So the story goes you haven’t experienced the real Cuba until you’ve tried a real Cuban cigar, well its easy to buy them in Havana but to go to the source and buy direct from the farmer is the only way to experience the real Cuban cigar.
With plans of getting a bus to Viñales we were up early and packed. Onix had organised our taxi to the bus station for 6.30am. but arriving at the station our fears were realised when we tried to buy a ticket for the 8.40am bus. The sign said that you must check in 60 minutes prior. However you couldn’t buy a ticket until 20 minutes before the bus departed. you could however buy tickets online or the previous day by coming to the bus station ticket office.
We knew that we couldn’t buy a ticket online as all our credit cards have associations with American banks and in Cuba, thats a red flag. Your cards WILL NOT WORK HERE. None of our credit cards work in Cuba it was impossible to buy tickets online and our asking of Onix to come to the station to buy tickets two days ago now only raised our sense of frustration. With so many people lining up we knew that we may not be able to get on the bus. There was another bus at 2pm but that would mean sitting around for most of the day.
Elena thought it best to at least buy the tickets we needed for our future trips from Viñales to Trinidad and our return trip to Havana, and in a stroke of good fortune she talked to a couple from Germany who were also in the same situation. We all decided the best course of action was to hire an old car and driver and split the costs.
Climbing into a 52 Chevy we negotiated a price that was only $3.00AUD per person more than taking the bus and we’d arrive 1 1/2 hours earlier than the bus.
These old cars are a great way to see the country, our driver spoke no English and none of us had a strong command of Spanish… what could go wrong. With a crash start, our driver slammed the stick into gear and we were off.
Traveling around town in an old car is fun, but when faced with the fact that the shock absorbers are well past their use by date and the car lumbers to the left and right at it’s own discretion you understand why each year the manufacturers bought out a new and improved model. Combine this with the fact that I’m sitting in the middle in the back with very little cushioning in the seat. So with the car bouncing all over the place my tailbone is taking a hammering.
Stopping at a service station along the main highway our driver pulls up and keeps the engine running while we make for the toilets and find in the shop a new taste we discovered the night before, Malta, a drink from Germany that tastes like molasses. It’s like a meal in a can, refreshing and filling, but is an acquired taste.
It’s a 185km trip from Havana to Viñales and with 16km to go we come to a stop to turn right and with a downshift in the column change our drivers gear lever comes away from the steering column! now we’re stranded in the middle of nowhere with the engine running but no gears. Our driver tapes and wiggles a piece of wire and a small nail until the gear lever is reattached to the column and we’re back in business. The basic’s of 50’s technology means that these cars are robust enough to last a million miles and we’re all left wondering how many more mile we’ll travel before something else falls off.
Viñales is smaller than I thought it would be and if you’re expecting a city or large town then this isn’t the place for you. Vañales is a main street and a lot of houses posting rooms for rent. Tourists adorn the restaurants in the town centre while the locals mill around the square.
We have our address for the Casa we’ll be staying in and as our driver speaks no English weak to be dropped in the centre of town and we’ll make our own way from there, after all it’s a small town, how hard can it be.
Asking in the first shop we came across the friendly young girl explained in Spanish, but with her gestures we kind of got a general direction. With the help of yet another local who spoke perfect English we found our Casa on the outskirts of town.
It’s a great place, clean and tidy and the family are so welcoming. No sooner had we handed over our passports and checked in our friendly owners wife returns with ice cold juice for us. the fridge was stocked with water beers and juice as a kind of mini bar.
Making for a quick shower we just rested for the afternoon. We’d organised dinner for tonight and made plans for tomorrow to go horse riding and visit the tobacco plantation and try my first cigar.
Dinner was massive, Elena had a hard job consuming two snapper while I had so much pork on my fork I was embarrassed that I had to skip on the mountain of rice. Mind you that was after starters that consisted of local tropical fruits, banana and taro chips and then soup. if there’s one thing I’ll take away form rural Cuba is the overwhelming generosity provided by the locals when it comes to catering. If you’re coming to rural Cuba, stay with locals in a Casa and eat locally.
Dennis our host makes an appearance during dinner and brings us some Cuban rum, it’s so smooth and slides down without burning your throat. He asks about tomorrow and says he’ll gift me a top quality cigar as the farmers is for “locals” and is fine for a souvenir, but he wants me to experience the best Cuba has to offer….. how can I refuse.
Crawling from the table with our stomachs full and with such great hosts, we know Viñales is gong to be an awesome stay.
