Los Jazmines, a hotel with a great view over the valley. There was a good band playing on the patio by the bar. We had a couple of pina coladas and read our books, took photos and waited for the your buses to pull out.

Got a cab back into town and dined at a big surprise, Paladar la Cubana. It was just down the dusty street from us. What a gem of a place. Friendly wait staff, huge quantities of food. It just kept coming, at 10 CUC each plus beers it was a bargain and a half! There were 3 types of rice, plain white, with black beans, and with pineapple. We split the entrees of smoky pork and fried chicken, both excellent, and were so full never touched the salad or fruit plates, which were both beautifully arranged. We took an evening constitutional to walk off diner and settled down for the night...up early for our touring!