Captivating Cuba

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

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