Vinales (Cuba) 18/12-06

I left Havanna the 17'th and to be honest, did not exactly know where I was going. I went on a guided tour to Vinales and here I am. The city is everything you look for when experiencing Cuba, except too many tourists.

The guided tour was great. Met two Norwegian girls (Hanne and Susanne, hello!) on the tour. On the tour we was visiting a tobaco factory. Can not say that the working conditions there is satisfying the Norwegina HES regulations. It was not allowed to take any photoes there, so I have none from the factory, but I have loads of photoes from Cuba now. Unfortunantly, it is not possible to upload pictures on the computers here, but I will upload them as soon as I have a posebillity.

Vinales if famous for the landscape. It is a flat valley with some mountain peaks sticking up. It is really beautiful and the people here are friendly and helpful.

Yesterday I went for a walk in the souroundings from where I live. It is loads of caves here, and they often lead from one part of the valley through a mountain to another part of the valley. I went through one of those yesterday. It was not a long cave, maybe 50m, but with no light it is exciting enough.

In the small mountains it is a lot of nice crags (bolted climbing routes), and a part of the tourists here are climbers. I went to one of the crags yesterday and it looked very nice.

The last couple of days it have been a carneval here. Loud musik and people dancing. I have to mention that some of the girls here are really stunning. It is nice to see that here it is not common to see a old white fart with a dark twenty yeary beauty, as is not uncommon in Havanna.

Today I also have been walking here. Have been looking at the farmland surounding Vinales. On the way back again I passed through the same cave as yesterday without even planning it. The farmers are supposed to be poor people, but they do not seem to be in lack of anything. Naturally when comparing with our standard of living, they do not have anything, but I think it is not fair to always compare other people with us.

Their livestock, however, seems to need more food. At the fields and for some transports they often use oxes. Horses are more for transportation of people at the roads. In the beginning it wa very strange to see chickens and pigs outside the houses, but after a while you get used to it, and it is very natural. Doges are also all over the streets, and most of them seems to be without an owner and looks that way too.

I am staying at a Casa Particular very close to the center of the town. The family is very nice and I really enjoy staying there. Yesterday I had dinner at their place too. It was really good and one of the people living there speak English.

I really regret that I did not learn more Spanish before leaving here. I can speak a little, as asking for direction, order food and other basic things. But that is not enough for comunicating with the locals, and that would bring a total other dimention into the trip. When I am in Vinales I am studying Spanish every morning and afternoon, but I can see that it is a long way to go before I kind of can use my Spanish for more than the basic things.

As a curiosity I thought that I shoud mention that one hour using the internet here, and it takes almost 15 minutes to log in, cost 6 Pesos Convertible. That is approximatly half a month vages for people here.