Stories from our Cuban guide Day 2-Vinales

On Day 2 of our time in Havana, Jeff and I decided to check out Vinales, the countryside where tobacco is grown for the famous Cuban cigars. We also wanted some time to talk with real Cubans so we booked a roundtrip tour with an English-speaking guide.

I think we learned more about Cuba talking to him than I could ever from reading a guide book and it was well worth the expensive trip.

Before we go on to learn about Vinales---check out this breakfast we got every morning for 5 CUC!  Not pictured are the fresh fruit smoothies and all the fresh fruit you could ask for.  Mangoes in the Caribbean are just amazing.  Our Casa also had a half hour of free wifi access every morning, which was nice for telling our mothers we were still alive!

Our trip to Vinales started at 7:30 a.m. with a classic car for the 2.5 hour drive.  Despite the car's age (and failing shocks), it had some sweet upgrades to the radio and sound system!

 The roads in Cuba are pretty good and even in the middle of nowhere country roads, there are well-kept gardens in the median of the highway. There were also many many cops on the roads.  We asked our guide about them and he said they write tickets for not wearing seat belts and speeding, but also "stupid stuff" and didn't continue.  There were a few times during the conversations where Jeff and I couldn't figure out if he was being critical of the Cuban lifestyle or if he didn't realize how critical it sounded to our American ears.

While we were driving into Vinales, I noticed many of the farmers don't have modern equipment and are using livestock to drive plows.  Our guide said that many tobacco farmers make agreements with the government to sell more than the mandatory 90% of their crops in trade for better equipment for the farms.  

Many of the rural houses are still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew last year.  We noticed that many homes don't have windows, only wooden shutters.  Our guide said that Matthew devastated parts of the country and the government doesn't have the money to repair them.

Our first view of Vinales was from a lookout attached to the region's premiere hotel.  Later, the guide would tell us it used to be a small place. After the "triumph of the revolution" (a phrase used frequently to mark time), Castro visited Vinales and noticed the hotel's stellar view of the valley.  He suggested to the owner that the government buy the land and build a much larger spa.  I don't think in the days after the revolution one could say no to a suggestion from Castro.

Not a bad view!

The first activity was the underground caverns.  They were discovered by a local farmer and nationalized for tourism purposes after the revolution.  There was a short hike and then about a 15 minute boat ride where the guides pointed out different rock formations and their shapes.

After that, we went to one of the tobacco sorting warehouses.  Learning about all the different tobacco processes really made me appreciate the price of a Cuban cigar.  It's mostly done by hand and requires a lot of time to allow the leaves to dry and ferment at various points in the process.  At the warehouse, women (only women work here) make about 380 pesos a month---which is as much as we spent on 3 drinks at the bar the day before. However, the child care is free and they are usually compensated with housing as well.  They get bonuses in CUC (worth 27 pesos) if they exceed the 6 kilo a week requirement for sorting.  Shockingly, everything is tracked by paper and pen there were no computers in any of the warehouses or farms for tracking tobacco types, quantities, or processes.

The warehouse is large and hot.

Tobacco has to be fermented to get color + flavor

The sorting process requires a lot of attention to detail

Post sorting it has to ferment a second time.

The restaurant we had lunch at was a self-sustaining farm.  It uses about 90% of its produce for the

My lunch time view

restaurant and donates 10% to local schools.  The grounds were breathtaking rows of gardening.  The amount of work to keep it is probably insane.  And the view for lunch was A+.

Lunch was massive.  We ate and ate and ate some more.  There were three different kinds of meat, assortments of veggies, and a delicious veggie soup.  Every time we thought we were done, they brought something new!  The food was delicious we tried a few things for the first time like taro root and candied papaya.  We left ready for a nap (although partially probably due to a healthy dose of Vitamin R).

During lunch, we had quite a few interesting conversations.  Religion is a touchy subject in Cuba.  Catholicism is on the decline while many protestant groups are growing. Younger Cubans like the Pentecostal services because of the music and vibrancy.  Surprisingly, Jehovah Witness and Seventh Day

Vitamin R

Adventists are also growing in Cuba.  The Jehovahs don't honor the flag or anthem or pledge and it is a touchy subject with the government, but they're mostly left alone.

Cubans aren't allowed to kill cows.  The guide joked that it's better to kill your husband or wife to kill a cow because you'll go to prison longer for the latter.  Cubans can get beef on the private market (it's imported), but they have to maintain proof of purchase in case their home is inspected.  Apparently inspections are fairly common.

So much food!

Our guide used to teach high school English classes, but he said it was very difficult.  Most students didn't want to learn English and he only made 7 CUC (or 189 pesos---around half the tobacco warehouse ladies).  He quit teaching and eventually became a tour guide (significantly more profitable).  Our tip exceeded his monthly government salary.  Before he became an English teacher, Cubans learned Russian as their second language,
but one day Castro decided they "must learn the language of our enemies".

Now that the tourism industry is picking up in Cuba, the guide said he often meets students who now wish they had paid more attention in English class because the best way to make money is in the tourism industry.  He said every month there are less government employees because people find ways to be involved with tourism.

Walking up to the storehouse for tobacco

After lunch, we went to the actual tobacco farm.  One of the farmers gave us the run down on what

happens to tobacco after it is harvested. He greeted us with "So are you here to learn about Cuba or to escape Trump?" We learned that farmers HAVE to sell 90% of their tobacco crops to the government.  The other 10% is for personal use (this guy smoke 3-8 cigars a day).  They aren't allowed to sell them outside of their local area either.

When we were done with the learning, he showed us how to properly roll a cigar.  We then got to smoke one that had spent some time drying.  They were delicious!  The Dutch guys that joined our tour didn't like the cigars at all though.

The second to last stop in Vinales was a botanical garden, started in 1919 by a pair of sisters.  They

Weird, old, one of a kind plant.

kept cultivating the land into a sort of museum of local plants.  There are a few extremely rare species, including one plant that has never been identified anywhere else.

View from the garden.

Lastly, we visited the Mural de la Prehistoria. Don't let the name fool you, the mural was designed in
1961 and took 18 people 4 years to complete.  It is 120 m long and pretty incredible.  The artist was a student of Diego Rivera, a neat little Detroit connection.

We departed from our guide in downtown Vinales.  He told us that he now realizes our governments are both stupid.  Working with Americans he sees how our two people can get along and that there's no real "enemy" among us.  It was an interesting (and bold) statement.

On the way back to Havana it started to pour.  Turns out the roads there don't have very good

drainage so they almost instantaneously flood.  Also turns out the car we were in had a hole in the floor boards and my feet got splashed a few times.  The view from our casa when we got back looked like a black and white filter had been dropped on the sea.

We waited out the storm for a little bit and once the sky cleared, took back out to the streets of Havana to find dinner.  We were looking for a paladar, or a privately-owned restaurant.  We found a group of about 5 tucked into a little side street and sat down outside.  The waiter told us proudly his aunt was cooking tonight and if we didn't like anything it would be free.  Well, there were things we didn't like about Cuba, but food was never one of them! It was delicious and thankfully it didn't rain more than a few sprinkles on us since we were outside with no umbrellas.

After the storm.

Our patio seats!

After dinner, we started a little bar crawl.  We would just wander down streets until we heard some live Cuban music and duck in for a daiquiri or mojito.  After a drink, we'd wander to the next place.  We stayed in one bar for more than one drink though because the rain started pouring again!

I love Cuban music.