On arrival at Villa Mojito we were given a warm welcome by Juanito as he prepared a fresh mojito for us served with mint grown in his garden. It was welcome refreshment after our long drive from Havana. Villa Mojito is slightly off the main road in Viñales town, but still only a ten minute walk from where the private transfers arrive.
In this part of Cuba any activities or travelling are best done early in the morning as it gets incredibly hot during the day! The absolute highlight of our trip was turning right out of Villa Mojito and following the path into the valley towards a natural pool. If you go early the sun is less punishing and the mists rising off the valley floor make it spectacular! One of the great benefits of our host at Villa Mojito was that he showed us a map of the area and gave advice on the excursions we could take.
Juanito’s lovely wife Dita works extremely hard to keep the whole show together and kindly made us take-away breakfasts when we went on our early morning walk. There’s a cute communal area at the back of the property where daily games of dominoes are played and Juanito was kind enough to teach us. He has an almost uncanny knack of knowing exactly which domino you have in your hand which is both impressive and unsettling. Juanito was happy to talk to us about Cuba and about everyone’s sadness at Castro’s passing away (we were there during the period of national mourning following Castro’s death). On our stay we definitely got a sense of the passing of time in Cuba and how strange it must be for the older generation.
The room also has a mini fridge which was very useful, and a hose outside so we could wash off our shoes which had been caked in the red earth of the area. There are even hammocks and a mini pool in the back of the house but we didn’t get a chance to test these out! All in all our stay at Villa Mojito had us wishing that we had more days in Viñales.
Villa Mojito is at C/ Adela Azcuy Norte N0 43, Vinales 2431.
Casa Particular Features
- Welcome drink
- AC
- Bar
- Ensuite
- Budget accommodation
- Dominoes!
- Mini swimming pool
- Mini fridge