Today we have a day trip to Vinales. A pretty touristy town which is situated within a lush landscape punctuated by spectacular limestone cliffs and rock formations. It’s about a 2-3 hour drive from Havana and after a couple of hours we stop for a welcome comfort break.
As I walk to the cafe an old tractor catches my eye and I stop to see if I can be creative with it. It was parked awkwardly and I couldn’t get the perspective I wanted so that was a little frustrating.
However, I was not disappointed for long as a man was making seats out of palm trunks and was very willing to let me take pictures of him. He adopted various poses and in the end I think I nailed one of the best portrait shots I have ever taken.
We continued to Vinales where we stopped on a hilltop. We walked up the hill past pretty little houses and where wild flowers grow in abundance….
and were treated to some spectacular views.
Lunch is at an organic farm overlooking the Silencio valley. Lunch is hearty and the welcome cocktail is extremely tasty. Turkey vultures hang on the thermals very close to the restaurant and I wish I had brought my long lens to Cuba. There are some great bird in flight shots if only I had the right equipment!
After lunch we go for a nice long walk in the valley. I actually thought my feet and legs might get a rest today but I should have known better. This is a beautiful rustic community and I feel as if I have travelled back in time. The countryside is lush and green and the main mode of transport is by horse or bike.
We watch a delivery of rice, sugar and canned food and are shown a local’s ration book. Basic commodities are often hard to come by in Cuba and it makes us appreciate how fortunate we are in the UK.
The scenery along our walk is beautiful.
Vinales and the surrounding area suffered badly from the recent hurricane Ian and we saw evidence of that on our walk. People were still living in the badly listing house below.
We visit a tobacco plantation, where we see the drying houses and again are shown how the cigars are made. The owner and his dog greet us. The light is perfect as he stands in the doorway.
We go to the drying shed and his son stands smoking cigars and posing for us. He is very easy on the eye but I am being professional and totally focussing on the sunlight playing through the cigar smoke.
The light inside the drying shed is difficult but I am pleased with this silhouette in the doorway. It could be straight out of an American western. How ironic.
The day ends with sunset shots back at Vinales. I really struggled with this. The sun was behind us and I felt completely uninspired. We were meant to be taking landscapes today and I feel I have not met the brief at all. I have however taken some great portraits!
This morning we are going to meet Roberto Salas who was personal photographer to Fidel Castro and we believe he will have some interesting anecdotes to relate from his long association with both Fidel and Che.
We walk out of the hotel at 09.30 and look around for our transport. We look in disbelief and amusement at today’s taxis. They must be two of the oldest vehicles in Havana; a blue sedan with broken windows, a scant amount of leather covering the horsehair and springs on the seats, holes through the rust on the floor to the street and little in the way of suspension. No-one rushed to clamber into this gem but the alternative looked little better. Granted it looked slightly more roadworthy, but it was in effect a converted 1940’s pig van with bench seats along the walls and a half flap at the rear for animals (or in this case passengers) to clamber through.
We park on a leafy street. Roberto greets us warmly and directs us through to his studio. Matt has advised us that Roberto is not always very accommodating, but he seems warm and friendly this morning and it bodes well. He will be 82 next week on 17 November and started his long and prestigious career when he was just a teenager. All of the iconic shots of Cuba, Fidel and Che will have been taken by him or his father.
Roberto is very chatty and tells us all about his career and how he started out as a boy carrying the camera gear for his father, Osvaldo. He also includes interesting anecdotes that give an insight into Fidel’s character. He tells us about the time that Fidel wanted some copies made of some photos his father had taken.
It was 1955.Osvaldo agreed to make the copies but said he would need money for the paper and that the cost would be $10and Fidel agreed. Roberto was given the prints to take to Fidel. When he entered the house there was a pile of money on the kitchen table and men were sitting around the table counting it. He gave the prints to Fidel who said ‘They are marvellous. Wonderful. Thank your father so much”
Roberto said “Yes but my father said that you owe him $10 for the paper.” Fidel patted his pockets held out his hands openly and said I don’t have $10. Roberto said “What do you mean you don’t have $10? Look at all that money on the table. Of course you have $10.”
Roberto said this is the first time he ever heard a lecture from Fidel. It went along the lines of “That money is sacred. That money belongs to the cause. I cannot touch that money. It is for the revolution. Tell your father when the revolution is over I’ll pay him back.”
When Roberto went back to his father and told him the story his father was furious with him of course.
Now we go forward to 1961. A soldier came over to Fidel and asked him for a job. Fidel said “Yes I will give you a job.” The soldier said “Thank you but can you give me an advance on my pay? I can’t last until the end of the month with no money.” Again Fidel patted his pockets and said “I don’t have any money. Can anybody lend me some money to advance to the soldier?” Roberto put his hand in his pocket at which stage Fidel put his hand on his wrist and said “No, not you Roberto. I still owe you $10.”
Roberto said how amazing to remember that, when you consider the number of things that had happened in the intervening period. Did he ever pay the $10 back? I don’t think so but the good thing is that he did remember that he owed it!
We had the opportunity to buy prints which I did. I felt that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy something unique. We then swapped vehicles and I was treated to the falling apart blue car as we drove into centra Havana to photograph classic cars in three very different locations. Waves were breaking impressively over the harbour wall.
Our first location is the taxi rank in the tourist centre of Havana. It proved to be quite difficult to take unusual shots. People were thronging around and taxis moving every time you thought you had the shot nailed. It turns out other photographers were also a major nuisance – often from our group! I’m not mentioning names but there were definitely some in the group who liked to hog the space or walk blithely into shot as the shutter was released.
I was pretty unsuccessful at the next location too, which was a bustling square but I did manage one of my favourite shots of the holiday. I love how the green on the walls matches exactly the green on the car. A simple shot but it has impact.
Whilst walking to our third location I was horrified to see that someone was living in this totally derelict building, which is immediately opposite the pristine Capitol building. A city of contrasts….
Our final location is where the locals shop. It is busy, tatty and vibrant. There is an energy and it would be easy to spend all day here. The photo opportunities are endless. Such a marvellous place for people watching. What is also remarkable is despite the faded facades, shabbiness and graffiti there is very little litter.
We stop in a tiny bistro for lunch which is surprisingly good and then make our way to a cigar factory. There we watch cigars being made and are given coffee, rum and a cigar to try out. The walls are covered with football scarves and currency from around the world and cigar boxes are suspended from the ceiling.
Our final brief for the day is visual impact. I set off with renewed energy and focus and am pleased with what I manage to produce. I have definitely made progress. The two shots below were taken an hour apart. I thought having the moped in view would have more visual impact but I actually prefer the earlier shot. It is cleaner and less busy.
I love this piece of graffiti and wish someone had walked past the doorway with an ice-cream. That would have made the shot just perfect.
However my favourite photo for this assignment is the one below.
It has been a long day and we have walked miles around the streets of Havana. The day is not yet over as we shall have another long walk to tonight’s restaurant. As it turns out the walk is even longer than it should have been due to some dubious map reading; adding a good mile to our journey. Nobody has high expectations for the meal, but it turns out that tonight’s venue is as good as last night’s was bad. The restaurant is set within a large family home and apparently many of the relatives are fishermen so the seafood is fresh and of excellent quality. We have a truly amazing meal for a very reasonable price.
We leave the restaurant, walk across the beautiful Plaza de San Francisco de Asis and grab some very welcome taxis back to the hotel. I sleep very soundly indeed.
This morning as our welcome orientation to Havana we have a tour of the city in classic cars. But before this, we start the day with a hearty breakfast in the chic hotel restaurant, which also has great views of El Malacon (the seafront).
On the way back to my room I sneak a preview of the rooftop pool, which also has great views.
Parked outside the hotel are four shiny open top classic cars – two pink, one green and one purple. We choose our car and set off. What fun!
We cruise past the Capitol building….
…and into Revolution Square, where we stop for a brief photo opportunity.
We swap cars and head on around Havana. I am surprised by the number of leafy, green avenues and the juxtaposition of modern buildings butting up to the crumbling relics of former grandeur. We park on El Malacon. The wind is strong and large waves are crashing over the promenade wall. There has obviously been a big storm out at sea but the weather in Havana is currently exactly what you would expect in the Caribbean – hot and sunny!
We arrive back at the hotel feeling eager now to explore Havana on foot. We set off for lunch and our first assignment.
Matt, our tutor leads us to a little restaurant tucked away in the cobbled back streets. He shows us his accommodation which is opposite the restaurant and pretty basic. Certainly not as nice as our plush hotel. We settle outside and order lunch. The service is terrible but eventually the drinks turn up and they actually were worth waiting for. My caipirinha is quite excellent.
My delicious caipirinha
We are then let loose to wander the shabby streets and try and capture the essence of Cuba. I am like a child in a sweet shop. This city is an assault on the senses and I take far too many pictures with little thought of composition or the assignment in hand. Surprisingly, amongst my aimless clicking, there are some keepers.
This has been a long day and it is not over yet. We have a short time to freshen up before drinks on the rooftop terrace at 18.00 followed by dinner at Casa Migles – a Swedish/Cuban restaurant. We have high hopes as we enter the the restaurant and are shown to our table. This is a grand old building with unusual artwork. For example a wrench hung on the wall with a frame hung around it. There were also cups and saucers, saucepans etc given the same treatment. How cool?
The reality was that from a huge menu there were no starters available and only 3 main courses left. I opt for the fish with potatoes. It feels like a safe option. How wrong can a girl be? What I received was a grey piece of dry fish with half a boiled potato and it turns out that half of that was black and inedible. I feel that eating out will not be the highlight of the holiday! On a plus side the mojitos were excellent and as it was Eleanor’s birthday we consumed a few.
We return to the hotel and head straight to the bar. We learned last night that the bartenders have little cocktail making prowess and the safest option is to drink beer and Cuba libres. Everyone is very willing to buy rounds and as the drink is on the inexpensive side, we probably consume slightly more than we should. There is a theme here! We are joined by an annoying local who makes out that he is staying at the hotel and is an artist. Well he is certainly an artist – of the con variety. His main aim is to try chatting us up, talk bullshit and see if he can extract drinks from us. He is like one of those annoying flies that you can’t get rid of, continually buzzing around your ears. It takes a good hour but eventually he gets the message.
What an interesting and bewildering start to my holiday. I am travelling with my friend Caroline whom I met on the Sicily photography trip. We shared a taxi from my house and had a fairly straightforward run to Heathrow. This was not the same for one couple on the trip. They were caught in a jam on the M25 caused by climate protestors on the motorway gantry. As such they missed the flight and had to fly out via Madrid the following day.
When I booked the holiday I intended to fly out to Cuba with Virgin. However due to operational challenges they pulled out of Cuba and I am now flying with Air France. I had a good deal – business out and premium back via Paris. I was happy enough with this but the reality was a nightmare.
We boarded the flight which was very full. The steward roughly pulled my backpack out of the overhead locker and said ”Oo duz ziz belong too?” I said me and could he please put it back as it had a lot of valuable camera equipment in it. He then proceeded to grab Caroline’s bag and again we said please do not put those bags at the front of the plane. At this stage he could easily have politely asked if maybe we could put them under the seats in front of us and we would have done this if asked courteously. However there was no opportunity. He shoved the bags back in the locker, slammed it shut, held up both thumbs, glared at us and said “Thank you both so much for your co-operation.” We were stunned. How very rude. Anyway we continued chatting and texting our tour group with some amusing pre-holiday banter. The steward conducted his safety briefing but glared at Caroline throughout it. He then came over, leant over the seats and said ”Have you got a problem with me? Are you laughing at me?” We said no. We were texting friends and nothing to do with him. Caroline started to explain to him that this was pretty appalling customer service and looked for his name tag at which stage he said” Not one more word. You are flying to Cuba, aren’t you? If you disrespect me any more I shall get the police to escort you off the plane in Paris.” You can imagine our surprise. It was intimidating and frightening and very upsetting. He continued to glare at us throughout the flight.
When we tried to board the next flight in Paris our boarding passes did not work. We were pulled to one-side and given a lecture on Air France’s policy on disruptive passengers. We were told to behave on the next flight and on this occasion would be allowed aboard. What the hell just happened? Absolute power being used abusively. Nothing we could do but suck it up. There will be a long letter of complaint from us.
Interestingly a man on our return flight recognised us. He said he had witnessed what had transpired and has never seen anything like it. He has given us the VIP number for customer services at Air France and is happy to be a witness to what happened. He said he told the steward to leave us alone and stop glaring. Never in all my years of flying have I experienced anything like this. Clearly the steward had some serious issues and was spoiling for a fight.
The rest of our journey was uneventful. I was concerned that my passport would be stamped which would necessitate obtaining a full visa for future travel to the US but the stamp now goes on the back of your tourist card. Phew!
The drive from the airport took about 40 minutes. The hotel is new and on the waterfront in Havana. We met our tutor Matt and the rest of the group over drinks at the bar. I roll up to bed at 01.40 and am pleased with my room – way better than I expected. I sleep soundly. Beer and Cuba libres have that effect…
This morning we have a bit of a lie in as we do not need to depart from camp until 08.30 for the two hour drive to Jongomero airstrip. This gives us time to pack and have leisurely breakfast. Ally has gone to town this morning cooking us egg, bacon and sausage as well as the usual fruit and wonderful freshly baked bread turned into toast over the charcoal. I shall really miss everything about Usangu. The staff are all so warm and friendly. We really feel like part of a big family.
Each morning we were woken by an animal noise followed by drums. This morning the staff demonstrate how they magnify the sound using a hollowed out calabash. We are then asked to have ago. I decide to do a hippo which causes great hilarity.
The staff sing and dance as we leave and we reluctantly drive off towards the airstrip. We stop at the baobab that we had dinner at last night. It is huge and very impressive in daylight.
2000-3000 year old baobab
The vehicle has once again had screens put up around it to protect us from tsetse flies. There are some very heavily infested areas on route. We see evidence of elephants and then find that the road is blocked by a small tree which has been pushed over. Unfortunately for Anderson, this is in the heavily infested area. Tsetses swarm around him as he takes out his machete and starts attacking the tree. As far as we can see the the only reason that Anderson cannot move the tree out of the way is because some thin branches are caught in a shrub. We do not understand why Anderson does not cut these off first and see whether he can move it before attacking the 8” trunk. Maybe he just really likes hacking at things with his machete!
Anderson hacking at tree whilst we are protected from tsetse flies by mesh
We drink coffee at the airstrip while waiting for our plane.
The plane lands and Anderson gives a lift to a girl, that has arrived with the security guard, and takes bags over to the plane. I am concerned to see the girl undoing the top of my rucksack before putting it inside the plane. Fortunately I have my important documents and money in a handheld wallet. When we get on the plane Jane picks up her camera bag and the lens cap falls off it. It has definitely been opened and searched for small pocketable items. We both check our backpacks for content. Everything seems to be there but I shall be reporting this. Not good.
And here is a picture of the light fingered lady
The flight to Dar Es Salaam is uneventful, we clear the airport and after a short wait the driver from Asilia comes to greet us. For once the traffic in Dar is light and it only takes 30 minutes to make it to our hotel – The Hyatt Regency. However, driving in Dar is interesting to say the least and there are times when it is definitely best to close your eyes.
The hotel is really decadent and in stark contrast to the poverty around us. The vehicle is checked for bombs before being allowed entry and all our luggage goes through airport style security. There is a very posh wedding going on and everywhere there is water and polished marble. Everyone is very smartly dressed and we feel like a couple of dirty and scruffy street urchins. We can’t wait to get to the room and freshen up. The room is modern and there is a big bath. Wonderful. A soak to remove all the grime.
We drink lots of cups of tea in the room and I continue catch up with the blog. Hunger overcomes us and we explore the restaurant options. We settle on the roof terrace, order a bottle of red and steak and chips. The steak is tasty, although not the tenderest I’ve ever eaten. Definitely small mouthfuls are best.
The view is great, particularly when the sun goes down.
We sleep well and spend a relaxing day in the hotel until being collected at 19.00 for the airport run. The day was uneventful until we ordered a club sandwich. We were sitting in the lounge and it was very select and posh. The sandwich arrived as did the tomato sauce. Jane picked up the bottle and shook it hard. Unfortunately the top had not been screwed on. Tomato sauce liberally coated the table, the sofa and Jane’s coat. We were absolutely helpless with laughter.
We flew back economy with KLM. The flight was good and surprisingly comfortable and we did actually manage to grab some sleep. We were an hour late taking off which meant we missed our connection at Schiphol. KLM texted us before we left the plane with a re-arranged BA flight at 11.40. Plenty of time we thought as it was now only 08.00. Nothing could prepare us for the complete chaos in the transit area. It was obligatory to pass through security. There are brand new scanning machines – at least 30 of them but only one open and eventually this increases to three. The queues are beyond bad.
We queued for 2.5 hours and many people missed their flights. Schiphol have no security staff. It is ridiculous and I shall not be travelling through Amsterdam again anytime soon.
On a plus we can now collect BA airmiles and the views flying in over London are superb.
