Casa Colonial Sra. Mercedes Lopez Vinales

Greetings from Pinar Del Rio en Cuba!

Lush green grass, deep red soil the opportunities for photos are endless. We're living on a church/farm in the mountains. The terrain dips and slopes like a dance. There are mango trees, coconut palms, and sows, chickens, and sheep run rampant all over the compound. This farm is what I've always secretly wished for. There's a beauty here that is not only physical but ...

... aber sie sind selten und immer nur am Abfahrtsort buchbar. Um von Viņales an Havanna vorbei nach Cienfuegos zu kommen dauert deshalb schon mal ueber 24 Stunden, denn ohne Uebernachtung in Havanna geht es nicht. Nach langem Verhandeln mit vielen Amigos und deren Amigos im Ort finden wir jemanden, der uns per "Taxi" direkt nach Cienfuegos fahren kann. Sein Taxi ist ein Peugeot 106, und zu dritt plus Gepaeck ist das Auto gut gefuellt. Also dann, bis zum naechsten Kapitel.

... the culture goes beyond words. For those that want to leave here I can only say that they do not know what they have .... things that only cannot buy. The weather and the spirit is mucho caliente. Viva Cuba! This country is full of opposites. From BMW's , antique cars, oxen pulling carts, modern buses, tractors pulling trailers full of people, dump trucks full of people going somewhere (literally) ... every corner holds a visual and audio surprise ....but ...

... at least that's what we thought). Absolutely exhuased and crazy itchy from our bites we were looking forward to a good nights' rest.

This however, was to be the least peaceful night in Cuba. The neighbour's dog barked incessantly at nothing throughout the night. (I know this because I checked. The poor creature
was tied in a corner yapping away at the two blank walls). The chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs continued on with their noise contest most of the night. At ...

... to stay and get to know Cuban life more. Before we left, we relaxed and wrote our journal and counted down the remaining hours we had left with the family. We said our goodbyes which was sad and hit the road once more. They stood out the front of their Casa waving until we walked out of site. At the bus station, we were again plugged back into the travel stream, meeting a few Aussies, that was a nice change as we havnīt meat many on this trip. A ...

... Maybe middle cass youth, in fact. Like at home in fact. The public could have been made up of Frenchies. I waited there a moment. Some people were dancing and others just hanging out. Others shaking their heads violently on the music. Limp Biskit, then Cranberries, then some death metal... Back to the casa de la musica, there was a brilliant concert, small audience, great singer, good music, with a Bolivian guest who played charango like mad, I loved every minute of it.

... of getting wrongly charged for damage after returning the car (especially as we had just been charged, unfairly we thought, for supposed new marks on the sides of the already well scratched van we hired in Grenada), and so I watched the car hire employee closely as he sought to mark down the countless blemishes on the Hyundai’s bodywork. He wasn’t overly precise, and when he had finished without marking any of the scratches on the roof or ...

... away in silence for a time, watching Cuba passing. Flores drives the highways between Vinales and Havana, between Varadero and Trinidad -- between all the main tourist places -- many times a week. Cabs, as a functioning mode of transportation, are incorporated into the government's overall plan. When a cab takes a foreigner between cities, the tourist is considered to have paid for a round trip. This means the cab, on the return leg, becomes just another government ...

... they planned to head north, to an unspoilt beach. That sounded very inviting. But it's never good to press yourself too much on other folks on the road. We all caught the next minibus and enjoyed an afternoon together -- making fun of the 1960s Prehistoric Mural (packed absolutely full of tour buses), eating ice creams outside the town's frequently closed main grocery store. Then we exchanged emails and went our separate ways. At bedtime ...

... conch shells than we could pick up and there were lots of hermit crabs and turtleīs eggs around too! On another day, we hiked into the farmland for about two hours to reach the point where a mountain met the flat red land. It was here where we entered the biggest cave Iīve ever seen. We walked into the cave over jagged rocks while examining all the stalicites along the way. Then we reach an underground resevoir. The water was quite cold, I can hardly belive ...