Cienfuegos

From Viñales we take a "collectivo" to Cienfuegos - it's a long travelling day...

Travelling is done in what is there: vinage cars!

Cienfuegos is great: an old colonial city and not too many tourists...

Here we have a delicious "pan con lechon", a typical Cuban pork sandwich.

They even have an old French-style theatre!

Down south in town there are beautiful old villas...

And some contrast downtown...

Near Cienfuegos is a lovely lagoon with flamingos... We take a short canoe ride.

We got really close to the birds and it's great to see them fly by!

Next stop is the botanic garden, once in possesion of a US-American sugar cane baron... Forget your imgaination of a botanic garden, that's a Cuban style "botanic garden" ;)

Back in Cienfuegos we have some good dinner - food is great in Cuba! In the run-up of our trip we were told that the Cuban kitchen is poor, but we can't confirm that one.

Last but not least - a beach day at nearby Playa Rancho Luna...

Viñales

Our first stop is Viñales, a lovely village famous for its tobacco cultivation and picturesque mountains. Noëmi has her own Casa Particular here :-)

The farmers in Viñales mainly cultivate tobacco and by law it's done with (almost) no machines... The soil is very red in its color, just beautiful...

We explore the magnificent landscapes by horse!

Here you can see how farmers are harvesting the tobacco - all by hand!!

How to roll a cigar :-)

We also do some hiking - very beautiful and we are almost alone (no tourists!)...

Here we are with our friend Miguel, a local, very friendly guy which we met.

He shows us around and we even went fishing à la cuban style...

Of course only El Tio could catch a fish!

Here we are enjoying the local product number one: a handrolled "puro"!

Havana

Cuba Libre! After a short flight from Cancun we arrive in Cuba and things are different from the very beginning. Everything is there as ususal, but in Cuban style: maybe a bit older or antique, a bit more run down, but it's all working fine.

We head to our "casa particular" (homestay) in Havana Vieja and we're lucky: we have a great colonial style room :-) The host family is really nice and helpful to us.

Old Habana has some great plazas and a very positive vibe.

The next day "El Tio" (Noëmi's uncle) flies in and here we're chiling in our rooftop. Rum and cigars are our new friends ;-)

Some more street impressions...

The vinatge cars are just amazing and take you back to the 50ies and 60ies! And best of all: they are everywhere.