Blogs from Viñales, Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean

I don't know what it was that really made me want to go to Cuba, but after many years of holding on to that dream, it finally came! Two weeks is enough to get you to the main west coast hot spots such as Havana, Vinales and Trinidad with maybe another smaller place on the side. We spent the first two nights in Havana and then took the Viazul bus to Vinales. Tourists in Cuba can only use one bus company (Viazul) to get around and with limited routes and limited buses per day, these get booked in advance. If you don't book a bus, the chances of you getting a seat in and out of these hot spots can be very difficult and costly.I had booked our tickets online about a month before. It was ... read more

At 6:30 pm I am sitting on a swinging chair overlooking the astounding Viñales Valley, a World Heritage site. An almost full moon is shining down the valley. Rounded karst mountains stretch along the horizon, facing into the fast-falling dusk. The hotel is called the Horizontes Los Jazmines, because some rooms (as is our privilege) range along a downwards slope opposite the mountains, all with this breathtaking view. We arrived here after a long day of driving and sight seeing. Leaving Havana was a history lesson through architecture. Just outside the city centre is the district of Miramar, which in the 1930s was built by the monied to escape the press of ordinary people. Further on, in the 1940s and ... read more

Cuba. Day 6. Saturday. Not good news today in Vinales. In the middle of the night I was taken down with severe stomach pains and the rest that goes with it. The same thing happened to Paul two days ago and he is now feeling a lot better. Consequently I have been in bed all day with the tablets and water. It was not until early evening that the pain got to be bearable. Not nice. Luckily this is a two night stay and I still had the room at our Bed and Breakfast (casa particulares). The rest of the group were cycling to the ferry at Cayo Jutia and then onto the nearby island and the beach for snorkelling etc. However, it was a bit wild for going in the water and it rained from ... read more

Saturday 30 June Day 2: Soroa via Las Terrazas We joined our co-travellers for breakfast of fruit, vegies, chick peas, pancakes, guava pie, eggs and bread roll. Fresh juices and coffee was all the go as well. At 8.30am we hopped on the air-conditioned bus. Dany gave us water to fill our bottles each morning and throughout the day. On the way to Soroa we stopped at a couple of community art projects. Firstly to Callejon de Hammel where local resident Salvador Gonzáles Escalona has painted and decorated a pedestrian alleyway which has now become a cultural focal point with workshops for young Cuban children to learn painting. Next in the outskirts of Havana we visited the fishing village of Jaimanitas and the home of the famous artist Jose Fuster. Fuster has made his entire home, ... read more

Today was another travel day. We were up early as our driver arrived at 8 am to take us to Viñales. We have been told it is anywhere from a two to four-hour trip. The good thing was that most of our luggage including backpacks fit in the trunk of our car, but we had no A/C. So everyone had a seat for the trip. The drive was long and slow in the old car. The old cars are nice to look at, but when every trip you take is in an old, uncomfortable car, the novelty wears off. The backseat has springs and cloth to cover them and nothing else. While Chester was sitting high on the hog in the front seat, Megan, Riley and Kirsten had springs up their butt and bounded to the ... read more