Captivating Cuba

Hola!

Hector here! I've just returned from a trip visiting the Escambray in Cuba where I spent some time trekking around the Sierra del Escambray Mountains. I took the moderate trek for people in good physical conditions and it made me realise that I may need to do more sports as the walk was very hard on me. Maybe next time I will do the gentle walk which is better for little legs and people that want to go slowly and see some of the natural animals and coffee plantations in this place.

There are many walks in the Escambray but the walk I choose was located near to the city of Trinidad and called 'El Cubano'. The route is also very popular with people that like to come to Cuba to spot our brightly coloured birds, but there was no time for that with me!

In the morning I walked around the trails spotting many clear streams and ponds which our guide let us do swimming in after lunch. All the people on the trip had brought their swimming outfits and it was very refreshing after a long hike to cool down our body in the streams before we walked a higher way up the mountains.

When we reached halfway we visited a stable and drove a horse up the rest of the mountain. My horse was very fast and kept trying to get to the front of the line which was a little bit worrying for me, but luckily the guides stopped him from going too fast.

My trip to the Escambray ended once we had reached the restaurant at the end of the trail, which is famous for its Pez Gato, which I think is called cat fish in England. The fish was really tasty and I ate so much that I didn't think I could walk all the way back down the big mountains, or even get back on my crazy horse! But the guide picked us up in one of the big trucks of Trinidad. I was so tired from all the walking and my big meal that I even fell asleep in the back, but don't tell anyone!

Adios until later,

Hector

posted at: 11:42 | path: /hector | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments

Hi,

Friends of mine know how much I love to explore so it seemed rather apt that on my last trip to Cuba I got to experience a part of the island which isn't usually visited by tourists, Baracoa.

Perhaps the reason that this place is not usually seen is because it is so impossible to get too; in fact until 1964 it could only be reached by the sea making it one of the most remote places in Cuba. However, I'm not the only explorer that likes to visit the Baracoa region; Columbus discovered this land in 1492 and instantly declared it to be the most beautiful land that he had ever seen. However, it was one of the more unusual stories of this region that prompted my visit.

Five centuries after Columbus had first landed on the shores of Baracoa, Che Guevara opened a chocolate factory in the region. The chocolate factory known as Duaba Farm is still functioning to date and I decided that it was definitely worth a visit on my next Cuba holiday. The small farm not only produces cocoa which is imported out to all the major chocolate factories in Switzerland, but is also a great place to sample the local coffee and fruits of the region including coconut, mango and bananas.

Duaba Farm has its own local cafeteria, which serves delectable food, such as deserts using the farms own pineapples and honey. The deserts may have been incredible, but I definitely made sure that I had enough room left in my stomach to try some of Che Guevara's legendary chocolate.

Before the taste test I was luckily enough to join a group of Canadian tourists and watch the entire process of how the fruit of the cacao plant is made into chocolate. The process was time-consuming but in the same measure equally fascinating and by the end of the demonstration I could hardly wait any longer to try the chocolate, but luckily the chocolate was well worth the wait. Its high cocoa content and rich flavour set it apart from many well-known brands of chocolate and Jasna definitely agreed with me, wolfing down the small bar that I'd brought her from the gift shop in seconds! Now she's decided that she wants to visit the Duaba Farm on her next Cuba holiday!

Peter

posted at: 16:11 | path: /peter | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments

Hello,

I recently enjoyed a trip to the area of Cienaga De Zapata and I'm certainly happy that I remembered to bring a camera. Although I spotted so many wild animals and exotic birds that I almost ran out of memory space by the end of my trip.

Whilst in Cienaga De Zapata, I spent the morning at the Criadero Cocodrilo Centre, which is the largest centre in Cuba for breeding crocodiles. I was lucky enough to be allowed to hold one of the baby crocodiles and although I was a little scared at first I soon calmed down and posed for photographs along with the rest of the tourists.

After the crocodile farm, I went for a traditional Cuban meal at the Surrasos de Mar, a restaurant which is also located in the National Park. The choice of meats at the restaurant included chicken, fish, crocodile and hutia, which is a giant tree rat! After making friends with a cute baby crocodile in the morning, I didn't fancy eating its mother and although hutia is a Cuban speciality it's something that I'll leave to the more adventurous traveller. I choose a chicken dish, which was incredibly succulent and washed it down with sarsaparilla, which is Cuba's answer to root beer!

In the afternoon, I joined a bird watching tour as the area is considered to be one of the best spots for bird watching in the world. This is something that I've never done before and so I didn't know what to expect, but the guide was really knowledgeable and certainly helped put me at ease. He also had an incredible talent in that he could emulate most of the bird's cries, which was amazing to hear! I was really lucky and spotted a bee hummingbird, this is such a privilege as not only is it the smallest bird in the world, but it is only found in this National Park. It is also the national bird of Cuba, but up until this trip I'd never been lucky enough to spot one, so this was definitely the highlight of my day.

Bye for now,

Jasna

posted at: 11:28 | path: /jasna | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments