Regardless - we were off. He had brought horses to the casa so it was just a matter of hopping on and going down the trail. We started heading down the path we had walked on foot yesterday. Immediately I noticed my horse had a slight complex about being in front. If Skye's horse would over take her, she'd bite Skye's horse and try to beat it. Some horse turmoil - I'm sure. Our horses were also not the largest there were. I actually felt bad for mine as my feet almost touched the ground. It was kind of riding a large dog.. Nonetheless, we continued out the path through meandering farms and beautiful landscapes.
Our first stop were some caves. These caves were dark with amazing vines growing around them. Another couple was there as well with their tour guide. We got off our horses and tied them to a tree. We walked around and saw what there was to see, but our tour guide was busy chatting it up with the other guide. Maybe he's used to people staying for a while looking around - but Skye and I had seen it, and wanted to move on. We stood beside him while he spoke in Spanish to the other guide for roughly 10 minutes before he finally got the hint (or maybe he did get it earlier - but didn't care). Either way, we made our way back to the horses.
Our next stop off was a lake. It was such a nice day out we asked if we could go swim anywhere. He took us to a lake where many of the locals come and drink at night - I think this is actually where he was the night before. We tied the horses up to a fence again and walked towards this lake. The ground leading up to the lake was slightly muddy - but the water looked inviting. Our tour guide disappeared into the forest as we went for a swim. We swam around for a couple minutes and enjoyed the nice cool water.
As there wasn't really anywhere to sit on the beach, and we didn't want to continue to simply tread water, we went back to our horses. We looked around - but no sign of our tour guide. We circled around some common paths but couldn't find any sight of him. We sat around the horses and waiting another 20 minutes or so. Finally he comes out of the woods, smiles, and signals too us that he went to take a nap as he was hungover. We continued on.... Our next stop was an amazing organic garden center. This place was on top of a hill and had a great view of the valley. It was growing all sorts of vegetables and had a shop at the top. This place was sort of a tourist trap - but it was so breathtaking we didn't mind. While I walked around taking photos, Skye was able to find herself some kittens to play with.
We ordered some overpriced fruit juice and sat on the wooden chairs benches they had overlooking the valley. This was by far the nicest view we've seen in Cuba. We finished our tour by dropping the horses off at his house. His place was slightly out of town - but we figured we could walk back to our casa. He home had the stables, and also many cages for gallos (roosters). These huge gallos would be puffing their chests and making loud sounds at each other. They keep these large gallos for peleas de gallos c(ock-fighting), as it's popular in rural Cuba. We walked back to our casa passing beside a school and a strange outdoor gym. There were metal machines that one could do different exercise routines on. It was in a concrete yard fenced in and completely empty.
We stopped by our casa to drop some stuff off and get some water, and we decided we'd go check out the "resort" in town. Now some beach towns in Cuba have some decent resorts - but out here, there wasn't many resort tourists. Rancho San Vicente was it's name, and we were intrigued to go visit as it had a pool. It was still warm, and we thought we'd go for a swim and get a couple drinks. The place is sitting on a hill overlooking the town. Walking up the hill, we saw an amazing sight that really stuck with us. A man and his daughter were running around their house trying to chase a pig. This pig knew something was up and was making a break for it. Finally the man caught the pig by the leg and dragged it back to the house. The pig was screaming and trying to get away - but the man had a firm grasp on it's leg. The little girl was happy it was caught and skipped back to the house. Back home, our process of butchering animals is kept behind closed doors. We go to our grocery stores or restaurant and get this product - but it's not an animal to us. Here in Cuba- it's all out in the open. This pig - was about to become cerdo (pork), and I'm sure they were happy to have it.
We continued up the hill and went into the lobby of this place. We have to purchase a day pass to use to the pool. We purchase one and go in the gate... we immediately regret our decision. This 'resort' is essentially a motel beside a pool with some sun chairs. The pool looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time, so we decided to not go for a swim (even though others were going in). We sat getting some sun and had a couple drinks before deciding to head back to town.
On our way down the hill an old man was walking up and gave Skye a flower. We thought it was sweet, then we realized he was trying to sell us some cigars. I had a couple pesos on me, so I gave it to him as he seemed a little less well off than those in the town. He gave me a cigar and I tried to light it with some of the matches they get in their ration kit. It took about 5 or 6 matches stuck together to get any type of flame going. We walked down the hill and back to our casa. This is our last night in Viñales, so we sat on the rocking chairs in front of the casa and enjoyed the quiet serenity of the area.
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