Health & Safety Note: This adventure occurred long before the current COVID-19 pandemic. Please be aware of, and follow, all local safety and health guidelines if you choose to travel during this time. 

Current regulations for American citizens traveling to Cuba can be found here.

Day four started out with another early wake up. Partially thanks to the Rooster again, and partially because we wanted to take a day trip out to Viñales Valley, where the tobacco is grown and cigars are made. The weather later in the week was looking a bit cold and rainy, so we were trying to cram in all outside activities while it was still warm and sunny.

From our many prior trips to the Hotel Nacional, we already knew they had day tours that left from there each morning to various other areas of Cuba. We stopped off at a local bakery we had found near our apartment, and grabbed some pastries to munch on for breakfast. 

We arrived at the hotel well before the listed tour time on the sign and found the desk to purchase our tickets. Only one problem, the tour was already sold out for that day. Womp womp!

They let us know tomorrow’s tour still had availability however, so we each purchased tickets for tomorrow, and came up with a plan B for the day.

Yep, this means you have to wait for one more blog post to learn about all things Viñales Valley, and trust me you will want to come back for that one! 

Philip, who had chosen not to go with us as he was still working through his photography assignment, had planned to be in Old Havana (La Habana Vieja in Spanish) that morning, so we decided to go try and track him down. As we learned from our lengthy walk on day two, Old Havana was a bit of a hike on foot from the Hotel Nacional. Since it was still quite warm outside, we decided to take a taxi there instead of walking. No need to be sweating to death immediately after showering.