Cuba

Red Earth in the Valle de Viñales

With our time in Havana up, we haggle for a seat in a taxi collectivo; joining two German girls, a pair of Spaniards and a happy-go-lucky Montenegrin on the slow journey west to Viñales. Conversation revolves around our different cultures, who’s passport is the most valuable and how Trump could impact the relationship between the US and Cuba. It is a light hearted ride with a serious undertone.

The Valle de Viñales blankets out at the end of a twisting undulating length of road, framed in limestone mountains. We enter on main artery Salvador Cisneros, lined with pine trees and small single story homes in all shades of ice-cream and entrances of orange or fuchsia tropical blooms. It almost has a Palm Springs-eqsue vibe to it.

At dawn I climb onto the Casa rooftop and watch the golden dawn spread out over Viñales National Park to a chorus of roosters.
This valley is known for some of best hiking trails in the country, many of which lead to caves you can explore, some you can even swim in. A leisurely stroll into the countryside can be reached by walking down Adela Azcuy street, past the local baseball fields, where the road gives way to rich red soil, curious piglets and tobacco plantations. You can go guide-less or with a guided horse trek, our preference being on foot so we can stop to pat piglets or have a guava juice at a trail side bar. We stop to say hola to a guajiro (rural farmer) and wind up being ushered onto his farm to watch a cigar being rolled, which inevitably means we take some for the road.

Later that night after we rub aloe into our sunburnt faces we head down Salvador Cisneros towards the heartbeat of town, the plaza, where Salsa rhythms are in full swing. The local boys dance in sync, some grabbing the hand of a foreign girl to offer a free lesson. It’s here under the stars that I see another layer peeled back; locals and tourists alike, swaying to the beat, connected by music; the perfect mood to leave on as we begin our journey south to Trinidad.