vinales

24 oct 2012

julianna and i got up early and started our trip to vinales again.  we had a more clear (hand drawn) map to the autopista, and were hopeful that there might be signs along the way.  before we left we had to endure more cautions from our family about the hurricane coming to the south east, road conditions, talking to strangers, etc.  and while they were hurrying us out we ended up sitting and looking at old pictures for some reason.  we thought they'd be pictures of the scenery and places to go but they were of random people in a house.  not sure why that happened.

a couple extra turns out of havana and there it was, a giant 4 lane highway that cuts cuba in half.  we did see a sign for it hidden behind a tree but i'm not sure we would have noticed the road itself while we were going over the bridge last nite.  it was actually a pretty nice road too, compared with other countries.  and all the while julianna is gasping and shrieking when she thought i'd hit a hitchhiker in the road, or a horse and buggy, or maybe a pothole.  when she thought the windshield was dirtier than was safe she'd reach over and work the wipers.  drove me a little nuts.  

i let her drive the car to park it at the hotel last nite and in the 5 minutes that she was behind the wheel i decided that i don't want her to ever drive while i'm in the car.  timid and slow and it took her 3 turns to get into a parking space.  that's scarier than fast driving.  so i'm going to insist on doing all of the driving and i'll just have to deal with her comments and worries.

we get about half way to vinales and she wants to pull off the autopista and sightsee, find our way through the back roads.  i was more of the mind to get where we were going, make one successful journey, then go from there.  i had visions of last nite, being the only car for miles in a town with bikes and horses and hundreds of people sitting outside wondering why the hell we ended up there.  but whatever, let's go explore.  i ask where we're going, she doesn't know.  great navigating.  we're driving on a 2 lane road through breathtaking countryside, very similar to hawaii, actually.  small mountains, palm trees, bananas, sugarcane, horses and oxen pulling carts and plows, small lakes.  

we come to a fork in the road, las cuavas de los portales.  the caves where che hid when there was some sort of war going on, probably american intervention of some sort.  i decided to tell everyone that i was russian too.  we parked and walked through, great cave system.  there were steps and platforms, no signs with historical info, no one around.  a man finally came up to us to find out who we were, and again, 'where are you from' is the first thing he asks.  which is what every guy asks as you're walking down the street.  why can't anyone ever say hello, or maybe how are you?  so i try to ignore him, he thinks i don't understand, he goes after julianna.  he's trying to get us to pay for being in the cave.  she tells him that we've already paid.  they argue.  he leaves.

as we come out its starting to rain so we figure we'd better get back on the road.  there is a sign outside that has entrance fees, 1cuc per person, 1cuc per camera.  i didn't see it before.  julianna gives him a cuc, all i have is a 3cuc note so i take her cuc from him and she starts arguing that he owes us money.  i'm trying to explain that i paid 2 and she paid 1 and all is good but i think she just needs to argue a bit whenever there is money around.  finally we can leave.

the next town we're looking for is las palmas which is a small town on the way to vinales.  we get some directions and off we go again.  i'm pretty resigned to the fact that no matter how many times we ask we will always have to go in the wrong direction at some point before we get where we need to.  no one ever has the whole picture, there is always a turn missing.  at las palmas julianna wants coffee so we slowly drive through the hordes of people walking and biking in the streets looking for a cafe.  we find several tiendas with rum and beer and juice but no coffee.  i just stand in the street next to the car while she looks, the less i hear her argue the better off i will be by the end of this trip.  

no coffee, we get directions to vinales, we go the wrong way, get more directions, back on the road.  its another scenic country road.  we're pretty much the only car.  its funny how people stare at us as we go by, like what the hell are 2 women doing here by themselves, flying down the road?  everyone seemed very pleasant looking, though, i wasn't at all worried about having to pull over or get more directions.  the few houses were well kept, the streets were clean, there was no garbage blowing in the wind like guatemala, this seemed more like a proud people that took care of what little they have.

after almost 4 hours we make it to vinales.  yay!  we find our casa particular fairly easily (i have no idea how julianna found it so fast) and something has happened that we cannot stay there.  maybe a leak or maintenance and they've just started tearing up the floor.  so the woman walked us across the street to mercy's house and we get a room there.  this one has 3 beds, a/c, bathroom.  we can eat breakfast and dinner here if we choose for extra, she charges us 25cuc for the nite, 3 for breakfast and 7 for dinner.  

i called our havana 'mother' to let her know we arrived safely.

there is a bicycle tour that julianna has been talking about for days so we set out to find the office.  her guidebook mentions a restaurant where we can book but its not there.  but lunch is needed first.  while we're there julianna complains that our 7cuc dinner that we signed up for is too expensive (lunch at the restaurant was around 5 each) and that we're getting ripped off.  i tell her that it probably includes a lot more food, probably the home cooking tastes way better, etc.  but she's kinda angry about it.

she's probably saving money as she goes by arguing over every dollar but i can't imagine that she's made many friends in her travels.  i remember her complaining about her host family and teacher in guatemala but i didn't know it was a constant thing.  our next stop is the bike shop to sign up for the tour.  we can't find it and are sent to a man on the street.  he only rents bikes.  he sends us to someone else but julianna won't deal with someone on the street, if he doesn't have an office we can't speak with him.  we walk to an office and they have bike tours, a man follows us in and its his shop.  they show us the same routes and julianna's question is why should we do this when we can see all these sights in 10 minutes in a car?  there's a cave system, a mural painted on a mountain and a tobacco farm tour.  its 15cuc for 3 hours.  i think we should do it, who cares if we can drive to these things, we're riding bikes through cuba, that's the fun.  she doesn't really do anything athletic but insists that if the tour goes on the road then its a waste of money.  

the man behind the desk is getting frustrated with her.  if it rains too much (its rainy season), we have to bike on the road.  he doesn't know if it will rain tonite so he doesn't know where we will go.  somehow we will see all of the sights.  this isn't good enough for her, though, and she continues to argue and threaten.  she was so excited to ride bikes in vinales, that was our entire reason for coming here, and now she's making everyone hate us.  so i just say that i want to do it, i prefer to go off road, i'll be there at 9am.  15cuc for a guided bike ride through a cuban tobacco farm.  i'll pay for that.  maybe that's why i'm not rich, i don't mind paying for doing fun stuff.  she'll probably have a heart attack when she finds out how much it costs to scuba dive, i'm not going to let her into the office with me when i sign up for that.

finally she agrees to the bike ride but is angry as we leave.  i'm mentally deciding if i can find a bus schedule somewhere and sneak out in the nite without her.  but having the car is great and i'll get to see so much more than if i was only riding by bus so i can stick this out for another 7 days.

julianna has no concept of relaxing.  she wants to see everything possible while we're here.  i want to sit on the porch with a drink and watch the tractors and horses go by.  so she's just left with the car, she's going to drive an hour to a beach then turn around and come back by 7 for dinner.  maybe i'll read a book.  or nap.  i don't find it necessary to be moving every minute of the day.  i'll see enough of cuba, way more than i ever imagined.