Vinales to Pinar del Rio
26 miles
In the morning my horse Picade, walked gently through the National Park in Vinales with Carmelo and Coco Loco trotting along behind. They bumped along and jostled for first position much like the three of us have been doing on our bicycles, but Picade felt the need to lead the parade, so we let him. It was all pleasure to have someone else do the work for a change though, and just take it all in without pedaling once.
On this three-hour tour for fifteen dollars, we not only got to ride where bikes would struggle to go, but we got to learn a lot about the agriculture in this area.
We visited a tabbaco farm and learned how to make cigars, getting to sample some of the best. (They dip the end in honey for a natural filter). We tasted coffee grown and roasted on site. We sipped and learned about Cuban rum and the government’s high tax of 65% per bottle produced. We passed fields of malanga, yucca, sugar cane, banana, mango, avocado, onions, garlic and beans. We came upon pigs rummaging in muddy patches and oxen, horses and cows standing stately in the shade. We rode under whispering pines, by limestone cliffs and up to tall scenic vistas overlooking the valley far below. Vinales is a place of dreams.
In the afternoon it was back on our bikes, using our own power again to climb out of the valley and down to the next town. We were passed by people doing a 25 mile commute paralleling ours on single speed bikes, with thighs like sinewy steel. Calling out “Veo te” and “Adios!”, smiling at our mirrored sweaty faces.
I have been biking now for a long time and in many places and I have never felt safer or more welcomed anywhere.
