Vianales

A few hours north of Havana is another of Cuba 's UNESCO sites. The drive there was interesting. There is a 6 lane highway in the middle of Cuba.  But the road surface is unpredictable with many large potholes. Add to that the people standing under bridges waiting for busses or looking for a lift as well as the odd farmer standing on the central reservation or hard shoulder selling cheese,  onions or cooked chicken ;and a horse or two running behind a man on a motorbike, driving here is never dull.

Vianales is a small town in a limestone area with stunning views and odd rock formations.  We decided to go for a horse ride tour around the area. Bright and early we set off. After riding through some thick sticky mud our first stop was a tobacco plantation.  Because this is a national park the farmers are not allowed to use mechanisation.  They plough with oxen. The tobacco plants grow quickly. They are planted in oct/November.  Harvested in march. The higher up the plant the better quality the tobacco.  The farmer showed us how to roll a cigar. It was simply lay the leaves on top of each other and roll. It was amazing how it stayed together. 

The next stop was a cave. The erosion of the limestone leaves these outcrops of rock and we got our feet wet scrambling through the cave.

Our last stop was a coffee farm. The harvest is happening now. High school students have to spend a month picking coffee beans. They get a grade which goes towards their final school mark depending on how hard they work.

We had a bit of excitement on the way back as hubby's horse stumbled and he fell off. Luckily into the mud so he wasn't hurt. He was covered in red mud. The senora at the Casa took away his muddy stuff and good knows how got his trousers clean. Hopefully he won't come down with something nasty.

After a relaxed lunch at a local hotel we went to the local botanical garden. It is a garden planted in the 1920s by a Chinese man and his local wife. It has plants from all over the world and is gorgeous. They can grow anything here. The highlight was a humming bird nest with two babies. 
Heading south again tomorrow.