Thursday 8th December
Jayde and I had arranged for breakfast to be an hour earlier. I decided to forgo my precious morning shower to have extra time in bed, my justification being I’d had one before going out and that I’d have one once as soon as we had arrived in Viñales after our long coach journey.
As on the previous long journey I wrote my blog, napped and listened to music. I was struggling to stay awake until I ate my final pack of chilli heatwave Doritos which seemed to give me the energy required. I also enjoyed looking out of the window as we passed wide open sugar cane fields, tobacco farms, palm trees and small rural settlements where the horse and cart was still king.
En-route to Viñales we stopped off at the Manaca Iznaga, a tower which provided fine views of the UNESCO listed Valle de los Ingenious (Valley of the Sugar Mills). The tower had originally been built for a wealthy landowner to watch over the slaves. I climbed a fair few towers in 2016 but usual my muscles were still aching and I was breathing heavier than usual at the top though the views were worth it.
We then drove for another hour or so before we reached Santa Clara. Arguably one of the most important battles during the revolution a memorial now marks where Che Guevara is buried after his remains were returned from Bolivia. In addition to Che Guevara other rebels fighting for Bolivian independence are buried in the memorial and there was a museum containing various items he used in Cuba.
We continued on to our lunch stop at the Finca Fiesta Campesina which can be best described as a wildlife park of Cuban wildlife. As we ate a band led by an 87 year old provided entertainment before I explored the park with Dennis, Jayde, Val, Annabel, Neha and Celia. On our way we sadly stumbled upon a dead guinea pig in one of the cages, a turtle and a small crocodile.
Eventually we joined the rest of the group in a game to win a bottle of rum. A guinea pig was placed in the centre of a circle and we had to guess which hut it would run in. The guinea pig was torn between Kian’s and Andy’s ultimately settling for the latter. We drove for a number of hours before we stopped at the Las Barrigonas central tourist office for the Ruta del Tobace so we could have a quick toilet stop.
It was dark by the time we arrived in Viñales and there was very little street lighting. We arranged to meet an hour later outside a central Casa. Jayde and I were led to our accommodation and discovered we had pretty much a whole house to ourselves, including separate bedrooms. After a quick shower we made our way back, walking fairly briskly as the darkness and stray dogs made the area feel edgier than it probably was.
We boarded the bus and travelled a couple of blocks to a local restaurant. The band was good, but the singer was quite loud and because we were on a group buffet meal the food seemed quite overpriced for what we actually received. I did however finally get the opportunity to try some of the Cuban style lobster however aside from that I mostly just ate the three varieties of rice.
Once we’d eaten a few of us decided to go to the local music club in the main square called Centro Cultural Polo Montanez. inside a band were playing on stage but no one was dancing. We ordered some drinks however by the time they had been served the band had finished and a solo singer had taken over the dance floor. A group of dancers took over from him for one song before he returned. It was a nice music venue as the stage was open air, however it wasn’t overly lively so we all went home before 11pm.
Friday 9th December
Jayde and I had arranged for an 8am breakfast again. Rather than eating inside we sat in the back garden however despite our anticipated beach day there were a few grey clouds. We met Dayami and a few others to complete some chores however there was a lot of waiting around and as a result we failed to get WiFi cards. This caused me to throw a minor tantrum which Jayde helped me snap out of.
We had made a group decision to visit Cueva del Indio caves on the way to the beach as they were on the way. After paying the entrance fee, Dayami led us through the main cavern. Eventually we came to the end of the passage and took some steps down to a boat. I was sat at the front with my back to the direction we were going but the others told me when to duck.
Some of the patterns on the rock were quite interesting and with a bit of imagination resembled animals, and 3 large rocks looked like the bows of the boats Columbus had used to discover Cuba. Eventually we emerged out of the cave to the edge of a waterfall and then disembarked. We had a bit of time to explore the site but there didn’t seem a lot more to do and boarded the bus.
The drive to Cayo Jutias beach was short in distance but bumpy and slow due to the number of pot holes. The weather also looked quite overcast despite attempts to visualise the sun and to sing sun inspired songs like “Here Comes the Sun”. When we did arrive on the causeway for the beach the sea looked choppy and it seemed unlikely that we would have an opportunity to snorkel.
The sun made an appearance just long enough to have a quick swim and to start drying out before lunch. Dayami had set us low expectations for the mystery fish lunch and whilst it’s normally the last thing I consider ordering I was hungry. I’ve no idea what it was, but I ate it all. I also ordered a “CocoLoco” cocktail which was rum with coconut water, served in a coconut.
On the way back to Viñales we stopped off at a tobacco farm / Cigar factory. A man demonstrated how the cigars were made and then we had the opportunity to smoke the freshly made product before receiving a sample of rum which some had with coffee. The cigars were cheap to buy however I wanted to buy Romeo and Juliet and held off with a hint of regret later.
During the visit I had put my camera down when asking Jayde to get a photo of me with the cigar on my mobile and as the camera was handed back to me it slipped out of the case to the floor. As a bit shattered off I feared the worst but miraculously the only bit that broke was the lens hood. The lens itself was not cracked or damaged, everything remained in focus and the electronics were still working.
We had a couple of hours before dinner and as Jayde and I had a large home stay to ourselves a group decision was made for us to host pre drinks. We provided what remained of our rum from Trinidad however the others provided mixers and some brought beers. Initially we all sat but it began to rain so moved inside. After everyone had left Jayde and I quickly tidied up before heading to the restaurant.
Dayami had planned to take us to another Cuban themed restaurant where we would receive similar style buffet food to the night before. At this news there was a minor mutiny and Brides and Daisy deserve credit for booking a group of 18 in to 3J Bar de Tapas, the tapas bar we had seen at shot notice. including Mika and Dayami, who we wanted to eat with us and we offered to pay for.
We ordered a variety of different tapas dishes and as they began to emerge we realised we had ordered far more than we needed. My favourites were the croquets, patatas bravas and shredded beef. The drinks were good as well and I had my first Cuban Pina Colada. The final bill only came to a little more than we paid at the other restaurants but had been much better value and quality.
Whilst music was playing by the time we had finished it wasn’t loud, nor was there a club like atmosphere and so we decided to give the Centro Cultural a second chance. It was the same set up as the previous night though there was some jokey excitement when we realised that the singer from the previous night at the restaurant was performing.
At some point the dance floor was made available for dancing and whilst a core group of us sat around a table drinking rum based drinks to keep a central spot others danced with locals or with other members of the tour. We stayed until closing and I finally got in to bed around 1.30am but surprisingly not feeling overly drunk.
Saturday 10th December
After breakfast we left the Casa and made our way to our meeting place to join the others. I sat next to Neha and like everyone else we tried to sleep. About an hour after leaving Viñales we stopped off at Las Barrigonas central tourist. Remembering they sold cigars I decided to go in to haggle and successfully managed to get 4 Romeo and Juliets for $10 (the starting price had been $3.75 each).
Our next stop was the Las Terrazas a cross between an Eco village and a Nature reserve. I had expected to go on a walk around the reservoir to see some of the birds that inhabit the area but instead after a juice with rum we were taken to the hotel. Next we went to get a coffee apparently the best in Cuba and I had mine with a splash of liquor.
I’d been able to buy a WiFi card at the hotel and as it was 5pm Saturday UK time I logged on to see the football scores. Dayami was the only person close as I let out a yelp when I realised Watford had beaten Everton. After I showed her the score in my excitement she asked me what websites she should use to get foreign news. I felt reluctant to give an answer and despite the lack of WiFi it was only at that moment I appreciated how disconnected most Cubans were from outside influences.
Next stop Havana.
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