Sunday 14 March - getting there

Monday 15 March - Viñales

Ricardo & Carbonel explaining a plant to the group

After the late arrival we had a late-ish start of 10am for a briefing, and then set off at 11am for a local walk through the red earth farmland that surrounds the limestone blocks, the mojotes, that line the Viñales valley. Having not only Ricardo, our Cuban guide, but also a local guide and a botany expert, Carbonel, with us meant that progress was beautifully slow with plenty of stops. This didn't stop the group getting well spread out as individuals pointed cameras and binoculars at the plentiful birds and flowers. At one point an enterprising (or forewarned) farmer had guavas and bananas available for tasting. Later we dropped into Felix's fruit farm, but the farmer being absent our guides helped themselves to pineapples growing in the farm & in the shade of the house offered us beautiful warm and juicy slices of pineapple spread out on a banana leaf.

At the end of this walk we were picked up by coach & driven back into Viñales for a late lunch - testing out the local cafes. After this most of the group headed into the Jardin Botanico de Caridad, a wonderfully quirky collection of trees and plants started by two sisters (one recently died & the other sat and watched proceedings from a rocking chair inside her house). After this it was back to the hotel & rest (swimming being not advised due to the pool lacking chlorine ) and dinner  - very crowded, and the last in the queue had little choice of main course!

Tobacco flowers

Tuesday 16 March - Viñales

Group walking through Viñales valley

Another fascinating day in the Viñales area, this time walking in the opposite direction and along the rim of the valley to Los Jasmines hotel viewpoint (via a new visitor centre with a great collection of long words describing the geology and ecology of the area). After refreshments we dropped steeply down into the valley and called into another farm, this time occupied, where we had guava juice or coffee. Opposite the farmhouse was a large barn where we were shown tobacco leaves being threaded and hung up to dry. About a half a dozen women were working in different sections of the cool and dark barn. Not wishing to go too far without a drink our next stop was at the tourist spot of La Mural de la Historia - an immense gaudy but partly faded painting on the vertical rock face of one of the mojotes. The speciality here was the pinacolada - it just had to be tried!

By this time it was gone 2pm and we headed off by coach to the next tourist delight, the Cueva del Indio,  for lunch. Ricardo negotiated a light lunch for us i.e. sharing one meal between two - plenty for most of us at (late) lunch-time. After this it was a short set of steps into the cave entrance and then down into an old dry stream bed and large underground canyon. Unlike English caves this one was warm and dry, but the other features such as stalactites and flowstone were similar. Eventually the trail led down to a flooded section of the cave, where we transferred to boats to be navigate the remaining public areas of the cave - and shown the inevitable named rock features - the crocodile's head, the champagne glass, the sea-horse etc. etc. Another fascinating day and, being first into dinner, we had the full choice of food.....

Threading tobacco leaves ready for drying

Wednesday 17 March - Soroa

The group gathered on the Soroa Mirador

Time to move on, so we packed back into our Chinese coach and set off into town for a short bank and water-purchase stop. Then it was back down the twisting potholed road to the plains that stretch from Pinar del Rio to Havana and to join the motorway. Unlike most motorways in the world this one has horse & carts coming in the opposite directions on the hard shoulder, official hitchhikers under most bridges, and the occasional police checkpoint past which the driver drove very slowly. We stopped at a petrol station as we turned north off the motorway at Candelaria for toilets and ice creams. The skies had been rather heavy, so it was no surprise that it was raining as we arrived in the forested hills at Soroa. First stop was the Orchidarium, originally a private garden planted in memory of the owner's daughter, but now run by the University of Havana. The gardens are spread over a rocky limestone hillside, with tall trees festooned with epiphytes and numerous plants often found wilting in pots in Britain, but here were climbing healthily high into the trees. A small display area contained orchids currently in flower, which included three endemic species from Cuba we might see later. The director of the Orchidarium presented us all with a leaflet & a pennant....somehow I ended up with dozens of each....

As it was lunchtime by now we headed into the hotel - an extensive holiday camp style establishment with chalets on several levels adjacent to a pool. Mature trees, again festooned with epiphytes, were dotted around the grounds - very peaceful with plenty of bird life. After lunch we got our rooms and then most of the group walked up the local rocky peak to a lookout from which you could see the Caribbean Sea in one direction, and trees in the other. The cool weather seemed to keep the Turkey Vultures at low altitude, or even 'grounded' as they were mostly stationary in the trees below the lookout. We were enticed into the poolside bar in the evening on the promise of salsa lessons, however these didn't materialise, or just comprised Elaine being dragged onto the floor by the barman!

Turkey Vulture

Thursday 18 March  - heading east

Tallest and shortest (almost) palms

Once again time to move on - this time right across Cuba to the far eastern town (and original capital) of Baracoa. However our flight was timed for the afternoon, so we decided to visit the Havana Botanical Gardens beforehand.  The botanical gardens are on the outskirts of Havana, so we had the Cuban M25 experience - the ring road filled with smoking old lorries, cars and buses, and people walking or waiting everywhere. The visit involved some negotiation by Ricardo, & money from us, as it was not on the official programme and ad-hoc groups didn't normally get an introduction in the HQ, and the bus-driver would need to be paid for the extra miles etc. However, all went well - we had an enthusiastic introduction and guided tour by the assistant director, strong Cuban coffee to kick off and sunshine throughout the mixed bus and walking tour, which was all too short. However we did skate through the vegetation of  about  five continents in that time!

After this we bumped our way over numerous rusting rail lines to the domestic terminal of Havana airport and a total information black-out. It seems no-one in the terminal knew about our flight, which was a charter rather than a scheduled flight. Ricardo tried phoning various people, but drew a blank. We had confirmation that the flight probably was due to leave from this terminal as a couple (and baby) who had missed an earlier flight had been told to report to the terminal to join our flight. After about an hour of waiting, with hunger (and anxiety, as Baracoa airport has no lighting and can only be used during the day) mounting I looked after the bags (in return for a cheese sandwich) whilst everyone else went to the cafe to get lunch. After another forty minutes suddenly everything happened - a gate was opened, our bags checked in and before we knew it we were directed to security & then queuing to cross the tarmac and into our plane. The twin prop plane gave us a pretty smooth flight, with good views for the first half of the flight - passing the Bay of Pigs and Cienfuegos and our return route on the way. However the cloud increased as we headed east, and the descent over the sea passed through layer upon layer of cloud until at last we dropped onto the runway which is bounded by sea at both ends. Safe and sound in Baracoa it was only a short coach ride through the run-down streets filled with bici-taxis to the hotel - not the one on our itinerary, but El Castillo, on the site of one of the Spanish forts, above the town centre.

Lizard in the Japanese garden