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Published: March 7th 2021
Here I am at an Aboriginal-themed resort, sitting by the pool writing these notes, unwillingly listening to recorded music that drowns the birdsong, and psychically assaulted by staff moving chairs for a party tonight. Bizarre! I decided not to go swimming, because sunset is coming and the breeze is cool even when clothed. The climate has changed again now we are on the north side of the
Guamuhaya Mountain Range, facing the Atlantic, although the sea is not within sight.
We departed on the dot of 8:30 this morning to arrive at a popular viewpoint in Altiplano Micro Park while parking spots were still available. (By the time we left the viewpoint, they were all occupied.)
Our bus climbed steadily up into the mountains along curves and tight switchbacks. I glimpsed the sea occasionally when big valleys opened up the tree canopy. Climbing 145 wooden steps, we looked back to the port where we set sail last night. As I was puffing up the steps, I paused to take photos of a
Prickly Pear cactus in bloom, and through my lens discovered a
Cuban Emerald Hummingbird drinking deeply from the many flowers. After we had filled our eyes with the wide views at the top,
Yellow Warbler
A little yellow snackon the way down, we caught sight of a
Yellow Warbler , camouflaged nicely amongst the bright yellow blooms of a particularly tall agave plant.
Further along, in the National Park, our specialist guide, Joany, led us through a demonstration garden, describing coffee production at
Topas de Collantes .
Hurricane Irma in 2017 destroyed almost half of the coffee trees and almost all the planted shade trees in the research park. On the good side, it rained torrentially for a week and refilled the main reservoir,
Hanabanilla , which had fallen to thirty percent of its capacity.
For each coffee tree to be planted, first a hole about half a metre square and 40 cm deep is dug; it is left empty for four months to fill with forest debris that becomes organic compost. After the tree is planted, three years pass before it yields acceptable berries, and several more years before full production. (The complete export crop is sold to Japan, which buys only organic coffee.) Since Cuba gets so much sun, and coffee needs shade, fast-growing mimosa trees are planted everywhere and bananas are planted by each coffee tree. At least the bananas produce a crop while waiting for the
Cuban Green Woodpecker
Cameras can see what eyes can't! coffee.
Of course, we had a coffee break to taste the special brew (best in the world!). The traditional approach still used in the local area is to slowly dry the beans over two weeks. The natural honey between the husk and the bean is absorbed into the bean, giving a smooth taste. All coffee served is espresso.
Feeling full of energy again, we followed Joany into the forest for a nature walk. Because the Spanish colonizers took all the native Cuban hardwood back to Spain for furniture and the interiors of their homes, there is literally none left. Through other colonizers and settlers and modern policies, trees have been brought from all over the world. The biggest mistake in this policy was importing the African Tulip tree, which does grow fast and has beautiful red flowers, each of which provides water to birds for a week. Unfortunately, it has countless air-born seeds that make it highly invasive.
As we lazily strolled along, Joany pointed out various trees and flowers. Deep red Hibiscus flowers shone through the lush forest. (The Hibiscus wood is used to make Cuban baseball bats.) In the distance was a bitter orange tree
Hibiscus in the forest
Magical view of what is a houseplant in Canada with ripe fruit, used as the prime marinade for meat, including at the cooking school several days ago. Joany helped us spot the birds that seemed to fly off the moment our eyes caught them. (Perhaps we were exclaiming rather loudly.) While I missed the national bird, the Cuban Trogon, I did finally see a
Cuban Green Woodpecker after Joany actually took my camera out of my hands to make the shot. Later, at lunch, we had a really good look at a
West Indian Woodpecker perched for several minutes on a dead tree right by the balcony.
The original house in this area of the park had been made into a museum of Cuban art. The long gallery displayed vigorous abstract sculptures. On the second floor (where photos were not allowed) were landscape and portrait paintings. Many of these were old enough to be pastoral, piquing our curiosity about rural life decades ago. Some were modern, adopting strong subjects emphasized by the active black strokes of current Cuban painting.
Before leaving Topas de Collantes, we questioned Joany about a large medium-rise building overlooking the entrance to the park. Its name is
Kurhotel Escambray , named in honour of the German government thanks
to monetary support after the revolution. Originally it was built by Batista for the treatment of TB, a disease that has since been eradicated. After the revolution it was the training centre for literacy workers for twenty years. Now it is a rehabilitation hospital with a 3-week regime to treat thirty different ailments, such as skin diseases, stress, respiratory complaints, etc. with natural healing techniques such as massage and mud baths.
Lunch was at Restaurante Mi Retiro, established by a retired French businessman. The building was perched on top of a ridge overlooking a small valley and a farm. We wore jackets because the wind always blows cool there. Our “salad” was a shared plate of mixed pickles and a shared plate of fruit salad. The main dish was pork, pounded and stewed in a light flavourful sauce, with potatoes.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of a very slow drive down to Santa Clara. At the mountain top, the asphalt had been replaced by concrete to maintain the surface. After that, pot-holes cut across half the road width on either side, and sometimes the pot-hole extended the whole width of the road. René stopped the bus at
each of these monsters and eased the wheels into and out of the hole. The medium-sized pot-holes he drove around, trading manoeuvres with on-coming drivers. The smaller ones he slowed for and drove over them.
The road and our slow pace made passing through villages quite fascinating. Horses, with or without carts, were common for transportation. People who weren’t riding were walking, particularly near the villages. After 3:00, school children were walking home; Daniel thought school went until 4:30, although imagined that regional differences could exist. Women walked under umbrellas against the strong sun from the blue blue sky. Quite often I saw the sign ANAP. Daniel explained that the National Association of Small Farmers was a cooperative, which explained the large herds of dairy cows in fields. He had already explained that in this area most farms raised dairy cows and that farms were strictly monitored. If a cow became unproductive, the farmer had to obtain a license from the state, which then slaughtered the animal and kept the meat (for ground beef). The hide could be sold to an artists’ cooperative for crafts, drums, and other uses.
Finally, we drove through Santa Clara to our resort,
Hotel Los Caneyes. The reception building is a marvel of relief carvings in homage to the now-non-existent Aboriginal people of Cuba. Most of the “rooms” are thatched rondavels that approximate the houses of the Aborigines (as Cubans call them). Our group was staying in one large Caneye with six rooms inside - easy to gather and chat as darkness fell. Dinner was at the hotel buffet, where I enjoyed the best pork yet – roasted ribs, with yellow (flavoured) rice and squash, plus a Crystal beer.
View map of trip to date.
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Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
Birds!
Great shots of many small and tricky birds - hard to see in the first place and then hard to get to sit still for long enough to take a photo. I particularly like the Cuban green woodpecker, and the West Indian woodpecker photo is excellent. That side view is good, showing off his colours and markings and impressive beak to full advantage. As for seeing birds that others have spotted, it's amazing how hard it is to get (or give) clear directions to a bird's location in a mess of trees and vegetation before they take off again. I end up flailing and whispering - Over there! Turns out that's not a lot of help.