Shared accommodation with everybody in the casa particular (at least it felt like it with an open ceiling space), and a mosquito invasion was a bit tough. Breakfast made up for it though. An American traveller (minus his Honduran friend) had joined us after breakfast and told us the horror story of their trip… They were sailing from the United States to Honduras and after some trouble with their engine ended up on the Cuban coast. Repaired twice, they finally hit a reef and after a few days, and lack of help (paid for) from the Cuban authorities, the boat sank. Just to make it worse the Honduran guy was on the way to start a new life after saving money in the States. They were now going through the legal process trying to save some of the bits from the boat including a motorbike etc.
We left at about 10 am and headed for La Palma. What a place! Great lunch, great people and no tourists! Priceless gem of Cuban happiness.
We left the town and stopped for a boat trip in a cave before the town of Vinales……. A bit of a plastic tour …
40 min later cycling uphill we arrive in Vinales. A very beautiful but seriously touristy place. Found a great old Casa with wholesome colonial rooms. Visited a naff mural/painting on a rock face and met some Polish gents in a restaurant. I managed to speak a bit of Polish (it was had having had such little practice of late). They gave us a few tips on what we could see in Vinales and Pinar del Rio. We spent the rest of the night drinking and listening to “salsa” music on the square in the centre of town.
We left at about 10 am and headed for La Palma. What a place! Great lunch, great people and no tourists! Priceless gem of Cuban happiness.
We left the town and stopped for a boat trip in a cave before the town of Vinales……. A bit of a plastic tour …
40 min later cycling uphill we arrive in Vinales. A very beautiful but seriously touristy place. Found a great old Casa with wholesome colonial rooms. Visited a naff mural/painting on a rock face and met some Polish gents in a restaurant. I managed to speak a bit of Polish (it was had having had such little practice of late). They gave us a few tips on what we could see in Vinales and Pinar del Rio. We spent the rest of the night drinking and listening to “salsa” music on the square in the centre of town.