Habana, Cuba and Valle de Vinales, Cuba
It’s 6:30am EDT and my alarm is going off. We are waking up extra early today to travel to Vinales. I am mostly packed up and only need a few minutes to get ready. I meet up with Laura and Andrew at 6:50am just as Manny announces they are out of coffee. We are all very bummed about this development and, also, slightly hungover. Given our 7:30am departure we have foregone a hot breakfast so I end up settling for beef jerky and bottled water.
By 7:20 Manny is rushing us out the door and into Bruno’s Volvo. It’s my turn to sit up front and I am secretly hoping that Bruno is not talkative. On the way out of Habana we make small talk in Spanish. I am holding my own, but then again, this conversation is not very sophisticated. I start to explain that we need to book a room for the night and Laura jumps in to help. We also explain that we would like to go horseback riding when we arrive and that we would like to go back to Habana at 11am tomorrow. Bruno repeats our requests back to us and, as soon as he’s clear, he jumps into action. He is talking into his cell phone at a speed that is at least 10 times as fast as he was just talking to me. After about 10 minutes of very intense conversation, he hangs up and announces that everything is taken care of. I like this guy!
The entire drive to Vinales will be approximately 3 hours, so far we’ve been on the road for less than 30 minutes. Laura and Andrew immediately fall asleep in the backseat, while I intently stare at the road and make several observations. First of all, the roads are in great condition and there are almost no other cars. I am reeling about how easy things are in Cuba; in any other country the whole morning would have been spent lugging bags around a crowded train station (come to think about it, I’ve barely even picked up my bag up at all since I’ve been here!). The next thing I notice is that Bruno is swerving a lot. It seems deliberate, but I still find it strange. The last thing I note is that there are all sorts of people standing on the side of the road whenever we go underneath an overpass. I think they may be bus stops, but there are no buildings or parking lots close by; I can’t figure out where all the people came from.
About halfway through the trip I pull out my bag of macadamia nuts for a snack. I ask Bruno if he wants some and he says that he’ll try just one. A few minutes later Bruno starts clearing his throat excessively. As we all sit in silence, Bruno continues to swerve down the highway while his throat noises increase. I frantically look in the backseat to find Laura and Andrew fast asleep. I am increasingly concerned that Bruno has a nut allergy, but I am also too scared to ask. I stare straight ahead while I silently formulate a plan for handling anaphylactic shock.
Eventually the flora thickens and we enter a more populated area. Bruno, between throat clearings, explains that we are in the main tobacco growing area. I try to ask a few polite questions about tobacco farming, but Bruno doesn’t really know much about it. Soon we exit the freeway and start driving through a small town. At one point Bruno tells me to move to backseat as he picks up another passenger who takes my place in the front. Fine, this guy can deal with Bruno’s nut allergy.
Soon we arrive at our casa particular in Vinales. We are only two blocks from the main road and the house is adorable. Bruno introduces us to our host, Amauri, who lives with his family in the front of the house. With substantially less fanfare than our previous host, he shows us our rooms. They are both single rooms with their own bathrooms located off the courtyard. The rooms are super clean and have AC units, so we are happy. Amauri is all business and quickly takes our passports for documentation and payment for one night’s stay. He offers us breakfast, but we decline on the basis that we are only in Vinales for one day and want to see as much as possible. He also explains that the horse tour company will come pick us up in one hour.
We quickly drop our bags and change into horseback riding clothes. We have 45 minutes left to grab a late breakfast and get back to the house. We walk directly to the main street and take a seat at the first cafe we find. I notice a large shirtless man repairing his classic car in the middle of the street and I feel like we are really in Cuba.
For brunch we all order americanos and Laura and Andrew get some version of eggs, bread and veggies. There is a menu item called “eggs and surprise”, which I order for myself. The surprise turns out to be extra bread. I make the observation that Cubans serve their bread extra crispy as I continually scratch up the roof of my mouth.
After brunch, we have time to make a quick lap through the open air crafts market next to our cafe. Andrew buys a broad brimmed sun hat for horseback riding and Laura buys some little wooden birds to bring home as gifts for friends and family.
When we arrive back at the house, Gabriella, our tour operator is already waiting for us. According to my iphone, we have 5 minutes to spare, but she is looking at us like we are late. I am beginning to wonder if Cuba has its own time zone that runs on EDT minus 10 minutes.
Gabriella explains that we can either follow her over to the horses or wait at the house and have the horses brought to us. We opt to follow her. For the next 30 minutes we follow Gabriella as she rides her electric scooter forward a few blocks and then waits for us to catch up. We end up crossing the entire town in this fashion. Eventually, we see horses!
When we approach the small ranch, we are greeted by a group of 20-something guys, all wearing cowboy boots. Gabriella introduces us to her “son”, named Yovani. They look nothing alike, but we all smile and nod. It’s explained that the entire tour is a minimum of 3 hours and there are multiple stopping points, where we can stay as long as we like. I feel like 3 hours seems a little long, but we do not argue with the horse madam. We are quickly escorted to our horses and Andrew wonders aloud if he is the only one unfamiliar with horseback riding. Laura and I silently nod “yes”. We are living up to our Texan stereotypes.
The tour starts on a long dirt road surrounded by a field of tobacco plants and incredibly bright sun. Yovani strikes up a conversation with me that quickly turns to politics. I proudly announce that I do not support Trump and that I think he is a dumbass. Yovani looks uncomfortable and tells me that I shouldn’t speak about my president that way. It immediately occurs to me that my good intentions may be doing more harm than good. I quickly change the subject.
After only 15 minutes, we arrive at our first stop. Yovani helps us off of our horses and introduces us to Rosana, who is going to show us around a coffee farm and then provide a rum and honey tasting. Rosana is incredibly enthusiastic and speaks perfect English with an awesome Caribbean accent. She explains the process of picking and drying coffee beans and then also tells us about the special honey bees in Cuba that live underground. Once we are sufficiently educated, Rosana shows us to a picnic table where she asks us to hold out our hands. She pours a small amount of honey into each of our palms and we all stare dumbfounded as the honey starts to congeal with sweat and horse dirt. We simultaneously make the decision that it’s best to just eat the honey.
Next Rosana explains the importance of honey to rum and that Cubans sometimes include a drop of honey in the bottom of their shot glasses. She asks if we would like to try and we nod enthusiastically. She pours us little shots, which we all drink immediately. Rosana points out a special rum cocktail that is for sale. Laura and Andrew seem on the fence, so I make the call to order a round. Rosana brings us our cocktails and a little band plays Guantanamera at our table. This place is a total tourist trap and we are eating it up!
Once we finish our drinks, we head back over to the horses and they all look the same! I tell Yovani through bursts of laughter that I can’t find my horse. I am the only one that thinks this is funny.
We ride for another 30 minutes until we arrive at a small farmhouse in a tobacco field. We are introduced to Dixon, who is the son of the owner of the farm. He shows us to a picnic table under an awning and gives a thorough explanation of how cigars are made. There are three type of leaves that are used to make cigars. They come from the top, middle and bottom of the plant. The leafs are cut from the plant and then cut again into a specific shape for cigars. They are then dried in large sheds and then soaked in special formula of water and honey. Two of the three leaves go into the center of the cigar and then the third leaf is used to wrap the the cigar. I was surprised to learn that the whole leaves are rolled into the cigar; I had imagined that they were chopped up at some point.
After his explanation, Dixon gives us a cigar to sample. When I politely decline, Dixon catches me off guard by telling me that it’s okay that I don’t smoke. He says that he doesn’t smoke either. I stare dumbly at him in silence for nearly a minute until he continues to explain that Cuban cigars are actually made for people that don’t smoke. This guy is good. As Dixon lays on the guilt, I counter with equal amounts of gratitude and eventually the conversation fizzles. Luckily Laura and Andrew are willing to try the sample and come to my rescue with high praise for Dixon’s cigars. On the way out, they both purchase a few cigars for later; I guess they really are good!
Soon we are heading back to the horses. Yovani asks if we would like to see a cave and we all say yes.
He takes us down a short foot path to the mouth of a large cave. We have to climb over some rocks and jump over a little stream to get into it. We are all super awkward in scaling the rocks, but eventually we get into the cave and are rewarded with some really awesome photos. Just as we are getting ready to walk back over to the horses, Yovani motions that we should follow him. He takes us through a very small crevice and into an extremely dark and narrow passageway. The pathway seems to go on forever and just as I am starting to panic, we exit out of the other side. As we walk back to the horses, we have to tip a small family who is sitting at the entrance to the foot trail. I guess they are the keepers of the cave.
For the next 45 minutes, we quietly ride through the valley and, eventually, up a very large hill. The scenery is amazing and we are surrounded by large pastures, filled with sleeping cows. Some of them have the weird, little birds perched on their backs; what a strange friendship.
Eventually, we reach the last stop, which is a lookout point that is also a bar. There is a large grill operating in full force and a handful of chickens and cats running around. We take a few minutes to appreciate the view and take pictures. We decide to hang out for a little bit and buy a round of beer for ourselves and Yovani. As we sit in the shade, Yovani shows us pictures of his kids and talks about life in Vinales. He says that he gets paid around 50 CUCs per month, which is about the amount that we will each pay for the afternoon.
Once we are done with our drinks, we begin the slow ride back. Multiple groups are heading back into town and our horses seem to be slowest. We are continually passed by other tour groups and Yovani is starting to look irritated. Around 5pm we are back at the ranch. We thank Yovani for showing us around and start the trek back into town. We are hot, tired and hungry. We make the decision to go to an early dinner.
Gabriella explains that we can either follow her over to the horses or wait at the house and have the horses brought to us. We opt to follow her. For the next 30 minutes we follow Gabriella as she rides her electric scooter forward a few blocks and then waits for us to catch up. We end up crossing the entire town in this fashion. Eventually, we see horses!
When we approach the small ranch, we are greeted by a group of 20-something guys, all wearing cowboy boots. Gabriella introduces us to her “son”, named Yovani. They look nothing alike, but we all smile and nod. It’s explained that the entire tour is a minimum of 3 hours and there are multiple stopping points, where we can stay as long as we like. I feel like 3 hours seems a little long, but we do not argue with the horse madam. We are quickly escorted to our horses and Andrew wonders aloud if he is the only one unfamiliar with horseback riding. Laura and I silently nod “yes”. We are living up to our Texan stereotypes.
The tour starts on a long dirt road surrounded by a field of tobacco plants and incredibly bright sun. Yovani strikes up a conversation with me that quickly turns to politics. I proudly announce that I do not support Trump and that I think he is a dumbass. Yovani looks uncomfortable and tells me that I shouldn’t speak about my president that way. It immediately occurs to me that my good intentions may be doing more harm than good. I quickly change the subject.
After only 15 minutes, we arrive at our first stop. Yovani helps us off of our horses and introduces us to Rosana, who is going to show us around a coffee farm and then provide a rum and honey tasting. Rosana is incredibly enthusiastic and speaks perfect English with an awesome Caribbean accent. She explains the process of picking and drying coffee beans and then also tells us about the special honey bees in Cuba that live underground. Once we are sufficiently educated, Rosana shows us to a picnic table where she asks us to hold out our hands. She pours a small amount of honey into each of our palms and we all stare dumbfounded as the honey starts to congeal with sweat and horse dirt. We simultaneously make the decision that it’s best to just eat the honey.
Next Rosana explains the importance of honey to rum and that Cubans sometimes include a drop of honey in the bottom of their shot glasses. She asks if we would like to try and we nod enthusiastically. She pours us little shots, which we all drink immediately. Rosana points out a special rum cocktail that is for sale. Laura and Andrew seem on the fence, so I make the call to order a round. Rosana brings us our cocktails and a little band plays Guantanamera at our table. This place is a total tourist trap and we are eating it up!
Once we finish our drinks, we head back over to the horses and they all look the same! I tell Yovani through bursts of laughter that I can’t find my horse. I am the only one that thinks this is funny.
We ride for another 30 minutes until we arrive at a small farmhouse in a tobacco field. We are introduced to Dixon, who is the son of the owner of the farm. He shows us to a picnic table under an awning and gives a thorough explanation of how cigars are made. There are three type of leaves that are used to make cigars. They come from the top, middle and bottom of the plant. The leafs are cut from the plant and then cut again into a specific shape for cigars. They are then dried in large sheds and then soaked in special formula of water and honey. Two of the three leaves go into the center of the cigar and then the third leaf is used to wrap the the cigar. I was surprised to learn that the whole leaves are rolled into the cigar; I had imagined that they were chopped up at some point.
After his explanation, Dixon gives us a cigar to sample. When I politely decline, Dixon catches me off guard by telling me that it’s okay that I don’t smoke. He says that he doesn’t smoke either. I stare dumbly at him in silence for nearly a minute until he continues to explain that Cuban cigars are actually made for people that don’t smoke. This guy is good. As Dixon lays on the guilt, I counter with equal amounts of gratitude and eventually the conversation fizzles. Luckily Laura and Andrew are willing to try the sample and come to my rescue with high praise for Dixon’s cigars. On the way out, they both purchase a few cigars for later; I guess they really are good!
Soon we are heading back to the horses. Yovani asks if we would like to see a cave and we all say yes.
He takes us down a short foot path to the mouth of a large cave. We have to climb over some rocks and jump over a little stream to get into it. We are all super awkward in scaling the rocks, but eventually we get into the cave and are rewarded with some really awesome photos. Just as we are getting ready to walk back over to the horses, Yovani motions that we should follow him. He takes us through a very small crevice and into an extremely dark and narrow passageway. The pathway seems to go on forever and just as I am starting to panic, we exit out of the other side. As we walk back to the horses, we have to tip a small family who is sitting at the entrance to the foot trail. I guess they are the keepers of the cave.
For the next 45 minutes, we quietly ride through the valley and, eventually, up a very large hill. The scenery is amazing and we are surrounded by large pastures, filled with sleeping cows. Some of them have the weird, little birds perched on their backs; what a strange friendship.
Eventually, we reach the last stop, which is a lookout point that is also a bar. There is a large grill operating in full force and a handful of chickens and cats running around. We take a few minutes to appreciate the view and take pictures. We decide to hang out for a little bit and buy a round of beer for ourselves and Yovani. As we sit in the shade, Yovani shows us pictures of his kids and talks about life in Vinales. He says that he gets paid around 50 CUCs per month, which is about the amount that we will each pay for the afternoon.
Once we are done with our drinks, we begin the slow ride back. Multiple groups are heading back into town and our horses seem to be slowest. We are continually passed by other tour groups and Yovani is starting to look irritated. Around 5pm we are back at the ranch. We thank Yovani for showing us around and start the trek back into town. We are hot, tired and hungry. We make the decision to go to an early dinner.
When we get back to the main street all of the restaurants look the same. We pick the first one we see and get a table on their large front porch. We order a round of cold beer and start to peruse the menu. I am excited to find a dish called plato de carne and Andrew and Laura find equally exciting options. Dinner turns out to be great. It’s nice to be in the shade with ice cold beer. Also, the food tastes great.
After dinner we really want to go out but are also feeling very tired. We opt for quick cup of coffee at a small cafe across the street. There are these weird music videos playing on the TV by the bar and we can’t stop staring at them. I am just now realizing that I have not looked at a TV in nearly 4 days. We are all mesmerized.
After coffee, we agree to go back to our rooms for a quick fresh up before going out for the night. We’ve been told that people dance in the main square and we just need to stay up late enough to participate. Around 7pm we arrive at the main square. Nothing is going on yet, so we find a bar nearby and order a round of drinks. A little band is playing and as the sun sets the temperature starts to drop to an acceptable level.
Around 9pm the square is looking more active but there is no music and no dancing. We ask around and eventually it’s explained that dancing happens at the building at the end of the square called Centro Cultural Polo Montanez. We walk over and pay a small cover charge to go inside. We grab a table and Laura and I go up to the bar to get a round of drinks. The guys in front of us order a whole bottle of rum. We are intrigued. When it’s our turn we learn that a bottle of rum is only 15 CUCs. We think it makes sense, mathematically speaking, to order a whole bottle. When we get back to the table, the look on Andrew’s face suggests this going to be trouble.
As we start on our bottle, a live band starts to play. The dance hall is starting to fill up when we run into Yovani! I am overly excited to see our only friend in Vinales and he quickly introduces us to all of his friends. We invite them to share our rum and try to speak Spanish over the increasing volume of the band. At one point, one of Yovani’s friends wants to dance with me and I am a total mess. Our rum goes fast and, naturally, we buy another bottle. The rest of the night is blur of music, rum and dancing. Yovani’s friend suggests that we get married a few times and even though I am incredibly drunk, I politely refuse. I guess one dance will get you holy matrimony in Vinales. Things escalate quick here.
We are only ready to leave when the bar closes. Our new friends want to hang out after hours, but Andrew sternly steers them in another direction. Meanwhile, Laura and I are stumbling home while hugging and petting stray cats.
As I am unlocking the door to my room I can not shake the feeling that we may have overdone it. It’s okay though, we’ll exit this town first thing tomorrow morning. Michele out!
After dinner we really want to go out but are also feeling very tired. We opt for quick cup of coffee at a small cafe across the street. There are these weird music videos playing on the TV by the bar and we can’t stop staring at them. I am just now realizing that I have not looked at a TV in nearly 4 days. We are all mesmerized.
After coffee, we agree to go back to our rooms for a quick fresh up before going out for the night. We’ve been told that people dance in the main square and we just need to stay up late enough to participate. Around 7pm we arrive at the main square. Nothing is going on yet, so we find a bar nearby and order a round of drinks. A little band is playing and as the sun sets the temperature starts to drop to an acceptable level.
Around 9pm the square is looking more active but there is no music and no dancing. We ask around and eventually it’s explained that dancing happens at the building at the end of the square called Centro Cultural Polo Montanez. We walk over and pay a small cover charge to go inside. We grab a table and Laura and I go up to the bar to get a round of drinks. The guys in front of us order a whole bottle of rum. We are intrigued. When it’s our turn we learn that a bottle of rum is only 15 CUCs. We think it makes sense, mathematically speaking, to order a whole bottle. When we get back to the table, the look on Andrew’s face suggests this going to be trouble.
As we start on our bottle, a live band starts to play. The dance hall is starting to fill up when we run into Yovani! I am overly excited to see our only friend in Vinales and he quickly introduces us to all of his friends. We invite them to share our rum and try to speak Spanish over the increasing volume of the band. At one point, one of Yovani’s friends wants to dance with me and I am a total mess. Our rum goes fast and, naturally, we buy another bottle. The rest of the night is blur of music, rum and dancing. Yovani’s friend suggests that we get married a few times and even though I am incredibly drunk, I politely refuse. I guess one dance will get you holy matrimony in Vinales. Things escalate quick here.
We are only ready to leave when the bar closes. Our new friends want to hang out after hours, but Andrew sternly steers them in another direction. Meanwhile, Laura and I are stumbling home while hugging and petting stray cats.
As I am unlocking the door to my room I can not shake the feeling that we may have overdone it. It’s okay though, we’ll exit this town first thing tomorrow morning. Michele out!
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