Cuba: Viñales

We have heard and read a lot of great and beautiful things about the Viñales region, so it was a 'must-see' on our list. Originally, we wanted to rent a car and drive there from Havana, but just like with the scooter, it seems impossible to rent a car in Cuba when you're already there. Since our departure date was approaching, we decided to skip the long bus ride through Havana and once again chartered a taxi. We were surprised when the hired driver showed up with a rental car. Why did he get a rental car so quickly and we didn't? When we asked him about it, he immediately offered to let me drive if I wanted to, and he would happily rest on the backseat. Haha, nice try, buddy.
So we quickly and efficiently arrived in Pinar del Rio (where there is absolutely nothing to see) and then in Viñales. That was definitely the biggest disappointment of all time. What a tourist trap.
In Pinar del Rio, we actually wanted to visit a tobacco factory. We asked several people if it was really open, and they confirmed it. Until we got there. Then they said: closed due to a power outage. Indeed, during our time in Cuba, there were power outages about every other day, sometimes lasting for several hours. It wasn't that bad. But interestingly, every local we asked afterwards said that was extremely rare. Oh, okay.
On the way from Pinar to Viñales, we visited another tobacco plantation, the world-famous Alejandro Robaina plantation. It would have been interesting to learn about tobacco cultivation and cigar production, but the whole tour was rushed in just 10 minutes of monotonous blah blah, questions were responded to very reluctantly, and then we were dragged into a shady back room where we were supposed to buy cigars. There, I actually smoked my very first cigar, at least a lasting experience. What was interesting to learn was that 90% of all the tobacco grown has to be sold to the state.

In Viñales itself, there isn't much to see except for other tourists. The landscape that was praised as so amazingly beautiful and the few hills can in no way compare to the Swiss mountains. It is absolutely baffling to me why Swiss people come here to hike. There are also a few small caves, some of which I have seen more impressive ones. And everything is wonderfully tourist-oriented, including bars and shows. Then there is a mural, 120 meters high and 180 meters wide, created by a Mexican artist on a limestone cliff in 1961. It's nice to see if you happen to be there already, but not necessarily worth the trip.
You can visit all the 'attractions' with a hop-on-hop-off bus, which is packed with tourists.

That was Viñales. If you skip it, you haven't missed anything.

After an evening in an open-air restaurant with live music and the opportunity to dance salsa, we drove back to Havana the next day. There, we picked up our left-behind luggage with winter clothes, spent one night, and then headed to the airport the following day. Next stop: Colombia.