Western Cuba tour

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Geo: 23.1333, -82.3667

Went to friends CP & NB to Havana (Old City, Revolution sq. etc), Cayo Largo (Playe Sirena, Villa Coral), Pinar del Rio - Vinales & San diego do los Banos...

They are the most sexual people in the world, the minute one of ye look away someone will be coming onto ya or at least opening eyeing you up even if your partner isn't looking away.

Fábrica de Tobacos Partagás cigar factory was excellent very good tour, & the Old city - gorgeous colonial mansions, churches and cobblestone plazas. Was great to see Revolution Sq & The Ernesto Che Guevara memorial, great cocktails in Hotel National (or there's other good fancy ones too like Hotel Inglaterra), we stayed in Ambos Mumdos which is very nice (Hemmingway lived there for a while & started writing 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' there), good roof top bar & view, & naturally we had to go his favourite bar La Bodeguita del Medio (very good cocktails). Good city to walk around & see loads of revolution sites & statues (if you don't want to go in Museums as I know some of my friends don't). And of course we experienced the music & the rum & the cigars & a trip in a 50's car.

We also went into the country side to Vinales for 2 nights - amazing place & Sandiago de los Banos to a spa town for a night where the spa & the locals were ace & a 'paradise' beach island Cayo Largo for 5 nights - we had to fiy there - but it was bit strange as the only locals we saw worked there, so too cut off & tourist exclusive for us but great beaches.

Santiago De los Banos is in the west part of the island about an hour from Havana. There is a mythical legend that when a master sent a slave to a far away place because he had a contagious sickness, which covered his whole body he visited the therapeutic waters annexed to the cave. Taita Domingo (the slave) returned rejuvenated and returned to explain his findings to his master. In 1632, in the mythical legend, the curative properties were found and in the following years the area became a place in which sick people tried to find the same rejuvenated. Mouths of rivers' offer mud which provides medical and beauty treatments & were great. There was no fancy hotel but we made friends with some locals & we invited them to join us at the non fancy hotel pool/bar (as they couldn't just come in) & discovered they had never actually tasted the rum - it'd be like us not having had Guinness! So we gave them a bottle & they were mortified/grateful & then to pay us back they brought us hand rolled (by a blind man) cigars the morning were leaving (after trying to give us their shirts & one of the them gave CP a book), such nice people.

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