Cuba February 27 and 28 Soroa and Vinales

February 27  Soroa



Jardin Botanico Orquideario Soroa sign

The next morning we walked next door to a very interesting and beautiful orchid garden run by the University of Pinar del Rio, the Jardín Botánico Orquideario Soroa. 

Orchid Garden in Soroa, Cuba

Orchids at Jardin Botanico Orquideario Soroa, Cuba

Now Dane had been pretty tame through all of this “plant stuff”; just keep him near a beer, and occasionally stuff a cigar in his face and he can be well-behaved.  Today, however, it was a free pass.  When Dane goes to Longwood Gardens, he always wants to visit the orchids – what a collection of beautiful flowers.   Today he was not only surrounded by the beautiful flowers, these were growing on-site, not just on display.  It was all indigenous, the real McCoy, and from a photographer’s point of view, there were foregrounds and backgrounds to make life more interesting.  Dane was happy, even if it was just plants.  

To keep him happy for the rest of this blog, here are a few of his favorite orchid shots:

Orchid at the Soroa Orchid Garden

Orchid at the Soroa Orchid Garden

This garden is posed in pretty rugged terrain with a lot of interesting rock formations.  We walked up hill to the garden house and offices, and had a great view of the Pinar del Rio landscape.  

Orchid Garden-Jardin Botanico Orquideario Soroa, Cuba



Amusing photo from the Orchid Garden

In an attempt at equality, Joan took a great picture at the Orchid Garden too.  It was totally accidental, as she curved her arm around a tree to take the shot, and only afterwards saw what an amusing picture she had taken.  You be the judge:





1955 Pontiacs, a Cadillac and one white Thunderbird! Taxis, Cuban-style.

There was a whole row of great old cars parked at the Orchid Garden-taxis that had brought visitors to the garden, which reminds us that we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Cuba’s vintage cars.  



Russian Lada car in Cuba

Yes, there are a lot of vintage cars in Cuba, many are taxis.  They are abundant for two reasons.  First, out of necessity.  

Though the Russians brought in a lot of their boxy Ladas during the years they propped up Cuba, and later the Japanese have brought in many cars, most people didn’t have the money to buy a new car; they had to make do with what they had – a bunch of old Detroit models. 

Vintage car in Habana, Cuba

The second reason has to do with the ingenuity of the Cuban mechanics.  A friend of ours was talking to the proud owner of an old Cadillac, and asked him how he finds engine parts.  The answer was quick, “oh, there’s been a Toyota engine in this car for some time.”  Joan also heard that there is a parts distributor in Miami that has a specialty trade, and probably some of the stuff we saw under those poly-wrapped bundles we saw at the Miami airport were auto parts en route to a Cuban friend with a vintage car. 

Another wonderful, colorful vintage car in Cuba

So if you know someone that is trying to dispose of a ‘50s Chevy, tell them to ship it to Miami where its parts will find deserving homes. 

Some of the wonderful, colorful old cars we saw in Cuba

Charming old car, and not painted a shade of blue!



A frequent sight in Cuba-a mechanic working on one of the vintage vehicles.

Another wonderful, colorful vintage car in Cuba

Another wonderful, colorful vintage car in Cuba

Alternative, and often-used transportation in Cuba, especially in the countryside

After touring the garden we made a short walk to a  pleasant luncheon spot  called El Salto, just down the road from our hotel.  It was very sylvan, by a stream, and run by the same company that ran our hotel as we again enjoyed the musicians we recognized from dinner the night before.  For lunch we were offered the three famous choices, and the tasty but starchy side dish called "Moors and Christians" or a combination of black beans and white rice, with a touch of cumin for flavor.  

Lots of starches! Fried pork and potatoes and "Moors & Christians"

That afternoon our group, which included a number of avid birders, went on a special nature walk, but we lack the knowledge of birds, and not wanting to drag the group down, opted to stay at the hotel to read, do laundry and see about a nap. (They go well after lunches).  Besides, Joan was reading a really interesting book by Yoani Sanchez, the Generation Y dissident Cuban blogger, and she wanted to finish it.  For an interesting view of Cuba, read Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth about Cuba Today.

  After another refreshing swim in the pool, that evening we had the same simple but adequate buffet at the hotel.  Lots more white food!

More White Food.  As bland as it's color!

Pina Colada with Cuban Rum-Yum

We enjoyed the evening by sitting around the pool drinking rum in various forms and smoking cigars. (Well, some of us smoked cigars.) (Some of us drank pina coladas!)

Thursday, March 28

The day dawned in the glade of Soroa with the birds singing and the sun trying to come out. 

We checked out of the Soroa hotel and boarded the bus for a region called Mil Cumbres (Thousand Peaks), an ecologically protected area and home of one of the highest concentrations of  native Cuban species. 


Raphael ready to help Dane across a rocky stream bed

We met Raphael Carbonel, a field station staffer, who led us through a village, onto trails, over streams, checking out the flora and fauna en route, discussing the very wide variety of species they have in this region, which is protected to some degree.  It was alternately misting, raining and drizzling-perfect day for a walk!




The start of our hike through in Mil Cumbres through a village

Along the way we passed by some simple rural farms.  Modest would be polite, very poor might be more accurate, but charming nevertheless.  Many of the village houses had outdoor kitchens, sometime covered just with a simple shelter for rainy weather—probably an ideal kitchen in their usually hot, steamy climate!

A rural kitchen in Cuba



A delicious midmorning snack of fresh fruit



A Cuban farmer answers our questions



It was raining off and on, mostly on, for most of the walk, so stopping at one farm to rest under a covered porch was welcome.  Even more welcome was the large assortment of fresh local fruit the farmer had prepared for us.  They offered us platters full of slices of star fruit, grapefruit, pineapple, and the freshest bananas – the best we’ve ever had.  Plus delicious coffee!  This simple repast took our minds off our soggy shoes and shirts.  The farmer answered our questions and told us that his family grows almost everything they need except soap, salt, flour and similar basics. 

On our walk we saw rice, bananas, pineapples, poultry, pigs, goats and even a woodworking shop.



Virginia, Sarah and Dianne enjoying great coffee!



Drying clothes  under the porch on a rainy day in Cuba.







We got back to the bus and drove a few miles to an entirely different ecosystem, and our guide took us on a short but rough hike up an old fire trail to see some different rock formations and plants.  The rain had let up, but the weather was still not what the photographer ordered. 



No view of the Thousand Peaks for us through the clouds

Back at the field station, an old planter's mansion, we had a fine but simple lunch of bean soup, rice and ropa vieja.  A word about ropa vieja:  those of you who know Spanish might be asking why we were eating “old clothes.”  This is the good- natured nickname for a shredded flank, brisket or skirt steak in a tomato sauce, which was for us a popular variation to the three famous choices of chicken, fish or pork.  An interesting side dish was what the Cubans call yucca, also known as Cassava or manioc.  Starchy, tasted sort of like potatoes.  

Ropa Vieja, yucca and sliced fresh vegetables for lunch.

We drove on to our hotel for the next two nights, Hotel Rancho San Vincente, right in the midst of the scenic Sierra de Vinales, nestled in a leafy grove.  We all had individual cabins scattered over the hillside, each with a wide covered porch, perfect for sitting and enjoying the misty, rainy weather without getting wet.  We're sorry that it rained for two days straight mostly because we didn't take a picture of the sylvan glade and our cabins. 


Paladar La Terraza private restaurant

That evening we ate at Paladar La Terraza, a private restaurant out in a former house.  We sat in a large porch area added in the back yard. 

Enjoying fried plantain chips at Paladar La Terraza

Here the famous threesome was grilled over an open fire which we passed as we entered.  They also, excitedly, offered us lobster as an (extra charge) option, but we discovered it is a different species in the Caribbean, a spiny lobster, and we think they must "butcher" it with a cleaver, which makes for interesting eating, and don’t ask for clarified butter.  We tried it – once.  We were discussing how one doesn’t always see a lot of dairy products is warmer climes, and we noticed that in Cuba, butter tasted different, and portions were non-existent or skimpy; we don’t know if the issue is climatic or economic, or both.  The meal was welcome and fine, and the pina coladas were great.