One morning I came back from Havana to my town of Viñales. During the change of taxis by the roadside of the highway in Havana, I got to know three tourists. We talked and got to know each other a bit, and once inside the taxi they asked me about things to do in Viñales. As I am born in Viñales and know every corner of this town, for me it was easy to give them whichever information they were looking for. I explained to them that the best wat to discover the valley is by horse. The countryside of Viñales can be pretty muddy at times, as it can rain quite a lot – the area is not that green for nothing! So sometimes it can be hard to walk on the paths, where red mud sticks to your shoes. On a horse you can enjoy the scenery a lot better, as they can manage well on the paths and you also have a higher viewpoint. I told them I have a cousin who owns horses and who can take them. Yoanki is an official tourist guide and his horses are in perfect and healthy condition.
Well, this is exactly how it went. The other day they met up with Yoanki at 8am in the morning, and I joined them for the ride.The excursion was really interesting and fun. We took many photos, saw the tobacco plantations and ‘secaderos’ (drying sheds), we tried sugar cane and lit a hand rolled cigar. Of course we also enjoyed a cocktail, while admiring the views over the mountains and animals in the countryside. At the end of the trip, we went to a cave with some natural swimming pools inside – be warned, because the water is very cold! But as Cuba has a very warm climate, it is nice to cool off a bit. We spent about an hour swimming, which was a lot of fun. It is always a pleasure to get to know new people and show them around the beautiful Valle del Palmerito in Viñales.
