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From Havana we took a bus about 3.5 hours south-west to the town of Vinales in the valley of the same name. The countryside here is idyllic (though I’m sure the lives for the locals are a lot tougher); everywhere is green and the soil is perfect for the tobacco that makes the world’s best cigars. We hired a casa in the town centre and spent three days hanging around and soaking up the pleasant laid-back ambience.
Hike to Los Aquaticos
On one of the days we were up before daybreak and did a 10km or so hike out of Vinales and halfway up a mountainside to the tiny community of Los Aquaticos. Our trail took us through tobacco fields amongst farmers at work and then forest as we began the ascent on a soggy clay path. At several places along the way Leetuan used her Spanish to ask farmers for directions and they were happy to point the way. On our arrival at Los Aquaticos the friendly resident family sold us drinks – excellent fresh sugar cane juice extracted from a cane taken from their field and fed through a hand-driven knurled roller while we waited, and then later coffee brewed from their own coffee beans grown near their house. The views from Los Aquaticos over the farming land below were great and we took photos before beginning our return journey down the mountainside. We were back in Vinales by noon; time for yet another shower and then to stay out of the sun until at least 4.
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Daytrip to Pina del Rio
On another day we took a collectivo, a shared taxi (this one a 1953 Chevrolet), to the region’s main town of Pina del Rio. We found that this place had little to recommend it, though we did visit the small interesting cigar factory. About 50 workers were seated, each at their own table, hand rolling cigars. Each person does the whole process, so each finished cigar is entirely their own work. The guide told us that the typical worker makes between 100 and 150 cigars a day, and their daily wage is around 1.5 CUC (about AUD$2.00). A single top quality cigar might cost around 7 CUC or more, so you can see that the labour component is a negligible cost relative to the cigar’s market value. A bit sad really. In Pina we also visited a factory that produces guava brandy and tasted some samples. It was OK but by now we had acquired a taste for rum and preferred that. It seemed to suit the climate.
Pina hasn’t always been this low key. In 1962 with Castro’s cooperation the Soviet Union installed nuclear weapons in Pina, provoking the “Cuban missile crisis” with the USA. While the world teetered on the brink of nuclear Armageddon, the two main players bared their teeth at one another. Eventually the Soviets blinked and took their missiles away, leaving the world to breathe a big sigh of relief.
In the late afternoon on the outskirts of Pina we hailed another collectivo for the return trip to Vinales. But this one broke down about half way, and then again five more times before expiring big time just a few km from Vinales. Even the driver’s obvious mechanical wizardry wasn’t enough to coax the engine into life a 6th time. We were rescued when a friend of the driver passed us in his own collectivo. He stopped, we piled into his Dodge, and a few minutes later we were back in Vinales, another day’s adventure behind us.
Leetuan rummaged in a garden and found a patch of mint. I rummaged in our backpack for the bottle of Havana Club and bag of lemons. Time for sunset mojitos and cigars (our one and only each of the latter) on the patio before dinner at El Olivo where we dined every night.
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