oxen – Tony Lazzari Photography

Viñales Valley

Located in western Cuba, about 3 hours by taxi from Central Havana is the Viñales Valley. Lonely Planet probably described it best: “The Valle de Viñales is a stunning national park blessed by fertile rust-red soil, layered in chartreuse green expanses of tobacco plantations and studded by precipitous limestone buttresses of rock. It offers Cuba’s very best hiking, climbing, caving and vistas, based around the tranquil farming town of Viñales on the edge of the park. This is Cuba at its most alluring: no wonder it’s the country’s second most visited tourist destination after Havana.”

We arrived during carnival weekend (?) and our taxi couldn’t/wouldn’t try to make it to our accommodations. Fortunately it was less than a half mile after wending our way thru the rides and festival goers. Tip: A carnival is a carnival no matter where you are.

Our particular casa backed to a farm with gorgeous views of the mogotes (limestone cliffs) and thatched buildings.

Early Sunday morning on the steps of the church.

Fresh pineapples

Pineapple cart making the rounds

Young boy on the outskirts of town was happy to bring his horse in and stop for us to photograph.

Sledges drawn by oxen bringing in tobacco leaves to the drying sheds.

Jim scouting the next shot. The pineapples became part of breakfast.

Central square gathering.

Sunrise up in the mountains at a national park.

Dusk settling in on a misty valley

Farm worker taking a break.

Our guides on our horseback expedition ito the the tobacco farm.

Sitting are outside our room in Viñales.

Misty morning sunrise over the valley

Typical thatched building on a farm

Thatched barn behind our casa.

Sweet campsite up above the town. Not a bad wake up view.

The egg man delivers.

Industrial strength taxi. Looks like something out of Mad Max.

Sweet 1956 Chevy Taxi

Epy about his morning chores.

Epy.

Sometimes it is what is reflected in the window that is interesting.

Monument to the glory days of the Revolution

The answer to the eternal question.

Something a bit weird about a stand full of half naked dolls

Catholic Church in Viñales

Tree offerings seem to be quite common in Cuba. The Santeria religion folds that certain types of trees are sacred and followers seek favor from the ancient ancestors that are thought to occupy the trees.

My horse Mocha while I was in Viñales. He like to bite other horses.

Farm life in Viñales

Ananas Nanus- a minin pineapple that grows on a yucca like plant.

La Habana Vieja

La Habana Vieja is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana. (Source: Wikipedia).

I spent about 5 days in this area with Soul Road Trips this past March. What a trip! We also spent some time in the Viñales Valley, but that will be a separate post. Nine photographers led by 2 experienced Cuban travelers with knowledge of the city and its people helped make for an interesting trip. Thanks Jeff and Gary!

This will be a evolving post as more processed images are added and story lines are fleshed out. Enjoy!

Images are best viewed by clicking through to a larger version that will also contain a short description & EXIF data for the shot. These images are optimized for web viewing and are not suitable for printing or enlargement. If you have a desire to do that, please contact me.

Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.