After a night’s stay in Havana, we departed at 0900 for an overnight trip to Vinales, about 3h30 hours by bus away from Havana.
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- Rest stop on the way from Havana to Vinales.
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- Rest stop on the way from Havana to Vinales.
The village is set amongst karst mountains. It’s good for rockclimbing, walks and horse-treks. We were met upon arrival by our Casa host who promptly set us off on a horse-trek since we were on a rather short stay. I guess he gets some commission.
The trip took us through what seemed like the village’s rubbish tip from which we got a good view of the town against the background of the karst mountains. We then stopped by a local tobacco plantation which was pretty bare from the recent hurricane. Then it started to pour. With the help of a makeshift poncho we made it back relatively dry.
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- Scene around Vinales from the horseback.
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- Pig and piglets.
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- Pig and piglets.
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- Scene around Vinales from horseback.
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- On horse back.
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- Farmer’s house where we sheltered from the rain later.
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- Makeshift poncho.
Throughout the trek, Kim’s horse wanted to lead but my horse kept wanting to overtake on the right hand side. Which meant that my left knee was often up against the arse of Kim’s horse, once narrowly missing its call of nature.
Also, my horse didn’t like puddles. In its avoidance manoeuvre, it went hard-up against a tree. My right knee was scraped hard against the tree … just as well it wasn’t one of those barbed fences. Next time I’ll wear thick jeans too.
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- Our guest house.
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- Our guest house with big tree through the house extension.
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- Pretty restaurant with great atmosphere but stingy portions.
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- Vinales town centre.
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- Street scene in Vinales.
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- Street scene in Vinales.
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- Guesthouse owners touting for guests at the incoming bus.
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- Street scene in Vinales.
