Cigar Surgeon Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Tobacco Farms Are Best Farm We had a pretty early start as we were hopping on a bus to head to Pinar del Rio. Assuming no surprises on the highway we had approximately a 4 hour drive ahead of us. We all settled in as comfortably as possible and lit up some cigars to relax. The long drive gave me an excellent opportunity to talk to Punch Joe. I asked him hundreds of questions about Cuba, the history, tobacco farming and many other things. In turn he asked me questions about Canada and my experiences on my trip to Nicaragua. It was a fantastic chance for me to get an education and I can’t say enough positive things about Punch Joe. After a quick stop in Pinar del Rio for some beverages, and to look through stock in another cigar store, we were back on the road. The road up to the farm reminded me of any rural road I have ever been on in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Deep ruts from farming equipment and fences running along each side. Our first stop, the Vegas Robaina farm. The man himself, Don Alejandro Robaina. He passed away in 2010, and smoked multiple cigars every day of his 91 years of life. Hiroshi his grandson. Hiroshi now run the plantation. This is a shrine to the Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, Our Lady of the Snow. It’s an image of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus Christ as a baby with tobacco plants on either side. The Patroness for tobacco growers. A memorial to Don Alejandro. This is where the magic happens. Rows of delicious Cuban tobacco plant waiting to mature. These plants were matured in a green house prior to being planted in the field. The sheets running along the outside of the field serve to protect the plants from wind and erosion. Find more videos like this on Cigar Federation A roller with a lifetime of experience demonstrates by rolling a fresh cigar. After harvesting tobacco leaves are paired and then hung in a curing barn to dry. Bundles of tobacco. Smoking a fresh farm rolled cigar. After having some beverages and smoking more cigars we hopped back on the bus to head to the Hector Luis Prieto farm. The ride to the second farm was much shorter as we were already in Pinar del Rio. I was already pretty ravenous before I saw this. I was out of my mind with hunger after walking down to the fire pit to check it out. They managed to make it across the little bridge safely. I had some pretty tasty rice and beans in Nicaragua but I have to say that the Cuban rice and beans are pretty fantastic. There are few things in the world more delicious than crispy pork skin. We hopped back on the bus and made tracks back to Havana. There was nothing else planned for the evening, so we spent most of it sitting around drinking Mojitos, espressos and smoking cigars. Partagas Dinner. Farewell My New Friends Another beautiful morning in Cuba. Even after a week, I never got tired of this sight. As this was the last day, it was time to share a Partagas Culebras with some friends. I had never had the opportunity to smoke one before, and it turned out the two of them hadn’t either. Burn was fantastic and the flavors were amazing. If I get a chance to buy a coffin of these, I absolutely will. Most of the day was spent lounging around or heading over to LCDHs to see if we could find any last minute box gems. As it was the last day I think every was pretty low energy and content just to relax. No, I don’t think I will. On display they had a ton of amazing items that were up for auction. Beautiful paintings. Humidors and jars that were nothing short of arts of work. A bust of Don Alejandro. I was seconds away from putting my hand up to place an opening bid. I think the opening bid was around $800. How amazing would it be to have this in your smoking room? A selection of aged rums, in a custom one of a kind humidor and display case. Each of the attendees received some Limited Edition cigars as well as a nice pair of cigar cutters and a lighter. After the dinner we made tracks back to the hotel. I had to catch my shuttle at 2:00am in order to make it in time to the airport in Veradero. I decided since it was so late that an hour or two of sleep wouldn’t do me any good, so I went upstairs to have a shower and finish my packing. I sat around with the guys saying my goodbyes before the shuttle came. I ended up sleeping for most of the ride back to the airport. I had no issues going through airport security with my humidor and cigars. I had all my receipts and facturas prepared just in case, but in the end it turned out not to be necessary. The flight itself was uneventful, but unfortunately I ran into some serious issues passing through Canadian customs. I spent a good deal of time in the customs control area or ‘the back room’ as we like to call it. After a protracted discussion I paid my duties and went on my way. For my next article I’m going to go into Canadian taxes and duties in more detail and what it’s like to be a cigar smoker up in Canada. Smoking Cigars In the Great White North, Eh? Post with picture gallery 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nino Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great job John, only detail : the ride out to Pinar is 2 hrs, not four, must have seemed like double to you ... :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great entry. :clap: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieJoe Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 nice miniseries. I hope you go back so we can get another round. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great report and pictures as usual, thank you. That bust of Jose Marti on the plinth at Hector Luis's farm. Rob Fox and I were going to take it down, bring it into the tent and wake up Punch Joe with it, shouting "give me my body back!". We decided against it in the end with no idea how to replace it if when we broke it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanislaw Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I really appreciate these reports, very cool of you to take the time and share your experiences, wonderful stuff... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigar Surgeon Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great job John, only detail : the ride out to Pinar is 2 hrs, not four, must have seemed like double to you ... :-) I was blabbering so much it seemed like forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigar Surgeon Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 nice miniseries. I hope you go back so we can get another round. Guaranteed I'll be back, just depends on how much I want to push my luck with the girlfriend (2014 or 2015 ... or both) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwhatever Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Haha John, Awesome post! Great memories indeed, my God those pictures 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigar Surgeon Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Haha John, Awesome post! Great memories indeed, my God those pictures DAT CRISPY PORK SKIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk00ts Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great pics, great stories, terrible Canada customs... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2021 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Very cool story, sounds like you had a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLC Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The only thing better than your last trip to Cuba will be your next trip to Cuba 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bresdogsr Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 sounds like a great time, makes me wish I was in Cuba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 This has been a GREAT series of trip reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigar Surgeon Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 The only thing better than your last trip to Cuba will be your next trip to Cuba Well said! I'm still hoping I can make the return trip this November. This has been a GREAT series of trip reports! Thank you very much Rob, very kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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