May 22, 2022
Let's go!
Viazul, Viñales and into the beyond
We ride to the Viazul bus station at 0:dark:30 to undertake the 4 hour bus trip to Viñales. Comfortable bus, air conditioning, the bike tucked safely beneath our feet.
We arrived in Viñales to a strong of casa particular owners showering us with invitations to stay with them ("Ten US dollars only!!"). The Cuban tourism industry has been devastated - we'd been advised that, in non-Covid times we would have needed to book a casa well in advance. Now, folks are literally clamouring for business.
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We spend three nights in Viñales including a glorious day on a horseback ride through the valley, meeting farmers, seeing a tobacco farm in action, swimming in the underground cueva Palmarito and taking in vistas of the mogotes.
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Departed Viñales on March 22nd. Up early to avoid the heat. Day started cool, breezy and bit rainy. We skipped the small botanical gardens on the way out of town - we had momentum and weren't stopping! Winding through the lush mogotes on the way out of town we stopped at cueva San Miguel for a quick photo opp and then Cueva del Indio for a super short "guided" boat ride in the cave. Very much not worth it but for the opportunity to escape the brief downpour outside. Exit through the giftshop.
From Cueva del Indio, the route was mostly descending on soon-to-become-familiar potholed asphalt roads. 25km went by fast!
Puerto Esperanza came recommended in the Lonely Planet, but this was before covid. Our first few casa options were nowhere to be found (closed permanently it seemed) and there was a weird vibe in the town. Perhaps we were some of the first post-pandemic gringos to visit?
We made the mistake of following a friendly guy (Andres) to a Casa El Pescadore. The woman running the casa was not home so we ended up negotiating with grandma and this Andres fellow (who said the owner was his sister). 2000 pesos Cubanos per night, desayuno incluido (breakfast included). Worked out to about $20 CAD. Plus $12 each for dinner.
Mom got home and some drama ensued - it seems that Grandma might not have driven as hard a bargain as she ought to have, and Andres involvement seemed problematic. I suspect that, in return for leading us to the promised land of el Pescadore, Andres was expecting a cut of our payment. We were asked to pay extra for the breakfast. But no! I made a deal with grandma!
In the end our deal was honoured, desayuno uncluido. The atmosphere was a little tense after that for a short time, but once Xavier and the young boy living at the house, Jose began looking for lizards (lagartos), things relaxed.
I felt conflicted about negotiating for $6 apiece but, after being over-enthusiastic about purchasing cigars and wild honey in Viñales, we were running on cash fumes in a land that didn't accept credit cards. Oops.
The lobster dinner (the area is renowned for the lobster) was delicious and Xavier and I capped off the night by walking to the beach at sunset.
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 49 km (30 miles)
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