Cuba - Lonely Planet [154]
Founded in 1774 by a Spanish army captain, Pinar del Río was one of the last provincial capitals on the island to take root. Neglected by successive central governments who preferred sugarcane to tobacco, the city became an urban backwater and the butt of countless jokes about the supposedly easy-to-fool guajiros who were popularly portrayed as simple-minded rural hicks. In 1896 General Antonio Maceo brought the Second War of Independence to Pinar del Río in an ambitious attempt to split the island in two and the town rallied to his wake-up call.
Following the 1959 Revolution Pinar del Río’s economic fortunes improved exponentially; this was facilitated further by the building of the Autopista Nacional from Havana and the development of tourism in the 1980s.
Orientation
The main street in Pinar del Río is Martí; there are many facilities on Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo, which run parallel to Martí just to the south. A major cross street is Isabel Rubio, which becomes the Carretera Central north of the city toward Havana and on the road to San Juan y Martínez to the southwest.
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PINAR DEL RíO STREET NAMES
Locals stick to the old street names; this chart should help:
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To avoid going the wrong way when you’re looking for addresses, it’s important to know that the street numbering begins at two base streets: Gerardo Medina divides the numbering of east–west streets while Martí marks the division between the north–south streets.
Information
BOOKSTORES
Todo Libro Internacional ( 77-84-94; cnr Martí & Colón; 8am-noon & 1:30-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon & 1-4pm Sat) Selection of maps, books and office supplies in same building as Havanatur office.
INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE
Etecsa Telepunto (cnr Gerardo Medina & Juan Gómez; per hr CUC$6; 8:30am-7:30pm)
MEDIA
Guerrillero is published on Friday. Radio Guamá airs on 1080AM or 90.2FM.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Farmacia Martí (Martí Este No 50; 8am-11pm)
Hospital Provincial León Cuervo Rubio ( 75-44-43; Carretera Central) Two kilometers north of town.
MONEY
Banco Financiero Internacional ( 77-81-53; Gerardo Medina Norte No 46) Opposite Casa de la Música.
Bandec ( 75-26-07; Martí Este No 32; 8:30am-noon & 1:30-3:30pm Mon-Fri) There’s another branch on Martí No 53.
Cadeca ( 77-83-57; Martí No 46; 8:30am-5:30pm Mon-Sat)
POST
Post office (Martí Este No 49; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat)
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Cubatur ( 77-84-05; Martí No 51 cnr Ormani Arenado; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat)
Havanatur ( 77-84-94; cnr Martí & Colón; 8am-noon & 1:30-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon & 1-4pm Sat)
Dangers & Annoyances
For a relatively untouristed city Pinar del Río has its fair share of unsolicited touts or jineteros. The majority are young men who hang around on Calle Martí offering everything from paladar meals to ‘guided tours’ of tobacco plantations. Most will take your first or second ‘no’ answer as a sign to back off. However, the bolder ones have been known to mount bicycles and accost tourist cars (identifiable by their purple/brown number plates) when they stop at red traffic lights. Although they’re generally nonaggressive, it’s best to be firmly polite from the outset and not invite further attention.
Sights
The most interesting sight, at least from the outside, is the Museo de Ciencias Naturales Sandalio de Noda ( 77-94-83; Martí Este No 202; admission CUC$1, plus camera CUC$1; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun). A wild, neo-Gothic-meets-Moorish mansion built by local doctor and world traveler Francisco Guasch, this museum (called Palacio de Guasch by locals) has everything from a concrete T-Rex to a stuffed baby giraffe.
Nearby is the slightly more riveting Museo Provincial de Historia ( 75-43-00; Martí Este No 58 btwn Colón & Isabel Rubio; admission CUC$1; 8:30am-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat), collecting the history of the province from pre-Columbian times to the present. Look for the Enrique Jorrín ephemera (Jorrín was the creator of the chachachá).
Four blocks south is the Fábrica de Bebidas Casa Garay