#13-Vinales and the tobacco growers

This day we are going to visit caves and tobacco farmers. Looking forward to it. So I'll just jump on this cart and away we will go.

Our first stop was at this beautiful vantage spot which overlooks limestone formations and forests.

Vinales is a tiny agricultural town founded in 1875. Here the landscape covers 150  sq km and supports 25,000 farmers growing oranges, avocados, bananas, sugarcane, coffee, and of course tobacco.

Next we visited this Mural De La Prehistoria started on September 11, 1960 and finished in 1964 with 18 workers working on it.

This wall symbolizing the theory of evolution is 80 meters high and 120 meters wide was done because Dr Sanchez told Castro that he had found fossils here. I took a picture of the sign and have put it below for you to read.

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Now on to the tobacco fields. This place grows for the very best cigars in Cuba. 

Tobacco plants at its various stages of planting.

drying the freshly cut leaves.

Then they put them in the barn to dry longer.

Tobacco starts with very tiny seeds you see below. They grow 1 meter in 3 months. The seedlings get replanted in a different area to give it more growing power as this is when they fertilize. After they pick the leaves to dry which takes 3 months. The tobacco is then fermented.  They use products such as Rum, honey, guava, and other to this. This fermentation takes 3 years, The special leaves are given to the government and it takes 5 years more to ferment it in their secret process.

In these two pictures the tobacco is being cut and rolled for 25 minutes. He cuts out the vein because it holds too much nicotine. You can smoke this one after it has set for 10 days.

These cigars have been setting up for 4 years.  It was fun to buy some and bring them home.  Which is legal!!

On to the next venture.  Here we see sugarcane being pressed out for the drinks.

La Cueva del Indio.

 This cave was an ancient indigenous dwelling and has been rediscovered in 1920

We traveled through the lit cave and then got onto a boat to travel the rest of the way through.

Lunch was at another tobacco family owned farm. We had the company of chickens and pigs and piglets running around.

Here you can see different picking and drying.

This was picked 5-7 days ago.

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This side was picked yesterday

As David will tell you, "there is nothing better than a good cigar!"
Ciao:)