How I remember that Friday of our trip to Vinales. From the moment we boarded the bus out of Havana until the hour we stood in the rain, two mornings later, waiting for the Viazul line to take us back, my life was heightened by the experience of Vinales. One lovely moment flowed effortlessly to the next moment of everything we did there.
If drama can be quiet then this is what Vinales is. There is no wonder that it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1999. The flat verdant valley with deep coral dirt is perfect for growing tobacco. The best tobacco in the world is grown right here in Vinales. Looking over the landscape you will see cows at ease and the slow movement of locals on horseback. The farms throughout still use traditional farming methods.
Morning From Our Bedroom Window
Knolls, or hills, with rounded tops and deep slopes fill the flat valley. They give the appearance of being pushed straight up out of the ground below. They remind me somewhat of the mesas that grace our landscape in New Mexico. But, unlike our mesas in the Southwest, they are covered with green vegetation on their rounded tops and deep slopes. This is one of Cuba’s best rural landscapes.
Our first night in Vinales our hostess called a taxi to pick us up and take us to the restaurant Finca Agroecologica El Paraismo. Although we road in many old cars while in Cuba, this may have been the oldest for us. It was a 1948 Ford and I couldn’t help but take a picture. It’s not unusual to see lids opened on the side of the road and heads bent solving mechanical problems. “Do you like my car?”, the driver asked as I hopped in. I told him I liked it a lot. “I’ll sell it to you” he said.
Finca Agroecologica El Paraismo
I would highly recommend an evening dinner at El Paraiso. Go especially to be there at sunset. The sun will fall behind the knolls and caste a wonderful light over everything. And you can be sure that what you eat came out of the garden the same day you dine there. https://roadtosuchness.comvinales-cuba-el-paraiso-restaurant/
The room where we stayed our first night in Vinales was set apart from the house. It was at the very end of the road that did twists and turns until you got there. The last group of homes looked out over the fields and on to the hills. I sat in the morning looking out over those fields. I was enjoying one of those most wonderful Cuban breakfasts with the freshest of tropical fruit. Breakfast there was a pause in time. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, pretty much the whole time I was there. No one seemed in a hurry. Neither the cows in the fields nor the birds overhead. I was caught up in it and allowed myself to feel no hurry or concerns either.
Staying in a Rental
Staying in a rental is the best way to go in Vinales. The room where we stayed our first night in Vinales was set apart from the house. It was at the very end of the twisting road out of town. The last group of homes looked out over the fields and on to the hills. I sat in the morning looking out over those fields. I was enjoying one of those most wonderful Cuban breakfasts with the freshest of tropical fruit. Breakfast there was a pause in time. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, pretty much the whole time I was there. No one seemed in a hurry. Neither the cows in the fields nor the birds overhead. I was caught up in it and allowed myself to feel no hurry or concerns either.
Morning Hike Through the Back Country
I asked our hostess when we arrived at our rental if there was someone who could be our guide for a hike. The next morning her son Juan, a university student home for the weekend, was there at 8:00 am. He was with us for two and a half hours, introducing us to all the locals we ran into along the way, including his god father. The last place we stopped was a tobacco farm and luckily the foreman was just about to give a demo on rolling cigars. Part of the demo was a free cigar and a lesson in the best way to smoke it.
A good way to tour the country surrounding Vinales is to hire someone who will be your guide. Many of these tours are on horseback and can last the entire day. They would include picnics, swimming and visits to local farms for your meals. You can find these tours with local guides (and there are many) on Airbnb.. And you can make your reservation before you even leave for Cuba. https://www.airbnb.com/vinales-cuba/things-to-do
Make your reservations with Viazul several days in advance. Seats fill up fast. You can even make them before arriving to Cuba, but I read from other experiences that this could also be risky and decided to wait. And plan on staying two or more nights in Vinales. There was only one bus leaving each day and that was in the early morning, so it is not worth going for just one night.
Afternoon in Vinales
That afternoon we walked the back streets of Vinales, sipped mojitos, found a street market and bought souvenirs, had lunch, and sipped mojitos. Later we stopped a taxi that took us for the view from Hotel Jasmine on the road out of Vinales. It was so beautiful we lingered there until dusk.
Meals and Music in the Streets
In the evening we watched them bring chairs from the restaurants out on to the main street of Vinales. There was a live band setting up at each end of this main strip. So we sat for a while, listening to music, taking our time. We finally settled on the porch of a restaurant where we were a step away from people dining outside and dancing in the street.
Everything in Vinales seemed, pretty much the whole time I was there, to be in slow motion. No one seemed in a hurry. Neither the cows in the fields nor the birds overhead. I moved, too, in happy ease from one moment to the next. Around four in the morning of our last night the downpour of rain began, as it will in the tropics. I knew that at seven we would have to walk out our door into the rain to catch the bus back to Havana. Still, I laid there in the dark, engulfed in a peace that permeates this small outpost.
I will probably never go back to Cuba. But I will always know and will sometimes remember. On the island of Cuba is a green valley called Vinales where for two full days I was at perfect peace, moving through time in total contentment.
