We had decided to travel on a Viazul mini-bus sold to us in the Cubanatur office. This mini-bus was to avoid Havana completely, taking us directly to Vinales in approximately 6 hours (standard transport would take nine hours). Sounded good.
But the mini-bus was more MPV than mini-bus and I was crammed into a seat really only big enough for two, with two Germans. There were three other Germans on the bus too, one of whom being the lady dancing with her knees in Casa de la Trova the night before. One of them, an exceptionally loud and annoying lady who chain-smoked rudely all the way, was hogging two seats in the front so she could flirt with the driver.
The journey was very hot and cramped, and we were rather surprised (though not displeased) to be turfed out on the outskirts of Havana so the Germans could be taken into Havana and we could be taken to Vinales by taxi. So that rather unmemorable journey took up the first half of the day, getting us to Vinales around 2.30. The last few miles were not much fun, with massive potholes on both sides of the road and lots of very sharp turns.
Vinales is lovely, and our casa is very comfortable. As soon as we arrived we were presented with freshly-squeezed orange juice, which was very welcome.
It's always hard to know what to do on the first afternoon you arrive somewhere. It starts getting dark shortly after five so there's not a lot of time if you haven't arrived until 2.30.
View from our Casa
On this particular afternoon we decided to go to the Jardin de Caridad, a very bizarre botanical garden on the edge of the town. It's bacically some family's garden and is far from the preened, well laid-out and clearly labelled gardens you'd get at home. Instead, it's a chaotic muddle of plants with dolls' heads on sticks, beer can trees and business card trees mixed in amongst the more standard fare.
But despite the haphazard nature of the garden, it's rather captivating. We were quite fortunate to arrive at the same time as a group of four Danish youths with a Cuban chaperone/guide (her precise role never really became apparent). As Danish is a bit of a niche language, she was communicating with them in English. We were given a guided tour of the garden by one of the guys who lives there, and she translated the whole lot. Most excellent indeed.
We got to see all sorts of fruit trees such as mango, pineapple, banana, coffee, cocoa and a whole load of foreign fruit I didn't really recognise. And there were hens running around and VULTURES in the trees. Wow!
The tour finished with a chance to sample all the delicious fruit they grow there. The pineapple may well have been the best I've tasted ever.
I should say, by the way, that the inside of the house (from the glimpse I caught) was just as eclectic as the garden, with pictures from magazines covering every square inch of the walls. I think I might turn out like those old ladies.
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