Vinales and spelunking

On Monday, we made our way to the town of Vinales in the western province of Pinar del Rio. From Havana Centro it was a 3 hour bus ride. The countryside was really beautiful and it was so nice to leave the hustle and bustle of Havana. Havana was cool but we were both getting sick of city life. First off, we're not really city people. The throngs of people, the pollution, and the constant hustling were starting to wear on us. At Vinales we were met by a friend of Mary's and taken to her casa. The couple were named Papo and Magaly. They are a really nice couple and they really took their time in talking with us and explaining all the things we could do in Vinales. Vinales is a real small town with a main road and maybe 4 parallel roads. When you're in Vinales you have to immediately slow down. It's really quite nice and a wonderful contrast to Havana. In many ways I felt like I was in Hawaii. The air is fresh, the people are nicer, and the pace is infinitely slower. There are chickens walking down the street and I can hear a pig in the neighbor's backyard.

The family made dinner for us and they are wonderful cooks. They made the best rice and black beans we've had in Cuba period. After early dinner, we walked around down and did a bit of exploration. There are essentially 3 bars in town and walking the length of the town took about 1/2 hour at a VERY leisurely pace. It was nice to be in a place where we could see the stars and hear crickets. In Havana I could hear the thump thump thumping of music at 4 o clock in the morning. In this environment, there is something calming to hear the buzz of a light or a refrigerator, the sound of a fan blowing, or the occasional roar of a passing motorcycle.

The next morning I woke up tired and angry. Here's the thing with living in the country. Fucking rooster at 5 o fucking clock in the morning. I'm a vegetarian, but I thought to myself, "I'm going to catch that rooster, kill it, and eat it!" After our wonderful breakfast we went horseback riding through the valley with a guide named Domingo. The scenery in Vinales is breathtaking. We rode through crops of yucca, rice, tobacco, and corn. The mogotes, as they are called here, are mountains that look similar to the mountains in southern China. It reminds me of kids filling up a bucket full of sand and then turning them over. The area here is incredibly lush and is the tobacco region of Cuba. The dirt here is a bright bright red and very productive. Apparently the soil in the south of Pinar del Rio is white.

We first rode the horses to a house where a guy grew, processed, and handrolled cigars. The cigar was so good that even Allison tried it. It was one of the smoothest cigars I've ever had. The tobacco leaves he rolled with were processed with lemon, sugar, rum, guava, and he sealed it with honey. He also made us a drink with coconut milk, rum, and honey that was really smooth. After hanging out drinking and smoking, we rode our horses to one of Pinar del Rio's many caves.

The cave was called La Cueva de Silencio and after walking for about 15 minutes we reached a natural swimming pool. One of the guides got in the water and I was the first of our group to go in. I didn't have swimming trunks on so I just got in with shorts and underwear. The water was really cold and I followed the guide deeper into the pool with a group of Spaniards trailing behind. The thing about being in a cave is that it's pitch black. If you are outta the light you don't see shit. All I could think the whole time I'm moving through the water is that this was the beginning of a scary movie. What really freaked me out was at the other end of the pool were a trio sitting in the dark. By the mud on their faces and bodies I figured they were making out. Menage a trois freakers making out in a cave. It was pretty cool checking out real stalactites and stalagmites. After that we rode back and my ass was saddlesore. I just had to laugh cause it hurt so bad and both our right knees were fucked up because of it. Plus, our horses seemed to be in competition with each other as each jockeyed with the other to be in the front. I think our guide was getting a kick out of it because our horses started to speed up which made my ass hurt all the more. What the fuck can you do? I wasn't about to walk back. I've never been spelunking before and I had to say that I had a great time. Allison... not so much. But hey... it was something new and different to do.