Cuba – Pinar Del Rio, Varadero to Playa Giron
May 23 2016 - Studio Press
CUBA: Areas visited in the latter part of March 2016, included La Habana, Pinar Del Rio, Varadero to Playa Giron, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santa Spiritus, Santa Clara, and Jaimanitas a western suburb of La Habana. Visit —- for a more complete selection covering the entire visit.
From La Habana to Pinar Del Rio:
The Pinar Del Rio province is the western area of Cuba’s (west of La Habana)…
It was Sunday when I arrived in the area and there was a carnival in the city of Vinales…
Painting tattoos on the left. I was told that the rides were homemade contraptions. They looked scary to me…
A homestead with Parque de Vinales in the background…
This lady came out to greet me. She was very happy having just been released from the Hospital…
From inside a tobacco barn looking out at a fresh crop.
On leaving this area I came upon this horse by a tobacco barn and in need of a nicotine patch. Travelling about 90 miles east of past La Habana I visited the Varadero beach resort frequented by European tourists. The ocean has the beautiful tropical blue hues and the beach is OK (I am sure there are amazing beaches in more secluded parts). The only shortcoming common throughout this Island is the infrastructure. I skipped the sunbathing and started south towards Playa Giron.
This town I believe is Jovellanos, a kind of crossroads lying at the center of Cuba, between Varadero on the north coast and Playa Giron on the south coast. Of course, I took more photographs of horse and buggies (Stock-Art Cuba) that seemed to be the main mode of transportation.
The way he carries the crop over his head made me think of Medusa headdress. Can anyone tell me what vegetable this is…spinach?
A working class hero is bagging potatoes under an intense sun. Most everything in Cuba from this to loading luggage on to a plane is done by hand. 
Enough for today, it’s time for a little siesta under the shade of some palm trees.…
From here I passed through the Bay of Pigs area on the way to next stop, the city of Cienfuegos.
