Burro de Mayabe — the Beer Drinking Donkey

A short drive outside Holguín City is the Mayabe Ranch restaurant and bar. The restaurant overlooks the Valle de Mayabe and it was here that we had some of the best food we experienced in Cuba (note: you don’t go to Cuba for the food — it’s rather average).

The biggest attraction to this area (specifically, Mayabe Lookout) is not the view or the food, however. It is Panchito, the beer-drinking donkey.

In the 1970’s, a dark chestnut donkey began to wander around the Hotel Mirador. One day a guest gave him a beer and from that point forward he never left. The hotel staff built him a room and he became a permanent guest in the hotel. This donkey was named Pancho.

Over the course of 18 years, Pancho drank 61,756 beers (not sure how they kept track). His last drink was on November 20th, 1992 at 3pm. Shortly after, he died.

His successor, Panchito III, is the donkey you find at the hotel.

— http://www.ahora.cu

At the ranch, you’ll get a sample of what it is like to live in rural Cuba. Here you can explore a bohio (rural dwelling) complete with a dirt floor, chickens, and fruit trees.

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