Hiking on a Rain Forest Mountain Trail in the Guanayara National Park, Cuba

Day 5 - Afternoon

Getting on an old Russian army truck for our ride

After our coffee stop, we continued our mountain adventure into the rain forest,  a part of the Guanayara National Park.

This was to be a 4 km mountain hike. Every so often, our guide stopped and pointed out to us some interesting or unique plants and animals native to Cuba.

A leaf from the Mother -in-law tree

We learned about the Mother-in-law plant – the fallen leaves once when dry, each would have two different colours on the leaves, a lighter silvery colour on one side and a darker colour on the other.

Our tour guide also pointed out the majestically Royal Palm Tree, the national tree of Cuba. 


I was amazed to learn about the many uses of the palm tree and its various parts by Cubans. For example, the palm leaves are used for building material as the roof of those small shelters for shade while the barks, the seeds and the fruits are also used in various other ways. 

No part of the palm tree is wasted by the local people.

While hiking on the trail we saw lush vegetation, and dense forests.



















We walked past small streams, gingerly stepping on numerous narrow wooden bridges made of large tree trunks with branches used as railings keeping us from falling into the water below us.

We had to be very cautious!

We also walked up and down narrow paths with different sizes of rocks zigzagging along the way. We needed to keep our eyes open and be cautious as we were hiking on mountain trails.

The walk seemed like endless at times. I was glad that my regular exercise gym classes have paid off as I was able to hike these trails with little difficulty.
















Finally, we were rewarded of our effort and arrived under a waterfall. 



Elated, we lingered and posted for pictures there for a few minutes before resuming our hike. 

















The highlight of our hike was reaching a small body of water. It looked like a natural swimming pool.

Though the water was cold, many of us did take a dip in there for a few minutes.

It was a beautiful and scenic spot for a swim and a rest.

 
After our swim, we walked for another 1/ 2 hour. A BBQ chicken lunch was prepared for us at the Casa Gallera. 

 By then it was almost 2pm and we were starving; the food never tasted so good.

We got back into the army truck and went to Mirador. 

We climbed the 100 plus steps up to the top leading to a look out point. It was a challenging climb for some.

Climbing up those 100 stairs,  we saw a number of palm leaves with people engraving their names and date of visit to this place. 

This was the first time I saw names engraved onto palm leaves.






 

Reaching the top of the stairs to the look out point, we had a marvelous view of the entire valley below us.

We were about a few hundred meters above. The scenery was beautiful! 

After getting back to the resort, we had dinner at the ala carte dining room. It was fun dressing up for a more formal dinner and being served by white gloved waiting staff. However, the food portion was a little too big for us. 

This was the first night we were able to use the resort internet and check our emails.

We had another enjoyable day in Cuba!

R.T.
Parque Guanayara
Guanayara National Park
Cuba

A Mountain Adventure on an Old Russian Army Truck in Cuba

Day 4 – Mountain tour

Boarding a 1980's Russian army truck for a mountain tour in central Cuba

We were up at 7:00am this morning getting ready for our mountain tour at 8:45am

After our buffet breakfast with some freshly made papaya juice, we climbed up to a 1980 Russian army truck and way we went into the mountain area of Cuba.

The ride up to the mountain was rough. 

We had a good view of the scenery on our tour.

Sitting on metal chairs and without seat belts,  we were thrown like a sag of potatoes on the vehicle. 

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There were about a dozen of us with a child on board.  

It was a miracle that no one threw up throughout the entire 1.5 hour  ride into the mountain region.

After about 45 minutes, we stopped at the Information Centre.

Stopping at the Info Centre

Though there were no access cards available at our resort, there were plenty at this info centre.

Without wifi cards to access the internet at the resort, we were cut off communication with our loved ones back in Canada.

Buying wifi access cards at a Cuban information centre

  

Anxious to get online, I bought five cards at a peso each which would give me 60 minutes of wifi time at the resort.

Kurhotel Escombray located in a lush surrounding

Close to the Information Centre, we saw a huge building looked out of place in this lush surrounding. 

We thought it was a big building for tourists. But the tour guide told us that this place called Kurhotel Escombray, used to be a hospital for patients with mental illness and that it is still being used today.

We made a stop at a coffee museum/ cafe.

The tour guide gave us some info on the old machines and method used in coffee production in the past in Cuba.

We enjoyed an espresso at the Museum Cafe

After the short information session, we were treated to an espresso at the museum cafe.

A display of old coffee making utensils at the Coffee Museum in Cuba

We learned that there are more than 40 ways of making coffee in Cuba!

On our way up the mountain, we passed by a stall selling fresh fruits and some local sweets and crafts.

I bought some local sweets and a necklace made of colourful seeds, very pretty indeed.











We passed by coffee plantations,

and a couple of villages where the coffee farmers live. 

I was curious if there was a school for the children.













 I was happy to learn that the two villages with about 400-500 inhabitants do have a school for their children who can attend school for free in Cuba.




R.T.
Mountain Region
Central Cuba

Loving the Dance and Spanish Lessons at Our Cuban Resort

We love the palm trees at our beautiful resort!

After the traditional lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun and sand on the beach.











With the breezes blowing in my face and the soothing sounds of the waves whispering ashore every few minutes, it was peaceful, relaxing and a total fantastic experience!

Our Cuban resort beach near Trinidad Del Mar

My husband was bitten by mosquitoes and he was having a severe reaction to these bites.
He went to the resort clinic and was given some cream for his numerous bites on his legs.
Next time we'll need to remember to wear long pants in the evening to avoid these bites!

One of my favorite activities in Cuba is the daily dance lesson at our resort.

There are lots to do at the resort. Our favorite activities are our Spanish lessons at 10am and another one at 3:30pm as well as the salsa dance lesson at 5pm.

Our dance instructor taught us how to wiggle our hips!

 Claudia is the entertainment coordinator, who also happens to be our Spanish and dancing instructor.

She is very good, being patient and gentle. She also knows how to teach and to build up our skills based on what we have learned from the the previous lessons.

This time she taught us some new moves so that we could put what we have learned together and make a complete dance repertoire out of the steps!

C. is an excellent instructor in both dancing and Spanish!

For our Spanish lesson, I have found that it works really well for me when I write down the things I wish to communicate with the resort staff and ask Claudia to teach us how to say these sentences in Spanish.

It is a practical approach to learning Spanish for me.

We are having fun and learning a lot in Cuba!

After the dance lesson, we usually go for dinner and watch a post dinner show in the theatre area.

This evening's show was excellent! The team of six dancers performed some western as well as local dances in colourful costumes. It was entertaining indeed!

R.T.
Learning a lot at a Cuban Resort
Trinidad Del Mar
Near Trinidad, Cuba

A Fun Traditional Cuban Beach Lunch at Memories Trinidad Del Mar Resort

Day 4

We are enjoying sunny warm weather and beautiful beaches in Cuba!

We are enjoying sunny days, warm weather and great beaches in Cuba!

Our  resort prepared a traditional Cuban lunch for guests on the beach.

The resort prepared a traditional Cuban lunch for guests on the beach!

The aroma of the BBQ pigs prepared for our traditional Cuban lunch was wonderful! 

Getting ready for a delicious lunch on the beach!

The aroma of the BBQ meat was wonderful!

We could smell the food from our resort as the pigs were being roasted on a pit a few hours prior to the 12p.m. lunch time.














We sat together with Louisa, unfortunately her husband, Costa was not feeling well and could not join us.

Two other couples also joined us.

There was entertainment by resort dancers before the lunch

Before lunch, we were entertained by the resort dancers.





















The resort chefs and staff worked hard to prepare a beautiful lunch for us.

There were plenty of salad, chicken, BBQ food., dessert and drinks.

The weather was beautiful for an outdoor beach lunch.

The staff served us with wine and cold beverages providing us with excellent service!

The wait staff provided us with excellent service

.
After we enjoyed the delicious traditional Cuban lunch, the guests were asked to join in for a friendly competition game

Time for some friendly competition!

I was invited to joined the competition; I never refused any invitation. The drummer of the band played a short tune on his drum and each of the participants was asked  to reproduce the same tune on the drum.

My turn on the drum to reproduce the same beats and sound

There were four participants. I was the second one in the group. I tried my best to play the tune and enjoyed myself doing it.

At the end, the audience was asked to show their vote by their applause. I was voted the best out of the four !

Louisa & the resort dancers at the beach lunch

However, the drummer of the band was the one who decided on the winner and Grace, another participant was declared the winner of the competition. She was awarded a bottle of wine.

A lovely Cuban lunch on the beach!

Dale came up to me later and whispered at my ear:" You should have won!'

Winning isn't everything. We all had fun and I didn't mind it at all.

R.T.
Resort at Trinidad Del Mar
Cuba