2023-03-23: First Day in Viñales
Author: Rob
Yesterday we traveled from Havana west to a small town called Viñales. The options for travel was a bus that left at 7am and took anywhere from 3-4 hours to arrive at our destination, a private car that would cost $120-$150 to take us, or a colectivo- a shared taxi that could make the trip in 2.5 hours and cost $25/person. We opted for the colectivo, which in retrospect was very much the right choice. The driver parked at the corner of our street and met us at the door, then lead us to the taxi where we met a young French couple who would be riding with us.
The drive from Havana to Viñales was very interesting. There was a big storm the night before and a tornado came through, wiping out large swathes of palms and other trees in its wake. Our driver said that this is very rare, and while we passed lots of other taxis stranded on the side of the road with flat tires and other damage to their cars, our driver was most adept at avoiding the various obstacles in our path.
Viñales is perched on the hillside of a beautiful valley where tobacco and food crops are grown. There is a large national park here and the area is known for its hiking and horseback tours. We arrived around 1:45 and having not had lunch we made a beeline for the first decent restaurant we could find. We were very happy to find a small bar that served decent food at a very decent price. We split an appetizer of fried cassava chips, two entrees, a mojito, a soda, and a frozen limeade and the total was about $6 USD.
We were both kind of tired from the drive and it was late afternoon by the time lunch was done, so we laid low at our Airbnb for the rest of the day. We’re staying with a really lovely older couple, Lucilo and Nirma. They have turned their home into several nicely appointed airbnbs rentals and have gone out of their way to make it an oasis for their visitors. Their central courtyard is full of beautiful plants including enviable staghorn ferns, and their rooftop has a small pool and shade area with seating.
Dinner last night was at another small establishment that served fried chicken and pork, both of which were simple but serviceable. The shortages in various ingredients seem particularly acute here in rural Cuba. There is plenty of locally grown yucca, taro, and sweet potato, but the small tiendas are pretty limited when it comes to other foods, and most of the restaurants seem to serve the same dishes made with pork, chicken, beans, and rice.
