Buenos Dias from Shalini, Salma, and Makena here in Viñales!
It is our second day here in the beautiful town of Viñales and we are loving it! We woke up this morning to the quintessential sound of roosters and enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by our host mother and father. Following breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed to Viñales Valley for a hike. Alongside the hike, we learned about different flora and fauna, including a pineapple farm, avocado trees, and a plant that closes up when you come in contact with it. We walked through a tobacco farm and were lucky enough to learn about the entire process, starting with a man demonstrating how he picked the tobacco leaves from the plants, and ending with a step by step demonstration from a father-son combo team on how to roll and pack a perfect cigar. We were so lucky they were so generous with showing us their farm and tobacco process! As we continued our hike, we saw limestone mountains that were formed under water that can only be found in two other places: China and Vietnam. We saw so many different types of animals during our time and towards the end even saw a pig and her suckling seven piglets; it was extremely cool to see.
After our hike, we headed to lunch, which was another amazing experience. Lunch was located in an organic Eco-farm where the food from lunch came straight from the garden. This was definitely one of the best meals of the trip! The biggest topic of life was Desmond's philosophy on life and how we were all figments of his subconscious--if that's the case, then we blame any grammar/spelling errors in this blog on him! After lunch, the owner explained to us how she runs the farm and mentioned how the women do all the management and the men do all the manual work. We aren't opposed to that system(!); what does Desmond think? Anyway: the food was some of the best we've eaten so far, and it was a gorgeous experience to walk around the rows of the farm and see all the different fruits, vegetables, and animals that were housed there. It was one of the most naturally colorful and bright places we have ever seen.
After lunch, we were met with a big surprise! Bridget and Gretel, two of our guides, announced to us on the bus that we were being taken zip lining!! Here: we would get to see Viñales from a new perspective, above! The views were absolutely amazing from the zip lines, as were the faces of our friends while riding them. While a few people got stuck while on the zip line (Simone and Cameron), we overall had a wonderful experience! We headed back to our casas after and enjoyed a couple hours of free time and relaxation, which we chose to use to play dominos, cards, and venture out on the Main Street. For dinner, we returned to our host families where we once again enjoyed authentic, classic Cuban food: white rice, black beans, and chicken! Once dinner finished, our nighttime escapades began. The entire group, including our chaperones, decided to head to a local hangout place filled with Cuban music and salsa dancing. We were left in awe by the fact that all the locals had the rhythm and moves to dance the salsa to every song, and although none of us had the guts to join in, maybe we'll be able to go back tomorrow! On our way home from the town square, we stopped by a final restaurant to indulge in amazing churros fried and dressed in front of our eyes-- of course a way to spend some of our final converted Cuban cash. We can't believe how quickly this trip has gone by and are looking forward to an amazing (yet sad) last full day tomorrow!
Signing off and sending lots of love back home,
Shalini, Salma, and Makena
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