Vinales, Cuba: Perfect Day Trip from Havana, Vinales, Cuba (B)

I loved exploring the cobblestone streets of Old Havana and learning some travel tips about Cuba and its complicated history. But our day trip to Viñales proved to be a wonderful, idyllic respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

In Viñales we got to see small town centers, visit a cave system and do a tobacco farm tour to learn all about how Cuban cigars are made. We got picked up early in the morning by our driver Nadier, in of course, a beautiful light blue vintage car. It was a Chevy Bel Air 1956 on the outside with a 4-cylinder Honda engine under the hood to keep it moving. During the 3 hour drive to Viñales, we drove passed some horse and buggies, tractors turned into trucks, trucks modified into buses; all to transport local people to and from neighboring cities. We even saw a couple of oxen pulling a makeshift wooden box style carriage, and this was all on the main highway. At one point on the drive, we stopped at what we thought was a federal check point; but the police officer just wanted a ride home! Unfortunately we were already 5 with the driver and not able to pick up the young hitchhiking officer. It was interesting and very unusual for us to see so many locals in the countryside depend on random side of the road rides to get to their final destination, whether it was to work or back home. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).