If anyone travels to Cuba, with either intentions of backpacking, culture, or vacationing, I must say, a trip to Viñales is a must. Viñales, about 2 hours and change west of Havana, is a small somewhat touristy town with beautiful dome shaped mountains rising our of the Earth without any kind of obscuring foot hills. It it not only an interesting sight just to the eyes, but ancient caves lie within these mountains giving you a taste of history before. You can do anything from hanging around in its small town having a nice meal, to horse back riding, exploring its caves, wall murals, and tobacco farms.
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While we realized an overnight stay probably would have been nice, 6 hours in town seemed just as good for a memorable experience. We took the Viazul bus from 8 Am for $12, pre-arranged. We made a nice stop in Las Terrazas with nice scenery along the way. After fighting through casa owners and hustlers right on the steps of the bus, we had a nice lunch along the main strip with large plate meals for about $5 US / 5 CUC. While we failed to keep up with the hop on hop off bus that the town offers we just hired a local “taxista” to bring us around some of the sites outside of town: including Cuerva del Indio, a cave bar, the infamous wall mural, driving in and out of the valley, an a nice overlook for $15. Since this was my first time in Cuba and without knowing any better, I prearranged a one way taxi online for $80 CUC (Reservation only). Obviously I didn’t realize how expensive this was as the same driver we hired in Viñales was able to take us back to Havana one way for $35 CUC, negotiated from 40 CUC. INCREDIBLY CHEAP! I can’t go 3 miles via Uber in the states without paying just as much.
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Unfortunately we missed out on the tobacco farm visit, but fortunately considering everyone has friends, we got our hands on some fresh factory made Cohibas for $35 US, 12 of them, also giving us the chance to see Pinal del Rio. The ride back seemed longer than we anticipated, but I will never forget the sun setting over the highway behind us in a 1950’s vintage Ford. As always, I know things never go according to plan and expect change to happen without being stubborn. In the end, we made a friend of a driver sharing laughs and deep insight into the harsh lifestyle of the average Cuban. With the day ride set to 45CUC, the 10 CUC extra made him and his brother happier than ever, considering the average monthly salary is about $20. Nothing made us happier than to see their eyes water and have them hug us. All in all, this altered plan of a day trip was incredible and considering how long I will be spending abroad in the next year or two, it was a great memory to have with my mom.
