Day 18 : Cuba Libre (Vinales)

Staying in Cuba, I had experienced the true meaning of “Cuba Libre”, as we met with some unexpected delays, mostly with our car rental. 

Rodolfo picked Jose and I from our casa in Havana city at 11.30am and headed over to the car rental company to pick up another rental car, before picking up the rest of the group in Miramar.

When we arrived at the car rental at about noon, the staff told us that there was no car available for us at that moment, even though we had a reservation.  Reason being the company had ordered a lot of cheap China cars and many had broken down, so there aren’t any cars in working condition that are available.  They are not sure when a car will be delivered to them… maybe 1 or 2 hrs or more. 

Rodolfo later explained to me that a lot of Cuban people work for the government and are not paid very well, thus they don’t take much responsibility and to make sure that services are delivered to customers reliably and punctually.

I didn’t understand what Rodolfo said to the staff, but I know he wasn’t happy.  So the plan was for Rodolfo to pick up the rest of the group, while Jose and I wait at the car rental for a car. 

1.5hr later, and still with no car in sight, and needing to use the bathroom badly, I was directed to a nearby restaurant to borrow the toilet.  The moment I came back, there was a white car at the entrance of the car rental… Yippee!

Jose did the paper work and we had to wait for the rest to come as Frank was to be the designated 2nd driver and we needed his passport.  Not knowing how much longer Rodolfo and the rest will take to come, Jose and I decided to go to a nearby bar for a drink. 

The female staff at the counter were hilarious, as they wanted to match me with a couple guys at the shop.  So after some laughs and being made to take a couple of photos at the bar before I could leave, we headed back to the car rental.

Just in time, Rodolfo arrived with the rest.  Alas, the car rental door was locked…. and we barely went away for 15mins!  The staff at the car rental had decided to just disappear leaving us stranded without keys to the car. 

Luckily about 30mins later, the staff at the car rental finally returned.  From an originally planned 9am departure time for Vinales, we finally only made our way at about 2.30pm. 

The drive to Vinales took approximately 2hrs, as we drove past scenic views of the countryside, and made a short pit stop along the way for a late lunch with my 1st Pina Colada (very yummy!) in Cuba, and some photo taking opportunities. 

We finally arrived to a pink house, which was to be our accommodation for 1 night, and had a good laugh as we walked to inspect each of the rooms – each room was extremely colour themed, with one surprising us the most in full pink!

I was given the largest room, which was also the mildest themed room, as the rest wanted one of the other more highly themed ones

 

While resting and chatting at the courtyard, we saw a number of residents moving around on horses, definitely the countryside! 

Off to dinner and some drinks.  Excited to experience more of what Vinales has to offer first thing tomorrow morning!