CUBA 3/9/17

Day TWO:

Before leaving NYC, I booked a tour to Viñales, which is a town two and a half hours away from Havana( I will leave the contact info in my 6th blog post with my other recommendations). The tour company arranged for a cab to pick us up at 5:00 AM because the tour started at 7:30 AM. This was probably the scariest cab ride ever. It was super dark because there were no street lights and the roads were extremely bumpy. The cab driver was driving SO fast and would hit these “dips” in the road that would wake all of us up because the car would kinda jump… pretty scary. But anyway after this uncomfortable ride, we made it to the town of Viñales. Its so interesting and different from Havana. Since we arrived at 7(ish) AM, the streets were flooded with people making their way to work, and kids on their way to school, either by foot, horse, or bike. We were one of maybe 3-4 cars on the roads, so people definitely knew we were tourists.Once we got to the tour site, we were approached by Ariel, our tour guide and Margarita, the manager. They wasted no time, and got us right on the horses. Raul was another guide who would stay behind the group on his horse and assist us if needed. Ariel’s English was very good so it was in my favor that he was our guide. We rode around the country side and saw where they planted different fruits like pineapples, oranges, mangoes, guava, and crops like rice, sugar cane, and coffee. When we got to the tobacco plantation we dismounted the horses and met a man named Alexis who was the owner of the tobacco operation. Alexis explained the process of picking coffee beans and growing tobacco. (Unfortunately I can’t remember the whole coffee bean process, but I do remember the majority of the tobacco process.)Alexis and Ariel explained that the seeds are thrown onto the plantation and once they start growing, they take them out and space them properly. The whole process is done by hand since they do not use tractors or any other machines since it can pollute the air and effect the crops. Once the plants have grown, there’s a flower at the top that is removed and the growth in height will stop. Once this happens, the leaves will begin to grow wider. Ariel explained that the bigger the leaf, the better and the taller the plant, the smaller the leaves, which is why it is important to remove the flower. The leaves are picked and brought to the drying house. Honestly, after this I was listening but it was hard to follow. But they explained that the leaves are examined for quality and then strung together, put on a wooden pole, and hung up in the drying house. Once he was done explaining the process, Alexis showed us how the leaves look when they are ready to be rolled, they served us some fresh coffee and he showed us how he rolls the cigars. Alexis uses honey to bind the leaves together which gives it a nice smell and adds a little to the taste (IMO). After he rolled the cigar, he lit it for us and passed it around for us to try. The game changer was when he lightly dipped the “head” of the cigar in honey. It changed the taste so much and it was so good! One thing we learned about the tobacco is that the government buys the tobacco from Alexis but they buy 98% of his crops at whatever price they decide it is worth. He gets to keep 2% of his tobacco and sell without a label or brand otherwise he would be competing against the government which isn’t allowed.
After this session with Alexis was over, we walked to the nearby cave. The cave was dark, cool, and filled with bats. It was pretty scary, but fun at the same time. Ariel showed us how the rocks in the caves resemble things like bears, elephants, and even Donald Trump LOL. Once we finally exited the cave, we got back on the horses and rode around the farms again and to a hut that was near a lake where we can swim. We opted out of swimming, but the view was incredible. They also served fresh coconut and cocktails. We sat here for a bit and re-hydrated and got back on the horses since it was close to noon and it was time for lunch. We rode to this “restaurant” where all the crops they use to cook are in the fields surrounding the restaurant. This place was actually pretty busy since most of the tourists were taken here after their tour. The food was INCREDIBLE. We also had no menu, they just started to serve us. We had (in this order): Taro chips, fried something ( it tasted like Yuca, but looked like a tortilla), vegetable soup that tasted like sancocho, plates of vegetables like sweet potato,  cabbage, pumpkin, radishes, okra, beets… and I think that’s it. Then they served us several plates of different meats then rice and beans. We ordered some mojitos and piña coladas as well. Once we were done with our meal our cab driver was waiting outside of the restaurant ready to take us back. That two and a half hour ride is so brutal because the seats in this car were so old, but believe me… IT’S WORTH IT.

CUBA 3/8/17

So since its been a while, I figured I should make a comeback by telling you all about my visit to Cuba. There will be 6 separate posts.One for every day we were there and then the very last post will be a post with recommendations, advice, what to expect, what I loved, what to bring, etc.

ENJOY ❤

I’ve wanted to go to Cuba for years now, and it finally happened! This was the best trip I’ve been on by far. Nothing compares to the beautiful people we met on this trip, the conversations we had, and how much we’ve learned.

DAY ONE:

Joel, Michael, Jessica, Ralph, and I arrived in Havana on March 8th, 2017. The customs and immigration process was extremely fast and we were out hailing a cab within about 10-15 minutes. Luckily, we did not need to change money at the airport because Jessica already had some changed before we got there ( THANKS TEDDY) so that saved us a few hours on that currency exchange line. We hopped in a yellow “CubaTaxi” van, similar to the NYC taxis and we made our way to the Air BnB. It was about 25 minutes from the airport and in that time we already started learning about certain monuments and buildings we saw on the way. Our cab driver was very helpful and knowledgeable and had no problem answering all of our questions. Finally we arrived at the apartment, a beautiful apartment that was a block away from the Malecón and just a few blocks away from the US Embassy. Our host, Kenia, was sick and could not be there personally, however, we were greeted by Amalia and another woman and man who assisted Amalia in ensuring the home was clean and ready for us. Amalia gave us a tour and explained how to make sure we have a good stay. She made sure we were aware that if we use the washing machine we need to make sure the water is turned off AS SOON as the cycle was finished or else we could run out of water, she also said we need to lightly flush the toilet or it can effect the water system too, and she taught us how to lock the doors and gate. Once the tour was done, we sat at the dining table and Amalia took all of passport information down since they need to report who is occupying the home. Amalia recommended things to see and places to eat that were very close. She also arranged for us to have breakfast at the neighbors house across the street, since Kenia was not going to be able to provide breakfast during our stay. Once Amalia left, we all settled in and got ready to grab some food!