The sign reads Cuba es Nuestra….Cuba is Ours! Welcome to Vinales!
Here we are knocking on the door of our accomodation for the next three nights. El Balcon is the casa particulare we have booked, Mignalys is our lovely hostess, she speaks OK English and has a beautiful home! Currently, of course, under renovation to add more rooms as everyone seems to be doing in this little boom town.
We have elected to stay in Casa Particulares during our time in Cuba, they are akin to B&Bs. We have rented rooms, or small apartments attached to peoples homes during our travels, each have their own private bathroom/ensuite and well appointed bedroom, all come with breakfast included and the hostess will cook you dinner if you require it for an additional fee. By staying in Casas it gives you a real feel for the country and its people, we are right in the middle of the towns living as the locals do. Plus we are directly supporting the people who chose to become self employed.
We liked this option over staying in one of the government run soviet era/style concrete box hotels where the tour buses frequent. Prices at Casas range from $15 – $30 per room per night. Hotels, with so much less character are approx $60 – $100 per night. So far so good, this one is a good pick too.
We are one street back from the main drag and this little street is full of Casa ‘For Rent’ advertisements on every fence, there are apparently more than 600 rooms to rent in this small town and expansion is happening big time. We have a beautiful shady terrace out the front of the house that overlooks the frenetic busy street, daily life bustles by and there is always noise and always something to see from here.
These people (pic below) would set up their sales table/shop every day for work. They would stay there for a about 10 hours every day, selling a few plumbing and DIY supplys. A lot of people came and chatted to them, picked over their wares and a few sales were made.
A rooftop terrace is available for us to use as well, the view is good but there is no shade from the relentless sun, back to the breezy, shady balcony for us. The neighbors are busy adding onto their house to offer tourist rooms for rent. Everyone in this town is getting into tourism in a big way. Our Casa has four rooms to rent and they are building two more out the back.
Vinales is a small agricultural town undergoing a major shift towards tourism, its close proximity to Havana means that it is perfectly placed for day trippers who want a taste of the countryside. This once small backwater is also entryway to the National Parks which are perfect for hiking and contains the giant Mogotes, natural limestone mountains that rise vertically up from the landscape and are perfect for caving and rock climbing. Vinales is also the hub for the tobacco growing industry, its rich red earth grows the best tobacco leaves on the island.
The township of Vinales on arrival was dirty and chaotic, rubbish lies in the gutters on the main street, dogs roam the town and cats are everywhere. A main street market had just finished apparently so maybe they hadn’t fully cleaned up after that.
Rosie has even seen a few chickens on the footpath dodging the wheelie cases from the tourists that flood into this town. Red concrete tile roofs cover brilliantly coloured single story casas, all of the casas have deep front decks that stretch to the edge of the footpath and all the doors and shutters are wide open to let in the cool breeze.
Every deck has rocking chairs on them and there are always people sitting in the shade watching the street.
Chaos reigns in the narrow streets, American Muscle car taxis drop off tourists to their accommodation as does the huge intercity tourist buses, they vie with scooters, horse and carts and even bullock teams pulling carts.
Local ladies carry umbrellas as they walk about town to shade themselves from the blazing sun.
Upmarket terrace bars and restaurants sit beside small local restaurants that are just shacks, cooking on BBQs made of 40 gallon drums on the footpath.
The hustle and the bustle is incredible and the towns bars and restaurants are packed solid, demand has exceeded supply here in this small town already, hence the huge construction race to build and expand.
A tourist market stretches up a side street, full of Cuban number plates, bags, hats, cigar cutters and cases. No one moves quickly, the heat is so intense in this town.
Rosie and The Operator stop for a cocktail…the shady terrace calls to us, a nice cool pina colada for afternoon tea…They bring the beverage in tall glasses and hand us the rum bottle…you add as much as you like to your taste…The Operator was in heaven, Rosie was a little embarrassed at how much of the new bottle he emptied into his glass after reducing the original contents! This Spanish tapas bar is a new privately owned restaurant and is world class.
That was delicious! Rosie orders another round while The Operator goes to the local pharmacy shop to buy a internet card for Rosie. The que is outside the door and the service is slow, only one group of people are allowed in the shop at a time, we must show our passport and pay in cash only. The Operator is prepared but it still takes about 30 mins. Lets just say The Operator pours a lot more rum this time into his second Pina Colada….we have emptied three quarters of the bottle between us already….The Operator is keen to finish it…..
Instead we walk to the town square where the WIFI hotspot is, the sun is setting and no one notices the beautiful light emanating from the setting sun behind the church, or the flitting, singing birds overhead as they head for their roost, or the quiet that has descended….so quiet compared to Havana. Everyone is hunched over their screens their faces weirdly illuminated by the blue screen light. Rosie too lowers her head and joins them. The cool evening air is a blessing and everyone is reluctant to get up and go home.
Tomorrow we are going to explore the National Park and surrounds on horseback…Rosie has never ridden a horse before, The Operator is dubious, Rosie is excited and nervous, cant wait.
