Hola amigos!
This time we’d love to show you the charming and colourful city of Vinales in Cuba.
To those of you who have been reading my previous posts, you’ll know that I briefly mentioned the Casa Particular system in Cuba which is a homestay programme where you stay with a family rather than a hotel. They provide you with accommodation, a separate bathroom and breakfast each day.
This system can sometimes be pot luck. This was our first Casa Particular experience in Cuba and our family was so sweet. We had three Casas in total while in Cuba and out of the three, 2 of our families were warm, open and interested in getting to know us. The family which we didn’t connect with so well was in Trinidad, not because they were rude or anything… just distant. In the end, we gave bigger tips to the other two families.
The lady in the picture below was so sweet. I asked her if she had a bike and she went to her back porch and yelled at her neighbour to give me his bike. So he did! You feel a real sense of community in Cuba, especially in Vinales. Everyone shares everything and that’s something rather void in our world. We also noticed that their house was used as a kind of thoroughfare between two streets. At one given time, we had dogs, chickens and locals just walking through the patio area to get to the next street. All part of the experience!
Enjoy this series of photos – I’m so impressed with how colourfully they turned out. I hope you enjoy looking at them 🙂
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Ciao for now!
Our amazing Casa Particular family. We had three great days with these guys. We didn’t always understand each other but we got by with smiles and body language.
Vinales is a colourful town, full of one storey homes with front porches.
Colour alert!
A bit cheesy indeed but that’s part of Vinales’ charm.
A little cottage in the Vinales Valley.
When you walk around Vinales, you realise that the majority of the homes cater to Casa Particular customers.
These were also more Casas Particulares.
And more….
I had the feeling that 70-80% of the homes in town offer accommodation to tourists.
Vinales is very safe and has a small town feel.
If you want to stay at a Casa in Vinales, you’ll have many colourful options to choose from.
Red dirt, blue skies and colourful homes.
I asked my Casa Particular host mum if she had a bike I could borrow. She went to her back porch, yelled over to her neighbour and told him to give me his bike. He did! Cubans are generous and trusting like that.
Some of the snaps I took on my little ‘bike’ tour.
Villa Paraiso
Bring comfortable shoes which are okay getting dirty because Vinales is mainly made up of dirt roads.
The Vinales ‘football stadium’.
In love with the colour!
Home sweet home – this was our house for 3 nights. (The mint green house on the right.)
Wysteria Lane, Cuban version.
Amazing colours.
The streets are safe here, no worries kids.
Every house has a front porch with rocking chairs.
Bike riding.
You don’t see as many classic cars in Vinales compared to Havana.
A new Casa Particular in production.
More accommodation options….
And more….
Vinales is simply full of families waiting to offer you a room!
Smart way to dry your washing 😉
Pina Colada time!
4 Comments
Megan (@MeganCStarr)
May 20, 2016 at 5:51 pmi love colorful places <3
kaptainkennytravel
May 21, 2016 at 9:19 amMe too! That’s why I’m going with your recommendation of visiting Cartagena in August 🙂
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