Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Topes de Collantes Nature Reserve, Cuba

Thursday May 26, 2022 • Mountaintop excursion to Topes de Collantes in the Escambray Mountains.

Breakfast was ok. Hard to screw up eggs, except they wouldn’t add cheese to the omelet (only ham). There were some fruits, and we had the tasty small bananas.

If, we had to eat dinner there that night I couldn’t have done it. Dario met us and explained that we would have the dinner out that we were supposed to have the first night but got switched because of the car issues. Phew!

We were met with a “Plan B” because of the overheating car. One was not going to the great birding at the Nature Reserve or instead visiting the lowlands. It was one of the days we looked most forward to, and I felt badly for the driver and his vehicle, but we wanted Plan A. He stopped to tinker with things under the hood several times and to add water, and when we got to the incline, we turned off the A/C and rolled down the windows to make the climb. He took me over to look under the hood at one stop and showed me that the radiator hose was already held together with multiple clamps. Looked like a big chunk was taken out by maybe the fan blade. Somehow, it made the climb.

photos from the car window

we stopped at a lookout (and to add more water to the radiator)

We went into the visitor’s center, and I was checking out a poster with these large looking critters (like a tiny kangaroo) The sign said Iguanas and I knew they weren’t Iguanas and bent down to take a closer look when a guy comes up and says everyone has that same reaction, they bend down low to check them out. He was going to be our nature guide. His name was Jordi I think, but he told us to call him Jo. He explained that the animals were large tree rats. He said they were edible, but you had to boil them once to get the stink off and then throw out the water and boil them again with spices and they were quite tasty. I'll take his word for it.

bottom left has the tree rats

After checking out all the photos of the different areas of the park he showed us which part we were visiting. Codina was our destination and the transportation was by a Russian Army truck. We stopped to pick up locals along the way going up the mountain. (including the chef where we had lunch)

Arsenio & our taxi

me enjoying the ride

Jordi

We stopped at a coffee museum to see how that process was made and get coffee if we wanted. None of us did, so we got back on the truck. (climbing ladder like steps up and down)

at the coffee museum

coffee museum

There were lots of fruit stands and gardens along the way. We opted to have our welcome mojito after our hike of the “trail of the magic carpet. (Sendero la Alfromba Magica) We saw a lot of trogons and we did get to see the Cuban Tody. I got a great look of it from the front and Greg got a partial photo of the back. Small birds jump around a lot and he didn’t have his dot-sight on yet, or I’m sure he would have had it. We also so lots of plants and trees. (most not new to us) So many beautiful Bromeliads growing wild.

We also visited a small cave in hopes of seeing the small owls. They did not make a showing today. We did see a few of the bats. Jo said that it seems to always go that people that could care less about birds see the owls and we really wanted to and didn’t. That’s nature for you….

entering the cave

exiting the small cave

we went up to a viewpoint

Cuban Trogon

bad photo of Cuban Tody

borrowed photo of the beautiful bird we saw

Cuban Green Woodpecker eating an insect

We stopped at an area where they have the pig roast, but of course for only 2 of us, they can’t justify the cost of roasting a whole pig. (ours was oven roasted)

Turkey Vulture

We had our mojito at the bar and chatted while waiting for our lunch at the restaurant Hacienda Codina. A couple from Spain came by and Greg spoke to them in Spanish. It was easy to understand them as the Spanish was so clean and no “th” sound as much of Spain uses. (I think they were Catalan)

kitchen

Cuban Oriole

Cuban Emerald Hummingbird

me with mojito

behind the bar

bar

We then had our family style lunch which was again very good. We then boarded our “limousine” (Russian truck) as our guide called it back down the mountain to return back to Trinidad.

Dario pointed out the special store where they have to use their ration books. He also let us see his.

We stopped at Valle de los Ingenios, where sugar cane was cultivated for centuries which is a look-out for some beautiful views of the area before stopping at a ceramic factory for a tour and I bought a magnet. The factory has operated for five generations by members of the Santander family. There were many lovely items, but we really don’t have room for anything large. The UNESCO world heritage site came later in the 18th- and 19th-century thanks to the prosperity brought by the sugar trade that flourishing in the nearby Valley de Los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills).

I took photos of how the maid left the room today. She was thrilled with her tip apparently. Not sure what it was, but here’s the photo. We had some free time before Dario & Arsenio came to pick us up for the welcome dinner we were to have last night. On the ride in they noticed some flamingoes in one the water near the hotel. There were a dozen of them and we asked if we could stop to take a photo. It was a perfect shot from there, but Arsenio seemed to think it would be better up around the corner. Full of trees and bushes, so that was not the case. A good guide or driver would have gone back to the other spot. (virtually no traffic on the road on this section) Ah well, we have seen flamingoes quite a few times in various places around the world.

Dinner tonight was one of the best of the week. It was on a rooftop with pretty lights strung around and great views of the city. The food was served under dome and presented 2 plates at a time. I had the lamb and Greg had pork. The appetizers were also very good, and the bread was the best of the trip. We had breaded fried cheese and the bread was garlic crunchy toast and soft warm rolls. Dessert was also some of the best on the trip. A brownie with some tasty ice cream. A great band played while we ate.