Day 5 28th February 2017 - Bay of Pigs and Cienfuegos

Today after a good breakfast we headed towards Cienfuegos taking in the Bay of Pigs en route. This was a long travel day and was quite an experience at our comfort stop! When we stopped for lunch there was a rush for the loo. The first disconcerting thing was a few men coming out of the ladies. I took my place in the queue behind Sarah and we gradually moved forward. When Sarah moved forward to be first in the queue I noticed her give an involuntary exclamation and wondered what had caused it. I soon discovered. There were 3 cubicles, sin puertas! Without doubt my worst nightmare but what could one do!!

During the journey Alexis told us lots about Cuba, its history, its economy, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara etc. He also showed us a video about Fidel Castro. There is a lot of uncertainty as to what will happen after the Castro family.

Seemingly it is more expensive for Cubans to rent a car or stay in a hotel than it is for tourists. And to buy the smallest old car could cost 70,000CUC - and this has to be paid in cash!

Before 1959 people could buy houses. Since 1960 there was no more sale of houses. Why? Just because. If you questioned it then you were against the revolution. in the 70s the government built eastern block constructions (lots derelict today). Then you could swap houses but only of the same size. Nowadays they can buy and sell houses. In Havana a very small old house is 100,000 to 200,000 CUC, again cash transaction. Can you imagine trying to hoard such an amount!

Cienfuegos is by the sea and the journey there was quite nice.

Modes of transport for Cubans to get to the sea.

We stopped at the Bay of Pigs for a swim but everyone found it too stony underfoot and I don't think anyone got in.

Then we went to the Giron Museum which shows the story of the landing of the Bay of Pigs. It was all in Spanish so I could understand very little of it.

When we got to Cienfuegos we were allocated our B&Bs. We were in Yanelis & Kik Hostal. I was relieved that we did not have to go upstairs but then we discovered that we had several flights to get to the breakfast room!

These photos are of the daughter of the house on her 15th birthday.
















We had dinner in Casa Chango. I was a bit surprised to see a huge religious statue in the entrance. I think it was Santa Barbara the Catholic saint associated with Chango in the Santeria or Afro-Cuban religion. Practitioners of Santeria might describe themselves as Catholic, attend Catholic masses, baptise their children as Catholic while also practising their African based religion in  their own homes. They know that the Catholic saints and their African based saints are not identical but they find similarities between them. Chango is the owner of fire, lightning, thunder and war. He is also the patron of music, drumming and dance. He represents male beauty and virility, passion and power. His colours are red and white. Chango is synchretised with Santa Barbara because she is perceived in the Catholic religion as a fiercely independent and brave woman holding a sword and wearing a crown and dressed usually in red and white.

The decor in Casa de Chango was red and white in keeping with its name. The music was good - I got a CD. Sarah thought the fellow in the centre was a mango!

Ever since our salsa lesson Andrea has been dancing - in restaurants, on the bus, on the beach, even on the street. Here Alexis took pity on her and partnered her. She has been great craic!

When we got back to our B&B we went up to the roof terrace and our hosts opened the bar so we could have some Cuba Libres. We had a great night's fun!

Day 4 - Vinales - February 27th 2017

For breakfast - which continued to be the best meal of the day - we had a selection of fruit, fruit juice, cheese and quince jam, omelette and cinnamon biscuits or churro type things. All very nice. Then we enjoyed watching life as it passed by our B&B.

A walking tour of the valley was organised for the day and we had a local guide, also called Alexis. He turned out to be great fun. On our way to the tobacco fields we walked past houses with some beautiful shrubs and flowers.

Ploughing using oxen!

The Cassava farmer being interviewed by American tourists.

Tobacco leaves drying.

We wondered about the plastic water bottles on the tree. A Cuban way of recycling - the farmer puts his coffee beans in them to sell.

Coffee grinder.

We spent some time talking to men who were preparing the birds for cock fighting - very popular here. They clip the feathers because it is easier for them to fight and easier to tend to the fight wounds.

I much preferred the little pigs.

Next we were given a demonstration on how to make cigars.

Jim was determined to try one - he loved it but has refrained since!

A bit of wallowing is always to be enjoyed!

The cockfight arena. Give me bull fighting any time!

We stopped at a rural cafe for refreshments - pina colada anyone?

Back into town again after our 3 hours walk.

Charlotte had sussed out a restaurant for us - De Olivo - so she (because she wasn't feeling very well) went and reserved a table while we queued to get some money exchanged. We returned to our B&B for a short siesta and then we were ready for our salsa class. Unfortunately Charlotte did not feel up to it which was a shame as she had been looking forward to it.

This is where we had the salsa class. It was great fun but exhausting in such heat! We practised all the steps for ages and then we were put into couples. Unfortunately Jim had not taken in the purpose of learning the steps and by the time we were to dance together he had forgotten them totally. I was torn between laughter and fury!

The beer that I was really in need of after salsa. Look at the state of me! It seems that I have taken to beer - something I never thought could happen!

After freshening up Yadian and Alexis brought us to an eco farm. This is an eco friendly farm with organically grown food in a beautiful setting. It is a family-run business and considered one of the best restaurants in Cuba. We were treated to an enormous spread of pork, chicken, beef, fish and lots of cabbage in various styles. As an appetiser we were given slices of banana (Plantain) filled with a nicely seasoned mince. It was very good. In fact this was probably the best food of the holiday but there was far too much of it.

And again we saw the sunset over the valley.

Again we were transported back to Vinales for the night life. Charlotte and Sarah were too tired to go out oin the town but there was nothing stopping Jim and myself. Because it was a Monday it was much quieter than the night before. Finally we saw two musicians at a pizza place so we ordered our rums and settled in to enjoy. It was possibly the best music of the trip. A man in his 70s was playing a Cuban guitar - 6 strings in 3 sets of 2. He was an excellent guitarist and singer. With him was a younger man who might have been his son. He was also very good. There was no effort from them to get tips but we felt they were really deserving of a big one! We had really enjoyed the evening.