Cuba: The Road Trip Edition

Cuban cowboys enjoying the view!

There were Cuban cities and towns that we wanted to visit but that were inconvenient or restricted for sailing, so to reach these places, we traded our rudder for wheels. With our "foreign vessel" safely docked at Marina Hemingway, we flipped to backpacker-mode and by bus, car and scooter, we hit the open road.

We kept smiling on the bus, delighted by a revelation which is obvious yet we'd forgotten: traveling the beaten path is so easy!

To the Mountains! Valle de Vinales

We got a glimpse of the Valle de Vinales, a speedy sampler visit, last January on a day-trip with a hired taxi/tour guide. Andy had his routine rolled tight like sushi - zipping us around to all the common tourist spots: tobacco farm, cave, river, mural... Some people might like having the taxi driver plan their day instead of them, but in this case it felt dictated and rushed. In a way, however, it was good to have all those sights ticked off our visitor's checklist (since they were actually things we had wanted to see), because this time, on our return trip to Vinales, we were completely carefree with no 'must-see' pressure.

The economy in Vinales has always been based on agriculture but with the unique natural landscape drawing in visitors, nearly every house in this "perfectly preserved colonial town" is now a casa particular. (Sounds particularly peculiar but it's just a house with a room for rent.) Renting out a room for one night (even if they only charge $30) can bring in more income than a resident would otherwise earn in a month, so it makes good sense for the locals to offer up their casa to the tourists. These brightly painted one storied houses normally offer breakfast and the option of dinner. In our experience the food at the casas in much better than in the restaurants, plus there's the added enjoyment of spending time with the owner and family. This valley is a very lovely place to spend a couple days - very relaxing and "soul cleansing" even, according to Dave.

Watching the extended family interaction while rocking in the chairs on the porch of our casa in the evening was a highlight. There was the mom listening to the little toddler chatting away on her lap, the older grandson playfully whipping a towel at his granddad who was doubled over in laughter about it, and Scooby the growly little dog (who didn't like us) racing around the yard with a $5 bill in his mouth making his owner, Osvedy, chase him around while everyone cracked up.

Casa particulars near the Valle de Vinales.

Freshly soul-cleansed!

A nice spot to watch the sunset over Vinales.

Scooby doesn't want his rice.  He wants money.  To buy dog food.

Pina growing in the valley.

 

Our "little stroll" in the valley turned into a three hour trek. We came out covered in orange dust. As we walked through town, we saw a lot of other orange-legged tourists who had obviously been in the valley like us. 

 

Cienfuegos

Part of the main square in Cienfuegos.

  

 Cienfuegos has a lot of buildings with...what do you column...? Pillars!

  

 The following is a two part depiction of how much I'm "enjoying" the Naval museum in Cienfuegos:

At our two casas in Cienfuegos, we were served so much fruit with breakfast (awesome!) we brought leftovers with us to give to random urban animals. 

This pony has great hair.

Trinidad

Trinidad is instantly appealing - quaint, colourful and respectfully maintained (especially when compared to the other Cuban cities we've seen - it doesn't look like it was recently bombed!) On the contrary, a long period of isolation from the 1850s to the 1950s protected the city from any major changes and the historic centre has been beautifully restored. It's as though time has stood still here. Trinidad is particularly pretty in the warm light of the late afternoon when the colours of the buildings radiate.

We enjoyed strolling around the historic part of town which is, for the most part, blocked off to traffic. We still had to watch our step however (solid advice in any Cuban city in fact) because we kept finding... meat in the street. Not spilled take-out - I'm talking animal parts. One evening after leaving a restaurant, a flower on the ground caught my attention and a further look revealed more flowers laid out in a circle. These were not only decorative but functional; they stopped me from kicking a pig head that had been placed on the road, snout side up. Startling when you don't expect it and a real tripping hazard after dark. A lady standing nearby told us it was placed there in celebration of...something...to mark some family occasion, we suspect. Nothing says 'let's celebrate' like decapitation! The next day as we were scootering around, on a sharp turn Dave had to maneuver around the full leg of a goat. (We think it belonged to a goat though it could have been a sheep or small cow leg. Mastering limb recognition takes practice.) This bloody piece of carcass was definitely not ceremonial - no flowers encircled it. On the bright side, it suggested that the city has meat to spare and we got our fill in days to come at the restaurants (animal protein had been a rarity for us while sailing the coast). It seems those gruesome sightings didn't hurt our appetite. Lamb burger por favor!

  Our drive from Cienfuegos to Trinidad happened to be at the time of year when the crab migrate.  The drive from Cienfuegos to Trinidad was 'swervy' (and very stinky) as our taxi driver tried to avoid thousands of crab crossing the road. Needless to say we heard more than one crunch.

La Musica!

 

Live music plays around every corner in Trinidad. Dave was enthralled! In the evenings we went to hear local musicians and watch the dancing. Casa de la Trova became our favourite venue for entertainment. There was a band stand, a dance floor and a seating area where we eventually looked up and realized we were not under a roof at all but open sky. Glad it didn't rain. A young man asked me to dance. I hadn't quite reached the moment when the alcohol kicks in and my self-confidence skyrockets. I knew it would not go well for me up there - more like a random audience member walking on stage during the opening act of Dancing with the Stars. Dave would be a better partner for me (closer in skill level) except he had an embarrassing dance floor clash with a salsa instructor 20 years ago in Nicaragua which left permanent psychological damage. He won't salsa again in this lifetime. So my Cuban amigo found another dance partner (they were amazing) and Dave and I had a blast listening and watching the pros have at it. Between every song, even though the pause lasts only 30 seconds, everyone returns to their seat to sip their drink and fan themselves before going up again for more cardio.

This is Dave enthralled.

 

A Heated Dinner

In Trinidad, we stayed four days in a larger casa belonging to a man named Anthony. He's a very energetic host. Everything he said started excitedly with "En Cooba ..." proceeded by something ordinary that happens everywhere in the world, not just in Cuba, but we politely nodded at the insight being offered. Anthony was keen on having us dine with his family one evening to give us an authentic Cuban experience. One moment we were hanging out in the kitchen and the next, as if pushed by a tidal wave, we were getting into his little car (him, us and his wife and kids - that's six). Dave and I didn't know where going or why we were going. I asked a kid in the back seat but, as often the case, I didn't understand the answer. It turned out the crafty Anthony was doing a beer run (which we paid for...oh, now we see...) followed by a stop to pick up his in-laws. This upped our passenger load to eight. We looked like a Picasso painting, packed in so tightly I didn't have the space to turn my head. River cobblestone streets are picturesque but don't make for a smooth ride in a maxed-out Hyundai.

Back in the family kitchen, the men put together a delicious meal for us. On the side, we were served a lesson in generational differences of ideals. While Anthony is very easy-going with an open attitude that welcomes and looks forward to change in his country, this mentality is not reflected in his father-in-law who's communist views are very passionate. The political conversation got pretty heated even though it was one-sided as we didn't say much and only understood some of it (the talk was all in Spanish). We tried to steer the subject away from la politica and money but Anthony's father-in-law was fixated on these. He explained how the Cuban government must be strict, how it must control its people and how important it is for Cubans to remain together even if forcefully held back because its for the greater good of the country. National unity is everything; viva la Revolution. He is the perfect example of what the government wants of its people. He's a successful product of a lifetime of propaganda. But our experiences shape us and he has lived through a time we have not seen and personally know nothing of. Fine, I confess I said something about Guarda Frontera. I thought we were all on the same page at the time. Who knew that was the match that would ignite Anthony's father -in-law?

As the evening progressed, the men (no doubt fueled by the generous supply of beer) started getting really macho and venting about how men in Cuba are the head of the family. I told them "the man may be the head but the woman is the neck and she can turn the head in any direction she wants". (This profound wisdom is courtesy of the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.) Anthony's wife and her mother cheered 'amen sister' in response to that one. Some things just ring true world-wide. Well, we'd gotten an earful from the father-in-law and Anthony was drunk and wanted to work out (he has free-weights on the roof) so Dave and I bolted asap to Casa de la Trova to be once again mesmerized by the music and dancing. 

Beer run!

La familia!

Trinidad by Day

 

By day we visited Trinidad's surrounding nature reserves, valleys and beaches. We thought about renting a car but the guidebook said that a rental car in Cuba would set us back $100/day. The morning we inquired in person it happened to be $200. (Show interest in something in Cuba and watch the price soar.) Anthony made the great suggestion of renting a scooter which was only $20. There was just one rule (that we understood anyway): we were not permitted to take it into the mountains. "Do you have a map showing the restricted areas?" I asked. Dave glanced at me like 'hah, yeah right'. Of course there's no map.

Moooooving along!

 

The view of the Valley de los Ingenios from the Mirador de la loma del Puerto was so grand it was almost dizzying. 

The Iznaga estate tower - built as a representation of one man's authority over the valley (a rival to his brother).

Swimming hole.

Greasing the Wheels

Cubans are great at 'greasing the wheels' to make things happen. If you're in search of anything, everyone within earshot is a facilitator. Whether it be to take you somewhere, get you something, or you need something fixed, guaranteed every person knows a guy who knows a guy who can work out a deal. To survive in a country with so little in the way of material goods, pooling resources in the community (or plain old wheeling and dealing) is just how things get done. The popped hood of a car is a typical example since the antique cars are plentiful and always breaking down on the road side. Men just migrate toward the open hood. Dave noticed 4 mechanics in a shop working on one truck. Mechanical problems are a social activity. When word got out that the scooter we rented needed an alan key to tighten a loose nut, the greater part of a neighbourhood got involved (uninteresting news travels fast!) with group discussion, a long search, and eventually a successful repair. 

The Dogs of Trinidad

Trinidad has its band of stray dogs but unlike some of the poor scabby mutts we've seen in other cities, these ones are in pretty good shape. Here they're like the city's mascots; they hang around the main plaza, they walk around with the tourists or lay at their feet under the tables of the terraces. In the evenings every pothole in the cobblestones of the main square is occupied by a curled up doggie fast asleep. They're really cute. It was hard not to scoop one up and take him home. "Come with us and you'll never have to worry about anything ever again" (except being alone all day and under-exercised like most North-American pets).

Late one evening, in the main plaza, a dog began to bark. This woke all the sleepers who were quick to join in the angry eruption. The group of at least 15 dogs, who had been quiet all day despite hundreds of people around them, were all suddenly unleashing at one man - clearly the most hated man in town - who was walking through the square with a big bag over his shoulder. The dogs were going berserk and even trying to nip at his clothes; they'd have thrown stones if they could! We could see by his behaviour that the feeling was mutual. That man hated the dogs too. Only after he had passed through the plaza was everything quiet again.

I think this one's had enough of the music.

In case you didn't notice, there are a lot of dogs lying around the main plaza in Trinidad.

 

This is like me, wondering what my future holds.

A Weather Window to Key West? Adios! 

 

Back in Havana, Jorge picked us up at the bus station and returned us to home-sweet-home afloat at Marina Hemingway. We checked the weather and saw that marine conditions were favourable for the crossing to Florida, but not for long. If we wanted to catch that weather window we had to move quickly. So the next morning we got everything sorted out, said our awkward goodbyes, paid our bill, cleared out with Guarda Frontera and were off to sea. It was an unexpectedly rapid departure but we were ready to leave.

To Sum It Up...

Our time cruising "En Cooba" was an experience unlike anywhere else. The isolation, lack of services, food shortages, language barrier, bureaucratic restrictions, social oddities and difficult cruising grounds could all, in fact, be attractive reasons to cruise here if you're looking for challenge and adventure. This part of our journey wasn't an easy-breezy vacation but it certainly was never dull! There were magic moments as well; for instance I recall a flawlessly calm night at anchor when the sky was so clear, the ocean so still and the surroundings so pitch black, all we could see when standing on deck were the stars above and their reflection mirrored in the water below - it was like being suspended in space. Unreal!

Three months in Cuba is enough for us, however, and I don't think we'll be return customers. It's a long story but certainly we have no regrets. Now onward and northward!

Off the Florida Keys...there's a place called Kokomo...that's where we wanna go to get away from it all...

You never have to wonder where the public WIFI signals are.  (Dave's in there somewhere.)

Another public WIFI zone - and more circled dogs because I had fun with that.

Streets of Trinidad.