Pinar del Rio

If I were to stay in Cuba forever I would live in Pinar del Rio in the Valley of Vinales. It’s no big secret that I like to play outside, and Vinales is the perfect place to do just that. This particular trip was a planned excursion through the Pitt in Cuba program. I hate tour buses with a passion so the hop on - drive - hop off - take pictures - hop back on itinerary got old before it even started, but the location and much needed break from the city made up for it.

The first stop was the eco-village Las Terrazas. Back in the day the hardwood resources of the area were exploited leaving nothing but barren mountains until after the revolution when Castro initiated a reforestation program. The model was extremely successful and lead to the creation of the self sustainable community of Las Terrazas. After a phenomenal ranchon style lunch of local food and of course ice cream, we stopped for coffee at the house of a darling lady named Maria. She was all of 4 feet 6 inches tall (naturally we snapped a picture together) and served the best coffee I have had in Cuba thus far.

The next stop on the tour (literally) was Soroa, a quite “mountain town.” A short hike and we were at the top of the Mirador, a lookout. The perpetual frentes frios made the weather perfect for hiking. The views were a bit obstructed by clouds but beautiful nonetheless.

The next day we finished off the town attractions. We went to an orchid garden and walked to a nice waterfall. Despite the fact that there were roughly three species of orchids the property and other flowers were gorgeous. Before getting on the bus again we walked down the road and along a short trail to see a waterfall. This is the closest thing to a river with whitewater that I am going to find in Cuba.

On the way to Vinales we stopped at a tobacco plantation. Pinar del Rio is where the best tobacco in Cuba is grown, and since the best cigars in the world are from Cuba, a plantation like this one is on the itinerary of every trip to the province so people can buy, smoke, and learn about the famous cigars. There were rows of shoulder high plants, big drying houses, harvested rows of hanging leaves, smiling sombrero wearing guajiros, and of course cigars… I wish we could have stayed longer.

Our final stop was the town of Vinales. The town itself is comprised of houses with rocking chair laden porches, tree lined streets, and more friendly guajiros. Surrounding the town is the Valley of Vinales home to beautiful magotes and world class climbing (something obviously not on the tour schedule). Magotes are rounded limestone mountains that were formed when the roofs of underground rivers collapsed. Almost all of them are a mix of sheer cliffs and vegetation. We stopped at the Mural de la Prehistoria, a humongous psychedelic portrayal of the origin of life painted on one of the cliffs. We also took a tour by foot and by boat of one of the many cave systems in the area.

After lunch I was in much need of some time away from the bus, so I took a solo walk along a very rural road outside of town. Everything was so tranquil. No car horns, no cat calls, no hurry. Along the way I saw the national Cuban bird, the Tocoro. As a budding birder, I was excited. It is the national Cuban bird because its coloring matches the Cuban flag, it does not survive in captivity, and it regularly shakes its tail feathers.

I love the countryside. I plan on going back... probably hitchhiking in camiones to Vinales for some more hiking, birding, and rock climbing. There are no maps published of the area so I snapped some pictures of the maps hanging on the walls at the park visitor center to go off of. Sorry mom and dad… I guess these are the types of adventures you like me to tell you after they occur. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine :)