Off To A Slow Start
We were out of bed and ready for the huge breakfast that Cary made for us at 9:00 - crepes with honey, jam and shredded coconut, omelete/tortilla with cheese, cucumber, tomato and onion, fresh fruit, fresh pineapple juice, bread, and tea. So much for eating light!
We asked Cary to make us some sandwiches for lunch so we went for a short walk while she prepared our picnic lunch. We each bought a hat for 5 cuc and 8 cuc.
We settled up and packed up the car and when Bill tried to start it, nothing happened. The battery is dead. So, we went back into the house and Roland called the rental company for us and they are sending a guy and it will take him an hour
.
So, we took another stroll around the town and stopped at the spot to buy Internet. I used the Internet to see if there was any big news at home and post a boomerang on Instagram of our cigar tour yesterday.
When we got back to the B&B a mechanic who had arrived on a quad was busy at work under the hood. The mechanic hopped in the car, started it and turned it off a few times, handed the tools back to Roland and bid us Audios.
With our newly repaired car, we finally hit the road at 11:00. It was easy to retrace our steps back to the highway and listened to a couple of podcasts to pass the time. We were able to refuel on the outskirts of Havana and navigate onto A2, then A1 without any issue.
Vinales had backpacker vibe to the whole town
. It really would have just been any other town, except for the National Park, so now is a major spot for tourism. Almost every single home is a Casa Particular in this town along with their own Casa restaurants. There were lots of bars, cafes, restraurants, and shops specifically for tourists. Overall though, it was very relaxed and had a small town friendly feel.
We stopped at one rest stop, but they only had knock off Coke, so we did not bother buying a beverage. I could have bought a beer for us though!
We stopped at the last rest stop near Aguada de Pasajeros before we turned off the highway and headed toward Cienfuegos. They were out of ice cream so we had to settle for Cristal and Bucanero. Don't worry my friends, Bill did not drink and drive, he chugged it before we got back into the car.
We arrived in Cienfuegos around 5:00 and it took us a while to find our accomodations
. We even asked at one Casa Particular and they could not figure it out either. The address was Calle 39 which is the street name (39th Ave). We used the map that Bill has printed before we left and back tracked a few blocks and found the place, Bella Perla Marina. We have a pretty sweet suite even though it took some time to get the a/c working. It is very spacious and very clean. We also have access to a rooftop restaurant and our host Carlos introduced us to Chef Victor. We climbed another set of stairs to the garden with a swing and picnic table, then another flight of stairs to the highest balcony.
Bill went with Carlos to see the neighbour guy who will watch the car overnight. The following story is brought to you by Bill himself. Maybe take a bathroom break or refresh your drink first... 2 CUC not 3. It was as orchastarated as the soup nazi Seinfeld eposode. Dude's hand comes through the gate to receive the money
. I stepped quickly to the left as he opened the door to precisely showed where to park the car, on an empty street, forward, forward, STOP! He then circled the car ensuring all doors were locked, proceeded to fold in the side mirrors then with a thumbs up dispatched me knowing the car was safe for the evening.
We walked to the old city square, Parc Jose Marti that has a small Arco de Triunfo at one end. The buildings surrounding the square are beautiful and very colourful. The Catedral de la Puasima Concepcion is necoclassical architecture.
We found my cafe, Terry's Cafe, and a music and dance exhibition that we watched for a bit. Across the park there was a fantastic art studio that had some really great artist featured.
We headed back to our place via the pedestrian walkway
. The street was filled with shops, restaurants and bars.
Back at the hotel, we were served a mojito and pina colada on the rooftop patio while we blogged and sorted photos. After our cocktails we moving down to the dining level where Victor had prepared our meal. We had a great vegetable soup to start, more veggies, rice, squash that accompanied our fish and beef dishes. It was very good.
For after dinner drinks and music we went to Cafe Cantante Benny More and a sangria and mojito. The music was great. I got a kick out of the singer's outfit which was all green and all different shade from head to toe!
We moved on to the rooftop bar at Hotel la Union. This was a larger band and also very good. I got a kick out of the lead singer here too because he was all layered up like it was 0 degrees out! Bill had a mojito and a really bad cigar and I enjoyed a pina colada. Bill was pretty happy that the Cuba vs China ball game was on TV at the hotel bar.
Back in the room, we re-enacted the painting above our bed in the shabby hotel robes, watched another inning of the game, then went to sleep with just one sheet - brrrr!