Cuba Four ... Vinales

 . . . CUBA - THE FOURTH . . .

(I know....these titles are getting silly....)

(But I just trying to keep it interesting..)

(Go with it....)

* * * VINALES * * *

We had planned on renting a taxi to take us to Vinales 

(which was a three hour drive ) so that we had control over where we

stopped along the way.......

but it wasn't financially beneficial so we opted for the Air Conditioned Bus Tour Instead..

We were picked up right outside our apartment...and spent the next HOUR picking up

other people from all different hotels....

Again I was the only American...and I kept it to myself....

(Just in Case...)

Let the Bus Tour Begin !!

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( The only modern building that we really saw during the whole trip...)

(Im sure that there are more....maybe...)

(It was at this point during the 'Tour' that our TourGuide began spouting random .. about 

NewYork and the Twin Towers...such as...)

("I never come into the city on 9.11 because you never know what could happen..")

(As if the Taliban was going to bomb Cuba on the same date they bombed us....I cant...)

(I was CLEARLY not happy about that...)

(But I kept my mouth shut...bc they would prob shoot me.)

(Because I WAS IN CUBA!!!  HELLO!!!)

( Circus )

(Although a lot of CUBA is impoverished....)

(...the homes of the Foreign Diplomats are clearly Not)

                      **      Vinales is located in the Pinar Del Rio Providence (Northeast Cuba)

It is mainly an Agricultural area exporting such 

goods as ... Fruit ..Vegetables.. Coffe ..Tobacco 

(ESPECIALLY Tobacco)

( Theres no crazy farm machinery here... )

(Its all done by Bulls and Horses...and Humans of course)

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( In case you were wondering what the power lines looked like...)

( I have no idea what these are...)

(Some kind of drills? )

(Or fishing devices?)

(Perhaps some kind of Irrigation system?)

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               Pit Stop : : :

(We took a Pit-Stop here...at a small tobacco farm..)

(Here in the middle of no-where was a Large restaurant / Snack Shop / and Souvenir Shop)

(Interesting to see what Tourism can do for AND to a country)

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(REAL LIVE CUBAN TOBACCO LEAVES!!!)

(Well there not really alive but you know what I mean...)

(Thousands and Thousands of them...)

(Hung here to dry out just enough to create the perfect Cigar..)

(And I didn't pay this guy for his pic...JSUK)

(Just So You Know...)

(Come on...)

( Look at how thick their stems are...)

(Random "Highway" Sign )

(This is the Highway BTW)

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( MANGOS!! )

( An elementary school....)

( They don't believe in fences here...)

( Seems like a pretty free country to me )

(Ok sorry bad joke...)

( Che is EVERYWHERE )

( Just some random foliage )

( Ah...what a helpful guy...)

(Well I think he's helping her...)

(He might just be standing there while she does all the work...)

(It actually kinda looks like he's arguing w her...)

(Dick)

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( Ahh the Tobacco Factory)

(Ok so being from NY I heard "Factory" and automatically pictured a 10 story concrete 

building with smoke towers and huge parking lots.)

(I forgot I was in Cuba)

(This is the Tobacco Factory...)

(This Gentleman and a few family members hand roll ALL of the Cigars..) 

(... for export AND Tourist sales...)

(I don't know how their fingers don't fall off...)

                  AND NOW.....THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR : : :
                                                  HOW TO ROLL A CUBAN CIGAR . . .

(First you take about five "Stuffer Leaves" and fold them in half...)

(I thought the 'guts' of the Cigar were similar to the "Grated Tobacco" insides  of Cigarettes.....

but no....

they're whole leaves 

just folded in half.....)

(Look at me learning something new...)

(I know I ALSO thought I knew everything!!)

(They are then wrapped tightly inside the "Inner Leaf")

(Next they are put in a "Cigar Press" and let to sit for Thirty minutes)

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(After the Cigar has "Settled" it is wrapped in the "Outer Leaf"...)

(Each Leaf has a different texture, strength and flavor)

(And Finally...the tip is rolled..the excess cut off and its shaped in this fancy device)

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(They gave us these complimentary drinks as part of the tour.)

(And If I enjoyed drinking mouthwash I probably would have loved it...)

(Notice the straws are not actually in her mouth)

(I think that it was a mint Liquor mixed with Liquid Death)

( These wilting flowers represent the struggle for balance in the world...)

(Just Kidding...I have no idea why they're there....)

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( Im clearly Obsessed with the Tobacco ....)

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( Thats the Ninjas summer home..)

(I cant disclose the exact coordinates thought....) 

(Obvs...)

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(Just you standard Car Rental Shop)

(Sweet Ride)

( I didn't see a lot of flowers here...this was it really )

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( There was a NightClub in this cave...)

(Well restaurant in the day and Club at night...)

(We didn't make it inside but it sounds like the coolest thing Ive ever heard)

( It was called El Palenque..which means....)

(Yeah I have no idea...)

( There was no one in that car...)

(Whoever just decided.. it was cool to leave with the door open)

(I mean....To each his own)

               THE INDIAN CAVES  : : :
                     Back in the 1800's these caves were populated by the Taino people...
                  (Early Settlers from the Bahamas and Southern American Regions) AND many
                               slaves who escaped from the US and other territories....

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(  For you Kris )

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( We waited on this line inside the cave for about 25 minutes...)

(For the 5 min Boat Tour...)

(Whatever I was with good company...)

( No...Not scary at all...)

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( Hand Woven Baskets )

(  Fresh squeezed Sugar Cane )

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( Love )

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( Vinales is full of "Mogotes"..)

(They rarely exceed 82 feet high and range from 33 - 660 feet wide)

(They are found mostly in the Caribbean and places with excessive rainfall)

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             THE "PREHISTORIC MURAL"
                  (Which is only titled as such because it is a depiction of the story of Evolution)
      It was created in 1959 by the Cuban Painter Leovigildo Gonzalez and is one of the oldest Murals
            in all of the Caribbean ... It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988.
                                                                                  (  )

( And THIS is how they painted it....on tiny little planks of wood attached to rope...

which is tied to trees and boulders at the very top of the mountain...)

( Normally Id say it was a clever idea and totally normal...)

(But let me just show you how high the mountain really is...)

( Those are not ants ... )

(Thats me and Ninja at the very bottom...)

(I had to prop up my camera...set the timer and HAUL ASS back to the Ninja..)

(As you can see I JUST made it...)

( Another part of the Tour Package was lunch in this great open-air restaurant)

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(Pork..Potatoes...Rice and Beans...Fruit Salad...Vegetables...)

(Delish...)

( The cute couple who sat next to us during lunch.)

(They're Australian...and were vacationing around the world for 3 months...)

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( I know they look fake...But their not...)

( Look at those SHOES!! )

(Slut)

( Just parked my car and ran into the store...)

( I told you it was all manual Labor...)

( The "Official Vinales Lookout" )

( The view was breath-taking )

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( The "50 Bazillion dollars a night" Hotel and Pool )

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( Our BUS !! )

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( Pregnant Man )

( That horse has excellent posture )

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Ok were making progress here!!!

Next will be the INFO blogs....

Just random pics I took to show you the crazy things I saw....