After yesterday’s gruelling itinerary, today is a much gentler day. We have nothing to do until our canoe trip into the Tortuguero National Park this afternoon. The morning comprises breakfast, writing up yesterday’s blog and finding a good bar for a cocktail and lunch. El Patio wins for that. The food, service, drinks, ambience and views are spot on.
Initially we feel that the canoe trip is going to be a big fail. Our guide Roy sits at the stern with a paddle. The river is huge and we are moving very slowly. I think by the time we get to the park it will be time to get back. The reality is different. Once we have shown our tickets to the park authorities we paddle upstream and start to take in the slower pace and tranquility. This could not be more different from yesterday’s adrenalin fuelled blast up the river. We notice the small things and can hear leaves fall. Our guide picks up on this and immediately spots a howler monkey above us. It’s a long way away up and fast moving and the canoe wobbles a lot. I capture some shots. Not great but its something.
Howler monkey
We spot some beautiful water birds in a courtship dance. Annoyingly we were too close and my lens was too long so taking a sharp image impossible but they are too pretty not to show you.
We paddled up a narrow channel that only a canoe could navigate. it was a peaceful and totally different world from the sunlit river beyond.
I spent a significant amount of time changing lenses and never seemed to have the correct one on for the task in hand. I must buy a second camera body so I have instant access to either lens. I did capture a few reasonable shots but nothing amazing.
The weather here can change in a blink of an eye. We set out in bright sunshine but suddenly clouds appear and ponchos are donned before a short spell of rain ensues. This coincided with our sighting of a troop of white faced capuchins. I therefore have no photos but have imprinted their antics in my minds eye.
As we set back parrots squawked noisily and I have to admit to an element of relief. Two days sitting on hard boat seats has taken its toll. I should really like a soft chair for a couple of days please… We feel much less tired than yesterday and have the energy to find a bar for a G&T.
Our final dinner in Tortuguero was back at El Patio. It is absolutely the place to go. Everything yet again was spot on.
A very early start for us today. We are meeting Elvin at 06.00 who is taking us the 35km north to the remote Barra del Colorado. Here, where the Rio Colorado meets the Caribbean, at certain times of year, large numbers of tarpon congregate and Paul is hoping to catch something big.
Elgin’s boat is powerful (200hp) and we are really motoring. Lush jungle surrounds us but there is no opportunity to spot much wildlife. We are going too fast. We eventually drop anchor in the mouth of the river. It is anything but calm but it is a beautiful yet raw location. We are anchored by a sandy spit, which is like a tree graveyard, with hundreds of huge logs marooned ashore.
Elvin and Paul set up their fly rods and start fishing. The water is very churned up and rough and nothing is biting. Elvin thinks, given the conditions, that the tarpon will be the other side of the sandbar where the surf is breaking. Over the course of several hours we make numerous attempts to cross but it is just to dangerous. It feels like a scene from a movie where you are trapped on a desert island and trying to work out how to traverse the reef.
Basically nothing happens for 7 hours. I amuse myself by trying to capture as great a variety of shots as possible. No easy task as the boat is bouncing around like some kind of wurlitzer. Amazingly I am not in the least sea sick. Clearly I still have my sea legs despite not sailing for a few years.
We avoid a few squalls which is lucky and I enjoy watching the huge colony of terns that periodically launch themselves from the shore in mesmerising clouds.
At 15.15 we weigh anchor and head back to Tortuguero. Elvin suggests I sit on the front seat. I feel like I am flying down the river as we speed our way back.
When we disembark we both have incredibly wobbly legs. It feels as though the land is moving and we are both completely exhausted. This has been a long day and boat seats are so uncomfortable. I recall our comments from back in the BVI sailing days, that pretty much anything on a boat is more comfortable to sit on than the seats!
Fortunately we have booked a massage and it was bliss. Afterwards, we were almost too tired and relaxed to walk to a restaurant for dinner and jet lag is definitely playing its part. We found a very rustic bar where we ordered a beer and medium sized pizza. Glad we did not order a large one. It was huge….and delicious.
We had a smooth journey from the UK yesterday. The flight was on time and took just over 11 hours. We were certainly pleased to arrive at the airport hotel for some R&R.
We slept very well and woke refreshed and ready for the adventure ahead. We are staying at the Hampton which is very close to the airport. Breakfast was a buffet, but with a decent choice, and the food quality was pretty good.
Appetites suitably sated, we walk outside to be greeted by clear blue skies and there is a brisk breeze which takes the edge off the temperature, but it is probably already 20C and it is only 08.00.
We take the hotel shuttle to the airport to collect the hire car. Alamo are incredibly efficient. They escorted us to their shuttle which took us to the car pickup. Paperwork was completed in a few minutes and we were on our way. We have a brand new Toyota RAV4 which is way better than we expected. Even better my iPhone connects to the navigation system through CarPlay. Therefore Waze shows up on the dashboard. Brilliant. Navigation is going to be a breeze.
The drive out of San Jose is straightforward.
The traffic is light, drivers are incredibly polite and Waze is giving us excellent directions. The roads are not busy at all. We drive through lush countryside which gradually becomes hillier.
The gradient becomes steeper, it becomes cloudier and then we are driving through mist and thick, lush vegetation scrambles up the steep banks by the side of the road. The temperature drops and rain falls as we drive up into the cloud forest. We seem to be driving uphill forever but then we start the descent. We must have been very high as we seem to be driving downhill relentlessly. The traffic coming toward us is heavy and crawling up the slope. Huge American lorries claw their way up the hill. They really are amazing and impressive vehicles. We saw a depot selling them as we left San Jose. You can obviously ‘pimp your lorry’ as there were loads of different bonnets for sale and indeed pretty much every truck we saw had been personalised.
Eventually the terrain flattens out. We pass through the occasional small town that bustles with life.
The land is fertile and every inch is being farmed with neat rows of crops or grazing cattle. This gives way to banana plantations as we approach Tortuguero.
We arrive at La Pavona which is the embarkation point for the boat which will takes us up river to our hotel in Tortuguero. It is 11.45 and the drive took 2.5 hours.
Yet again we are met with complete efficiency. We are shown where to park, given our boat ticket and guided to the restaurant to wait for departure at 13.00. We grab a toasted sandwich and beer then go back to the car to collect our bags. We load them in a wheelbarrow and walk down to the waiting boats.
There are probably a dozen boats at the water’s edge. Initially their are few people but then coaches arrive and throngs fill the waiting boats. We finally depart at 13.15 for the hour trip which is just as beautiful as I remember from 3 years ago.
Then Tortuguero comes in to view.
We are met by a guide who takes us to our hotel which is a short walk away from the dock. We check-in, ditch our bags and head off in search of cold drinks. Paul chose a coco loco and I have a pina colada. They are exceedingly good!
The day then consists of taking a quick nap, strolling round Tortuguero which does not take long and eating and drinking. We like a place called El Patio that has an upstairs with terrace overlooking the river.
It is a five 5 hour drive back to Havana. We stop briefly for a comfort break and arrive back at our hotel at 14.00 having been told that is when our rooms will be ready. That is not the case and we are told to wait until 16.00. This is really annoying as we want to go for lunch without carrying loads of kit around and have a final shoot in Havana. We can leave our suitcases with the concierge but it does means carrying full backpacks around in the mid-day heat. Less than ideal.
People have different plans for the afternoon but a group of us head back to what we call the LP bar. It has a music theme and all the table mats are LP mock-ups. The food and company is good. Fully sated we set off for one last photography session.
The light is perfect and I decide to set myself the challenge showing the essence of Havana using light and shadow. I felt I failed in this when we first arrived so have something to prove to myself and I am delighted with the results.
My new room has a great view of the pool, which looks inviting…
… but I do not have time for such niceties. I have photos to analyse before our presentation. We meet on the 2nd floor lobby for a final review. We all have completely different styles and without exception everyone has made tremendous progress and met their personal goals.
Matt has told us we are going to a very special restaurant for dinner. He is not wrong. It is THE place to go and be seen in Havana. We enter the building through a courtyard with a sweeping staircase.
We climb right to the top storey where there is a magnificent roof-top bar with great views over the city.
Our table is not ready so we order cocktails and enjoy the ambience. What a great last night. Now the problem with swanky restaurants is that they have swankier prices. By UK standards it was still not hugely expensive but by Cuban standards it was. Our bar bill alone was more than the cost of previous night’s meals and drinks.
This led to a problem when ordering food as people had not brought enough money out with them. In the knowledge that credit cards are generally not accepted and it is hit and miss whether credit cards, US$ or Euros will be acceptable, I took them all out with me, so did not have a problem. Not everyone did likewise and some people could not pay their bill. I will not bore you with the minutiae of the problem but settling the bill took easily over an hour and somehow I ended up being the accountant for the evening. Not easy as the alcohol had been flowing!!
I certainly needed more when we left the restaurant! I will say that the food was very good indeed.
The important thing to know about Cuba is that things don’t always go according to plan and you need to be flexible. But it is just the most amazing country with so much to offer the open minded traveller. I shall return….
Last night we were given our brief for today. We shall be travelling inland to another UNESCO World Heritage Site – Valle de Los Ingenios. Sugar cane was processed and transported from here and it relied upon a large slave population. The journey will be by wooden train pulled by a steam locomotive and we shall be shooting in monochrome. My assignment is to take a series of photos for a magazine article featuring the valley near Trinidad as a destination when in Cuba.
We walk down to the station in Trinidad to catch the train. It is 08.30 and already scorchingly hot. The sky is azure blue and cloudless. It would be easy to have walked past the platform and ticket office. The track was largely overgrown and barely visible through the lush growth of grass.
We had a while before the train departed and this was an excellent spot to people watch and capture the mood of the place.
Eventually the engine was attached to the wooden carriage, we climbed aboard.
The whistle blew and we were on our way for the 90 minute journey. This was a wonderful way to see the countryside. The train travelled slowly. Children waved at us and we watched the locals going about their daily routine, which I suspect has remained unchanged through most of the last century. The only real clue to the present day were the occasional motor bikes or cars. Mules, push-bikes and foot seem to be the main mode of transport.
Passengers were allowed to sit in the engine compartment if they wanted – this of course involved generous tipping and also stepping over a large gap between carriages. I decided not to venture up there but enjoyed some time standing on the rear platform and looking back down the track. Every so often the the train travelled over wooden bridges. These seemed decidedly unsafe: the ancient structures creaked and swayed as the train chugged across them. I felt like I had travelled back in time. This really was an exceptional experience and a must do if you are ever in Trinidad.
On arrival in Valle de Los Ingenios, I tried to take some shots of the train that did not include any modern day trappings but that proved impossible. I was disappointed as my aim had been to try and depict Los Ingenios as it had been a hundred years ago. Even in such a remote place some element of modernity creeps in. I therefore change my mind and decide to represent the town as it is today..
…but making sure that each shot reflects the past and the town’s sugar industry and lace-making history.
I set off up the Main Street. Lace is hung out along the road and ladies vie for business. This is the first place I have been that people are more aggressive in their sales technique. Clearly the lack of tourism has made life very hard for these people and, if you stop to look at the wares you are thronged. I decide to buy something on my way back but for the present walk determinedly and swiftly to the main square. A tall tower stands over the town. There is a man there with a peregrine falcon which he has raised from an egg. He is very enterprising and before I have a chance to say no, the bird is on my hand. It’s actually rather cool to be so close to such a beautiful creature and I give him some pesetas before paying the small entrance fee to climb the tower.
From the ground the tower does not look that tall. I start my ascent which initially is easy, but each level is narrower with less headroom.
In places the wood is rotten, the handrails wobble and are not secure and I seriously question my sanity. Every time I finish one flight and stand on the intermediate platform I wonder whether to turn back. I decide to persevere and the views from the top are terrific.
What is not so great is the way the whole tower is definitely moving with the wind. I do not linger and am glad to make it safely back to terra firma.
I wander around looking for inspiration. Matt joins me and makes some location suggestions and helps with composition. We sit and have an ice-cold homemade lemonade. Suitably refreshed I continue with my assignment.
I finish my shoot at the old slave quarters where graffiti depicting slavery has been painted on the walls lest we should forget those dark days.
Taxis take us back to our hotel. The views along the way are magnificent.
We have the afternoon to go through our photographs and pick our best six to display to the group before dinner. We have a discussion about where to have dinner. Apparently there will be a power-cut in town tonight but the hotel will have light. Good as last night’s meal was, nobody can face another bill fiasco. We opt for dinner in town at Le Giroud. It has a generator so we just need to walk there and back in the dark. We are getting quite good at that now. I have a calzone pizza which is quite excellent, washed down by a few caipirinhas, which are also spot-on.
