Vinales, Cuba

Day 6, Vinales. The day we decide to leave Havana, while looking for a taxi...There is a marathon downtown Havana! The streets are blocked off, cops on every corner...haha! We had trouble finding a regular cab and so took a Buick/Chevy blue to Viazul who was not friendly. We negotiate $10CUC, drove through a different part of town because the Malecon was blocked off. We arrived in ok time, but he claimed the $10CUC was for 1 person! We got had. Oh well, we paid, got out and waited and waited. Our bus was late because of the marathon but it was great to see the runners and the men in their wheelchairs going along the road...so hot, still at 8am! I can't believe they run in this heat!

Havana-Vinales, 3 hrs. Pretty uneventful although Markus almost missed the bus when he got out the use the washroom! We met a nice german couple who enjoyed the bus depot as much as we did. The bus was late because of the marathon..ha. One hour late, the bus finally arrived. And we were off...the road out of Havana was very interesting and the last part of the road into Vinales was very winding...I put my head down to avoid the motion sickness. It was great to get off the bus...they say that there's no jungle in Cuba, but this part of the island is very lush. Vinales has one of everything. One main street, one bank, many bars/restaurants, but mostly it is a small town. We sit in a small bar for a drink and watch the tourists look and with our bags we decide what to do and where to go...We don't have a plan but we travel with an open heart and no fear. The town is very different than Havana. There are some hustlers for taxis but we decide to walk and find a casa just off the main street. As we start our walk, we see many casas and choose one with 2 stories and a balcony. Unfortunately, they have no casa available. As we walk away, a woman with very tanned skin and very blue eyes comes to us. She tells us she has a friend with a beautiful casa that has a room available. We walk a couple blocks to where the pavement ends and it is a very quiet street. Marta and Chino's home is beautiful, safe and full of love and life. Spite and malice in Vinales, Cuba...the winner is; Markus. 

And elsewhere on planet earth: (in a posh British accent) "Look at that bird on that cow's back!" Three hermanos, Josmany(spelling?) and my horse "Morrow", Ariel Martenez, 2 Canadians, Irene and Caisey, Alberto and Ariel, Phillipe and Christina

They have a dog, Toby who sleeps in the shade and keeps the lookout at night outside our door. I try to write, but it is difficult. There is a local who speaks to us. Markus always wanting to teach. Talks about the injustice. It is always around us. It is always at our tail. It follows us and even through the beautiful salsa music, there are looks and ironies that run deep. They see us as we are; rich, privileged, and easy to take. We are like children who see the ball, want the ball but cannot play with the ball. The circles continue even here.