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1. My Cuba Trip March 2011: Part 4 ffice
ffice" />
Day 4: I was woken 0400'ish by the chorus of 50+ cockerels. The landlady claims to sleep right through them but I think you would have to be born here to manage that. Top Tip: If you stay anywhere in Vinales bring ear plugs & take alcohol/ hypnotics before bed!
I gave up & rose early. I had been advised by Nic Wing, that the Vinales Valley looked even more special shrouded in the early morning mist it. So I climbed up the stairs to the flat roof of the Casa & took several photos of the Mongotes (isolated rock formations) with skirts of mist swirling below. Then noticing my snaps were somewhat ruined by the telegraph wires from across the street, I went for a walk & soon found myself on farm land & took some great shots (will post pic's later).
I saw chickens, free ranging turkeys (a concept I have never seen in the UK), slightly better fed dogs than in Havana, horses & farmers getting jobs done before the heat of the day. Fav shot, the one of the tobacco drying barn, with the morning sun reflected off the dried palm leaves.
After breakfast I asked Marilyn if she could arrange a trip for us to the Hoyo d Monterey fields. I had seen the pics in my guide book & it looked worthwhile. Her husband Adel had recently brought a '46 Chevy & hired it out for the day, visiting various local sites for the tourists & guests. Somehow HdM got left behind & the maps were out & fervent discussions had in Spanish & the outcome being, Marilyn announced we were off to the Robaina Farm! I had mention my friend Nic Wing had been there but as it was 2hrs+ it sounded too far to drag the wife too, let alone a '46 Chevy but hey, this was my trip of a life time, let?s go for it. The first step was to liberate some oil from a wheel less truck outside the casa of its oil & top up the Chevy. Adel & his cousin drove it off to fill up with diesel & prove it was a viable machine.
Marilyn & Adel had never been so far West of Vinales (without personal transport such journeys are expensive & difficult in Cuba or very long hitch hiking affairs), so it was deemed only polite that the whole family joined us for the day?s excursion. Adel's cousin drove the Chevy as it's very difficult to get a license to drive a tourist car & his license hadn't been approved yet. So along with No1 daughter age 6, 6 of us left for Saint Luis, the area where the best tobacco in Cuba is grown.
Half an hour after leaving I doubted the sanity of such an expedition, the car was barely managing the hills & the hills were getting steeper. This car was part of their livelihood & needed to bring in an income to pay the loan they had taken on it. It coped with local runs but this was like the Paris to Dakar rally in comparison! Once we had clambered to the top of a hill, the engine was cut & we coasted down. The old fashioned non-server assisted brakes not worrying that the engine was off, managed to slow us just enough to take the bend at the bottom. Saving fuel on a long journey, a matter of course for them.
Once we made it to the area, we were stuck. The farm didn't appear on the map so we resorted to asking passersby. Luckily having local hosts this was easy & the second person we asked turned out to be a worker from the farm. As he had his bicycle with him (which we couldn't quite squeeze in the car), meant we had to follow him as he pedaled like crazy for a couple of km until we saw the sign on the roof of a barn. The guide was staying in a workers cabin on the driveway to the farm & we waved goodbye to him, shouting our thanks as we approached the suitably resplendent iron wrought gate. I eased myself out of the car; glad to have made it & still a little surprised we had arrived at the Mecca of Havanaphiles all over the world.
We had made no arrangements & there were no other visitors or tour buses about so I didn't even expect a tour but a chap called Louis came out to greet us & offered us a guided tour. I don't know how many he did on an average day but he treated us as if we were a VIP party. He took us into a drying barn & explained how the leaves are strung & hung on the bottom rack & moved up into the roof as they dry out. They are then placed in large bundles & allowed to go through the first fermentation process. Basically it's like compost & Louis said that great care is needed, as sufficient heat can be generated, to cause spontaneous combustion, resulting in the leaf being consumed by fire somewhat earlier than intended!
We then went through those hallowed gates, which bear the legend 'Alejandro Robaina 1845' & were taken around the side of the house to see a roller, who produced a Classico cigar for me. I noted (being a highly trained medical observer) he was missing half his left index finger, which must have hindered his rolling technique initially. He had obviously overcome this as it was a fine looking stick. It was wrapped in newspaper to allow it to dry out a little before it was smoked. A couple of days would be ok, longer better. I assured him I am known for my patience.
Louis then apologized that we couldn't look over the house as there was a film crew inside. I said this wasn't a problem, we had already seen more than I expected. I noted to him that they get many famous visitors there. He agreed & rattled off a few celebs. To which I light heartedly replied, 'you must get fed up of James Suckling turning up?''He's inside now, it's his film crew!' I had heard James had visited the Festival but I assumed he had left afterwards with the crowd.
We were then shown the house Castro had built for Don Alejandra, which was designed to be hurricane proof but like many older folk, he had refused to move from the house he had spent all his life in. It certianly looked a fine house & even had his initials on the wall. One of his sons now lives there.
In a perfect scenario I would like to have stayed seated on the big leather chair on the veranda & smoked a VR, drinking in the atmosphere around me. But in real life wife & the family had seen enough & it was time to take our leave. First I settled up with Louis, the tour was only 2CUC each & no extra charge for the cigar. I tipped him generously saying that the cigar alone would have cost more in London. I was just about to pass through the gates when I saw Marilyn still talking to Louis; I assumed she was taking mobile number in case she had the opportunity to bring other guest in future. Actually it turns out that they knew each other from their Uni days & hadn't seen or heard of each other since, a happy coincidence indeed.
Whether it was this connection or my tip, just as I was opening the car door, Louis called me over, the film had come out of the house & I went back to meet them. I saw James, half a cigar in hand & took the liberty of introducing myself. We shook hands, had a brief chat & I mentioned this website.
James had arranged & was paying for this film project himself so I didn't delay him, even though it would have been great to have talked further rover a smoke. He kindly wished me well for the rest of my holiday.
As we drove back down the drive to the main rod, our bicycle guide was patiently waiting for us with some cigars. He offered us some singles & of course he had a box or two in the house. Now I wasn't going to take a whole box, my allocation already planned but I'd have given him a tip any way so I said I'd take the two with VR labels for 4CUC & gave him 10 CUC. He not surprisingly said he hadn't got any change & I said 'No problemo'. What was surprising was that he them looked in his bag & pulled out another VR & gave it to me. I was touched by this gesture & it was representative of the generosity we were shown by local people throughout our stay. I believe these smokes were custom rolled cigars, one had a 'mask' over the foot, which I had seen on the Conde' Customs & that had the cigar band had been added later. I have smoked all three since; the first was slightly milder Famosos, the second was a Unicos & the last, a large robusto with mask, which was the best of the lot. All 88-90 pts. If I had known just how good there were I would have taken the rest in his sample bag, the boxes of course, may or may not have been of the same quality.
We had lunch on the junction to the main road, a local version of pizza & a freshly squeezed Sugar Cane drink. (We were invited to see it being produced out the back - in slightly less than sterile conditions)
En-route back home we stopped off in Pinar del Rio, visiting the La Corona Cigar Factory & shop. I picked up a couple of singles in the shop, whilst buying tickets for the factory tour. No cameras or bags allowed inside. As they wanted to charge our landlady, she said she'd wait outside with our bags. We were given the spiel & then left to wander around at our own pace. This is different from Partagas, where I believe the tours usually take 15mins as you are herded through fairly swiftly as the next tour is about to start so one advantage of the smaller factory. I spoke to a chap of around 30yo, I asked him how long he had been working there & what he made. He'd been there 10yrs making Fundadores, just Fundadores. I guess the chanced are he's rolled one that I have smoked myself! I saw the table filled with perfectly rolled Fundies & wondered so many more questions but his question was much more straight forward, 'Do you want to buy some cheap cigars?' Of course I was expecting this & was able to honestly answer, 'That's ok, I have just brought some from the shop' 'Their not cheap' he said, Oh they are for us' I replied & with a smile moved along the line.
They were all making R&J or Trini's, about a third of the rollers were male & all were reasonably young. They were expeced to roll 120-130 per day & the standards of QA were high. We saw the draw tester in action. Trays of cigars are brought from the rollers desk, with their number on. They all get draw tested & if they fail the cigar is broken up & returned to the roller to re-roll. We saw two rejected in the few minutes we stood there.
We then moved on to the Havana Rum factory. Now I don't want to bore you with details about rum, I am sure hardly any of you drink the stuff? They weren't actually making rum that day but a local spirit made from small green bitter fruits. It is not exported as the supply of fruits is limited so we picked up a bottle of truly local colour: La Occidental Guayabita del Pinar Funada1892 Seca 40%. Anyone ever tried it on their visits?
Last stop before we got back to Vinales was at the Loz Jasmines Hotel. I wanted to go there for the view & it was well worth it. Again I would really liked to have enjoyed a smoke by the pool but by now it's late, daughter is tired & family want to get back to prepare dinner ect. So I brought them all an ice-cream & whilst they all sat in the shade, I stood by the railing & down loaded the imagines into my hard drive, for later enjoyment. If you?re visiting this area, although the hotel accommodation has mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, the views are unquestionably second to none.
I'll post some pic?s tonight of this day, which was for me was the best of my stay.
ffice" />Day 4: I was woken 0400'ish by the chorus of 50+ cockerels. The landlady claims to sleep right through them but I think you would have to be born here to manage that. Top Tip: If you stay anywhere in Vinales bring ear plugs & take alcohol/ hypnotics before bed!
I gave up & rose early. I had been advised by Nic Wing, that the Vinales Valley looked even more special shrouded in the early morning mist it. So I climbed up the stairs to the flat roof of the Casa & took several photos of the Mongotes (isolated rock formations) with skirts of mist swirling below. Then noticing my snaps were somewhat ruined by the telegraph wires from across the street, I went for a walk & soon found myself on farm land & took some great shots (will post pic's later).
I saw chickens, free ranging turkeys (a concept I have never seen in the UK), slightly better fed dogs than in Havana, horses & farmers getting jobs done before the heat of the day. Fav shot, the one of the tobacco drying barn, with the morning sun reflected off the dried palm leaves.
After breakfast I asked Marilyn if she could arrange a trip for us to the Hoyo d Monterey fields. I had seen the pics in my guide book & it looked worthwhile. Her husband Adel had recently brought a '46 Chevy & hired it out for the day, visiting various local sites for the tourists & guests. Somehow HdM got left behind & the maps were out & fervent discussions had in Spanish & the outcome being, Marilyn announced we were off to the Robaina Farm! I had mention my friend Nic Wing had been there but as it was 2hrs+ it sounded too far to drag the wife too, let alone a '46 Chevy but hey, this was my trip of a life time, let?s go for it. The first step was to liberate some oil from a wheel less truck outside the casa of its oil & top up the Chevy. Adel & his cousin drove it off to fill up with diesel & prove it was a viable machine.
Marilyn & Adel had never been so far West of Vinales (without personal transport such journeys are expensive & difficult in Cuba or very long hitch hiking affairs), so it was deemed only polite that the whole family joined us for the day?s excursion. Adel's cousin drove the Chevy as it's very difficult to get a license to drive a tourist car & his license hadn't been approved yet. So along with No1 daughter age 6, 6 of us left for Saint Luis, the area where the best tobacco in Cuba is grown.
Half an hour after leaving I doubted the sanity of such an expedition, the car was barely managing the hills & the hills were getting steeper. This car was part of their livelihood & needed to bring in an income to pay the loan they had taken on it. It coped with local runs but this was like the Paris to Dakar rally in comparison! Once we had clambered to the top of a hill, the engine was cut & we coasted down. The old fashioned non-server assisted brakes not worrying that the engine was off, managed to slow us just enough to take the bend at the bottom. Saving fuel on a long journey, a matter of course for them.
Once we made it to the area, we were stuck. The farm didn't appear on the map so we resorted to asking passersby. Luckily having local hosts this was easy & the second person we asked turned out to be a worker from the farm. As he had his bicycle with him (which we couldn't quite squeeze in the car), meant we had to follow him as he pedaled like crazy for a couple of km until we saw the sign on the roof of a barn. The guide was staying in a workers cabin on the driveway to the farm & we waved goodbye to him, shouting our thanks as we approached the suitably resplendent iron wrought gate. I eased myself out of the car; glad to have made it & still a little surprised we had arrived at the Mecca of Havanaphiles all over the world.
We had made no arrangements & there were no other visitors or tour buses about so I didn't even expect a tour but a chap called Louis came out to greet us & offered us a guided tour. I don't know how many he did on an average day but he treated us as if we were a VIP party. He took us into a drying barn & explained how the leaves are strung & hung on the bottom rack & moved up into the roof as they dry out. They are then placed in large bundles & allowed to go through the first fermentation process. Basically it's like compost & Louis said that great care is needed, as sufficient heat can be generated, to cause spontaneous combustion, resulting in the leaf being consumed by fire somewhat earlier than intended!
We then went through those hallowed gates, which bear the legend 'Alejandro Robaina 1845' & were taken around the side of the house to see a roller, who produced a Classico cigar for me. I noted (being a highly trained medical observer) he was missing half his left index finger, which must have hindered his rolling technique initially. He had obviously overcome this as it was a fine looking stick. It was wrapped in newspaper to allow it to dry out a little before it was smoked. A couple of days would be ok, longer better. I assured him I am known for my patience.
Louis then apologized that we couldn't look over the house as there was a film crew inside. I said this wasn't a problem, we had already seen more than I expected. I noted to him that they get many famous visitors there. He agreed & rattled off a few celebs. To which I light heartedly replied, 'you must get fed up of James Suckling turning up?''He's inside now, it's his film crew!' I had heard James had visited the Festival but I assumed he had left afterwards with the crowd.
We were then shown the house Castro had built for Don Alejandra, which was designed to be hurricane proof but like many older folk, he had refused to move from the house he had spent all his life in. It certianly looked a fine house & even had his initials on the wall. One of his sons now lives there.
In a perfect scenario I would like to have stayed seated on the big leather chair on the veranda & smoked a VR, drinking in the atmosphere around me. But in real life wife & the family had seen enough & it was time to take our leave. First I settled up with Louis, the tour was only 2CUC each & no extra charge for the cigar. I tipped him generously saying that the cigar alone would have cost more in London. I was just about to pass through the gates when I saw Marilyn still talking to Louis; I assumed she was taking mobile number in case she had the opportunity to bring other guest in future. Actually it turns out that they knew each other from their Uni days & hadn't seen or heard of each other since, a happy coincidence indeed.
Whether it was this connection or my tip, just as I was opening the car door, Louis called me over, the film had come out of the house & I went back to meet them. I saw James, half a cigar in hand & took the liberty of introducing myself. We shook hands, had a brief chat & I mentioned this website.
James had arranged & was paying for this film project himself so I didn't delay him, even though it would have been great to have talked further rover a smoke. He kindly wished me well for the rest of my holiday.
As we drove back down the drive to the main rod, our bicycle guide was patiently waiting for us with some cigars. He offered us some singles & of course he had a box or two in the house. Now I wasn't going to take a whole box, my allocation already planned but I'd have given him a tip any way so I said I'd take the two with VR labels for 4CUC & gave him 10 CUC. He not surprisingly said he hadn't got any change & I said 'No problemo'. What was surprising was that he them looked in his bag & pulled out another VR & gave it to me. I was touched by this gesture & it was representative of the generosity we were shown by local people throughout our stay. I believe these smokes were custom rolled cigars, one had a 'mask' over the foot, which I had seen on the Conde' Customs & that had the cigar band had been added later. I have smoked all three since; the first was slightly milder Famosos, the second was a Unicos & the last, a large robusto with mask, which was the best of the lot. All 88-90 pts. If I had known just how good there were I would have taken the rest in his sample bag, the boxes of course, may or may not have been of the same quality.
We had lunch on the junction to the main road, a local version of pizza & a freshly squeezed Sugar Cane drink. (We were invited to see it being produced out the back - in slightly less than sterile conditions)
En-route back home we stopped off in Pinar del Rio, visiting the La Corona Cigar Factory & shop. I picked up a couple of singles in the shop, whilst buying tickets for the factory tour. No cameras or bags allowed inside. As they wanted to charge our landlady, she said she'd wait outside with our bags. We were given the spiel & then left to wander around at our own pace. This is different from Partagas, where I believe the tours usually take 15mins as you are herded through fairly swiftly as the next tour is about to start so one advantage of the smaller factory. I spoke to a chap of around 30yo, I asked him how long he had been working there & what he made. He'd been there 10yrs making Fundadores, just Fundadores. I guess the chanced are he's rolled one that I have smoked myself! I saw the table filled with perfectly rolled Fundies & wondered so many more questions but his question was much more straight forward, 'Do you want to buy some cheap cigars?' Of course I was expecting this & was able to honestly answer, 'That's ok, I have just brought some from the shop' 'Their not cheap' he said, Oh they are for us' I replied & with a smile moved along the line.
They were all making R&J or Trini's, about a third of the rollers were male & all were reasonably young. They were expeced to roll 120-130 per day & the standards of QA were high. We saw the draw tester in action. Trays of cigars are brought from the rollers desk, with their number on. They all get draw tested & if they fail the cigar is broken up & returned to the roller to re-roll. We saw two rejected in the few minutes we stood there.
We then moved on to the Havana Rum factory. Now I don't want to bore you with details about rum, I am sure hardly any of you drink the stuff? They weren't actually making rum that day but a local spirit made from small green bitter fruits. It is not exported as the supply of fruits is limited so we picked up a bottle of truly local colour: La Occidental Guayabita del Pinar Funada1892 Seca 40%. Anyone ever tried it on their visits?
Last stop before we got back to Vinales was at the Loz Jasmines Hotel. I wanted to go there for the view & it was well worth it. Again I would really liked to have enjoyed a smoke by the pool but by now it's late, daughter is tired & family want to get back to prepare dinner ect. So I brought them all an ice-cream & whilst they all sat in the shade, I stood by the railing & down loaded the imagines into my hard drive, for later enjoyment. If you?re visiting this area, although the hotel accommodation has mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, the views are unquestionably second to none.
I'll post some pic?s tonight of this day, which was for me was the best of my stay.
Been following your site for a few yrs, guess that's one reason I thought of writing more than a five line report. I find the story behind the smoke just as fascinating as the description of the smoke & goes some way to explain why we often fall for a particular smoke on hols or when tried on a big celibration; then when we try one later on an ordinary day at home, they rarely have the same impact.
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