Not only is Vinales known for tobacco, but it's also known for granite cliffs called "mogotes", and the region is referred as Cuba's version of Yosemite. Here we saw some Cuban life as people "resolver"-ed. With limited resources, Cubans ofter use the verbs "conseguir" for "to get or to manage" and "resolver" for "making do". We saw examples of both words in our travels. For instance, our Havana home-stay host secured our next home-stay for us in Vinales so that when we got off the bus, our host was waiting for us to take us to our room. Thankfully we had a reservation because there was a crowd of about 25 women waiting for the bus passengers and recommending their homes for accommodation. The casa particulars (home stays) are very lucrative for Cubans so in retrospect it makes sense that hosts fight for tourists. Our hosts also figured out that they can make additional cash by providing us an in-home meal. Additionally we saw people fixing up old cars to get them to run, taxis asking for fares off of the government-run meters, and entrepreneurs renting bicycles to tourists (without the government knowing about it) for a few tourist pesos.
Unfortunately, bad food (not fresh, bland, and in short supply) was common theme in Cuba and Vinales was no exception. We usually have good luck with Lonely Planet recommendations, but this time around we definitely struck out. First was a well-known fried chicken restaurant where I sunk my teeth into a still raw piece of chicken. I sent it back and it still came back clucking. Then that night we ate at our host's home and the main course was of course...chicken. After my little run-in with chicken earlier that day, I wasn't feeling the same affection for the poultry dish. I ate it anyway and it was actually quite good. The host went all out to provide us a full meal. There were multiple plates of fresh fruit and vegetables and the requisite rice and beans. This meal was one of the better meals, primarily for the large selection of food to eat. The odd part was that the family did not eat with us. They did get a lot of leftovers however because Amber was feeling a little ill from a stomach bug and I was left to eat a dinner fit for 5 people all by myself. The next day we ate pizza in town that was quite bad and we longed for Havana street food. I did search for a recommended restaurant outside of town, and the supposed large menu had been reduced dramatically to pork and mashed potatoes so we passed on it.
Amber's little stomach bug turned into a night of hell (primarily for Amber) because she had to run to the bathroom every half hour to worship the porcelain god. It wasn't much of a god however because like every other toilet in Cuba it was lacking a toilet seat! This is one time that we were very thankful to have our own bathroom in our room...
Our plans to hike the area changed as Amber needed a day of rest to recover from what we've dubbed The Worst Night Ever. So I was left to my own devices on exploring Vinales. I rented a decrepit bike that seemed to always want to go left and set off towards the hills. I figured I would ride until I got tired (which didn't take too long), but was so interested in what I would see around the next corner that I kept going and going. I rode by spectacular rock cliffs, some with deep caves carved in the side, and Cubans working the fields.
Views of the rock formations and the countryside: