Las Vinales

Today, I took a bus tour to Vinales.  I’m glad I did it because I would have wondered what I’d missed, and I learned several new things. But I also learned I really don’t like bus tours.  I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle, and I was being processed.

We drove on the bus for about 3 hours, to an area called Valle de los Pinos.  It’s called this because it’s a mountain and valley area with lots of pine trees.  It’s an important tabacco growing area, and an area where guayabe fruit is grown and used to make a special brand of rum.  Our bus, and about 4 other buses visited the tiny rum factory at the same time.  We quickly walked through the tiny distilling and bottling areas, and stayed in the sales shop long enough to taste the rum they made. I bought a 1 litre bottle for about $5 Canadian.  A good deal for sure!

At a tobacco farm, we learned about the plant growing, leaf selection and drying, and cigar rolling processes. The farmer seemed to take great pride in his product and expertise. After a nice lunch at the base of a picturesque escarpment, we walked through a large limestone cave and got shuttled out via small boats on an underground river.  Which was the highlight for me.  I think it would have been really neat to kayak and explore that river. 

I was really tired that evening.  So I mostly stayed at my hotel.  There was a Cuban band playing.  During their break, I chatted with the musicians and even helped the lead singer with the pronunciation of words in a French song they played. 

Photos:

#1 - The underground cave

#2 - Most farmers in Cuba still use bulls to plow their fields.  The tractors i did see, were mostly very very old looking.

#3 - The kids who live in the apartment right across from my hotel window.  We yelled a fun conversation over the street one night.

#4 - The courtyard for my hotel in old Havana, the Palacio O'Farril. The window on the right of the photo and second floor of the courtyard was my room!
#5 -  The rum bottling room in the factory we toured.  Notice the photo of Che Guevera in the background