Page 184 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2020 South Africa

methods, and we were curious to visit a working
farm. “One reason we follow ancestral farming
practices,” explained Carlos on the way to Vista
Hermosa Eco Farm, “is that the country cannot af-
ford to import expensive fertilizers or modern ma-
chinery. This has forced farmers to revert to
ploughing fields with oxen due to the lack of fuel,
and to shun the use of chemicals.” Farm to table, or
“de la Granja a la Mesa”, is the norm in Cuba. This
catapulted Vista Hermosa to the forefront of the
Slow Food movement. The young farm manager
had travelled to Italy, birthplace of the movement,
on several occasions.
Vista Hermosa, a 165-acre finca ganadera, cat-
tle “farm, operates as a semi-private co-op, and
must sell 80% of its products to the government.
Most of their microgreens and specialty herbs
supply the hotel trade. Lucky for us, we sampled
their products at their charming “outlet”, the
Mediterraneo Havana restaurant. Blue and white,
so typical of Mediterranean countries, predomi-
nated in the sun-splashed villa nestled in one Ha-
vana’s better neighborhoods. For the next two
hours, young waiters plied us with Vista Her-
mosa’s baby vegetables, farm-raised chicken,
home-made cheeses, farm fresh ricotta, and even,
their own Italian style salumi.
That evening our curiosity compelled us to at-
tend a dinner show at the fabled El Guajarito,
home of the legendary Buena Vista Social Club.
The packed cabaret was filled with groups from
around the world. Dinner, served by young women as did the aptly-named Casa Bella Vista, where a
in skimpy attire, began with a cup of broth and an diorama of domed-shaped mogotes faced the inn’s
unusual bruschetta of stewed squid. The evening’s terrace.
high point came in the form of the show’s exuber-
The skies opened up as we set off to digest our
ant star, 82-year old Tete,the liveliest person in
heaping plates of meltingly tender lamb and Mo-
the room, who, in no time, had the place stomping ros y Cristianos. Rainer, our guide and botanical
its feet and clapping to classic Cuban jazz tunes.
expert, led us to shelter in an abandoned shack,
Our destination the next morning was Vinales in while delivering a rundown on the valley’s en-
the western province of Pinar del Río. Carlos had demic plants. These include 165 varieties of
advised us to dress in layers and take rain gear. On mamey, and dozens of rare papayas.
approach, a rainbow arced over the lush country-
We had expressed the desire to visit one of
side, and the steep, dome-shaped limestone cliffs
Viñales’ famed tobacco farms to roll our own cigar.
emerged from the mist like those of Vietnam’s Ha- Since neither car nor oxcart could navigate the
long Bay. These mountains, called mogotes, attract
flooded paths, we set out on foot under a deluge,
rock climbers from around the world and most lo-
our shoes sloshing with water, our clothes wring-
cal casas particulares cater to long term visitors,
ing wet under our flimsy rain gear. We reached a

184 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020