before we leave

I forgot to post this cool thing that happened-

here are the three photos that show it- I was in front of the main house at the coffee farm and something caught my eye... and I didn't want to move closer in case I would scare him away so I am showing you just the clearest of the photos - I watched him hang in the air with his helicopter like wings for quite some time and although the photos were blurry I did see all the various stages of how he manages to just hover at the flowers--- totally cool!

did I mention that I have terrific distance vision? thanks to lasik surgery in August of 2000 - I have not only not worn glasses but also have distance vision my dear hubby only dreams of... thanks to Dr. Dick Dennis of Chicago Cornea (OK blatant name dropping but he is not only my eye surgeon - he is also a long long time wino friend) and I thought this was a perfect example of how well I see- the first photo was where I was when the little guy caught my eye- and I only moved about seven or eight feet closer- the second photo is just cropped and blown up in the following two---

and while discovering my little humming bird I also came across a few photos from up on the mountain that I missed posting- the "grandma" and Honey (of Cienfuegos Choir fame - who also is the wife of our guide)

and then remember way back - almost a month ago when I posted this photo? My mystery cowboy- well here he is revealed. He patiently answered all the questions the group asked no matter how ignorant we were of farming or coffee plantations etc...

The cowboy things were all around the farm---

well- except the boots - I think in Cuba you take the boots you get- no fancy cowboy boots for these guys...

so as we leave town I get to take a few photos out of the bus window - and then we are off to Cienfuegos for one of our two "bathroom stops"-

the first of our stops was multipurpose- drop off Honey at home, visit Raul's house in Cienfuegos so we could see how a top guide lives and for the group to use the multiple bathrooms

the kitchen is well stocked and has all the appliances you would find in the kitchens of any other country-

including mugs with photos of Raul and Honey  :-)

They have redone an older home very near the UNESCO part of Cienfuegos and since they collect antiques - have tried to keep elements of the original house while updating the things that make a difference (kitchens & bathrooms mostly)

I don't know if I mentioned this- when we were in Trinidad in the wood carving artist's house - but Raul had commissioned a carving of his youngest daughter Sarah, and her great-grandparents because she may not remember them after they have gone as she is only 15 months old now- so here is their own carving of Sarah and her great grandparents- and then a photo through the bus window of the great grandparents and Sarah and Honey's mom (Sarah's grandmother.)

Then we continued on the road- with a stop at a rest area/souvenir stand/bathroom/bar/ice cream place....

we had an ice cream to tide us over until we reached lunch with the fishermen.... but that will be the next post - stay tuned the town was lovely- here is a teaser photo to bring you back!

I finally get to the mountains

So if you have gone back and read any of the 2012 trip posts you may know that the last time I was in Cuba there was a planned trip to the mountains that was canceled... you could if you had a strong desire read about the very relaxed day we had instead here-

http://blog.semifreelife.com/2012/05/we-dont-go-to-mountains.html

or you could skip it and just come to the mountains with us today! It has been hot, really hot, here in Trinidad and of course going up into the mountains to learn about coffee growing in Cuba would give us a respite from the heat.  So come on let's go!

don't be fooled by the blue skies on this side of the mountain- we got up and over and down through a valley and then up again - and things get much more dicey- oh and did I mention we did this in Soviet area military transport vehicles -  so the views below are taken from a giant moving truck fitted with school bus seats...

up top there is an old sanitarium which was then a spa for Russian military in Cuba... by all accounts they mostly kept to themselves during the time of their deployment to the island-

our naturalist guide to the growing of coffee and its allegedly EXCELLENT properties - it can cure cancer according to this guy- along with curing all sorts of other things including arthritis - but every recipe he gave for cures had both coffee and alcohol----- LOL so no doubt when you were wasted you THOUGHT the coffee was doing you some good - LOL

of course we tasted a sample- and I am sure it was because the only coffee I ever drink is frappucino LOL- this was vile- it basically tasted like dirt to me- luckily it was a small cup and the ground was adsorbent LOL

parakeets in the trees were making a HUGE racket! no hiding out for these guys!

Then we went to the farmers' homes to visit and learn about how it was they ended up with a privately owned farm (they had already subdivided it into plots before the revolution and they were allowed to keep their forty acres because it was within the maximum allowable of forty acres) Their homes were lovely and open to the mountain breezes - with wide porches to protect the interiors - the grandparents lived more simply but still the home was immaculate- below the kitchen

photos from the big house - occupied by the son and his family-

son and his father (the grandfather)

ripe coffee beans-

the lunch stop was at this lovely mountain top restaurant-

our waiter looked familiar- LOL

the view from the terrace-

one son ran the coffee plantation - another worked at another plantation and a third one ran a little store that sold (big surprise) coffee and other produce from the farm-

here it looks like a toy house but moving in on the photo you can see the goods for sale - including the peanut bars they were selling to the tourists along with the coffee- there were samples and it was pretty darn good.  Phil ate the ones he bought while we still in Cuba - as late night snacks...when he could get decent wi-fi he was back to his usual routines with late night surfing on politics in the U.S.

the second from the left in the bar section were the peanut ones- and they sold completely out up at the farmhouse- but no one knew they were available down below at the road side store (I only found them on my picture when we returned to town - boo hoo for those who missed out)

our ride back down the hairpin turns from the mountains was quite hair raising especially since by then we had rain in earnest....

When we did get back to the hotel, we found towel sculptures in all our rooms, and many in the group went room to room to see what the housekeepers had constructed. Ours even had Phil's beard! These gals were not only talented in towel and bed clothes folding but they were observant as well!

We had our final dinner that evening in the hotel - a rather lackluster buffet.  The meals at the paladars have been much better than the ones we have had to eat at the hotels- not surprising that they make more effort but it is a bit of a change since last time I was here when the state owned restaurants had better food and much more choice...  but we didn't come for the food - we came for the people and that was a huge success..... tomorrow we head back to Havana with a stop along the way for lunch in the town near where Hemingway lived  but that is more for the next post- this is it for our time in Trinidad...