We survived our challenging casa in surprisingly good shape. In spite of the limitations of the space, the casa owner and her food were excellent.
We jumped into the morning, keen to see where Fidel and his supporters landed their boat, the Granma. This story had intrigued us. This 60 foot cabin cruiser was designed to accommodate 12 men. Castro bought it for $15,000 (more or less - my searches on Google for reliable content is spotty at best!) and set off from Mexico with 82 men on board. The journey was expected to take five days, but took several days longer due to a storm. There's more drama to their journey, but the bottom line is that they landed in this mangrove swamp at 5:30 am on December 2nd, 1956. It was not where they planned to land, but they had been spotted by a military helicopter. An 80 year-old survivor was quoted as saying, 'The Granma was carrying more dreams than weapons'. As we were not that far away, we wanted to see the site.
We jumped into the morning, keen to see where Fidel and his supporters landed their boat, the Granma. This story had intrigued us. This 60 foot cabin cruiser was designed to accommodate 12 men. Castro bought it for $15,000 (more or less - my searches on Google for reliable content is spotty at best!) and set off from Mexico with 82 men on board. The journey was expected to take five days, but took several days longer due to a storm. There's more drama to their journey, but the bottom line is that they landed in this mangrove swamp at 5:30 am on December 2nd, 1956. It was not where they planned to land, but they had been spotted by a military helicopter. An 80 year-old survivor was quoted as saying, 'The Granma was carrying more dreams than weapons'. As we were not that far away, we wanted to see the site.
 |
| There was a replica of the Granma here. |
The original Granma is stored under glass and heavily guarded in Havana, so I appreciated this more accessible open replica.
The Parque Desembarco del Granma is another UNESCO World Heritage site, but not due to this installation. More on that later. There was a very nice visitor center here and we were ushered into the exclusive VIP lounge to use the bathroom. I felt very special.
My interest however, was to see 'the spot' so off we trotted for the 1.3 km walk - this time along a very easy concrete boardwalk through the mangrove swamp.
I now have hundreds of photos of a mangrove swamp in my futile attempt to demonstrate for you what a horrible experience it must have been for the men involved. We were told it took them 5 hours to negotiate the same 1.3 km. They were exhausted after the 7 day journey from Mexico. They had suffered seasickness and insufficient rations, had just been shot at by a helicopter and had a pretty good idea that the Batista troops were headed their way.
Even with a machete, I could not imagine myself hacking through this with full military kit and brand new steel toed boots! The reports indicate that they were pretty much in a position where there was no choice but to do so.
There was a concrete platform marking the spot where the boat finally ran aground. This Cuban family was taking advantage of the holiday week to visit this important historic site.
I leave you with just a few more pictures, just to drive home the point! At least there were no alligators and snakes!
Once they were out of the swamp, they saw the smoke from a nearby campesino bohio. The farmer, Angel Perez Rosabal was a charcoal maker.
Seeing the inside of this traditional building (reconstructed - these structures don't last that long - very organic) was most interesting.
It was a good lesson on campesino creativity. Life must be simple, repetitive but self sufficient. Basic foods can be grown on the property. Rice, sugar and flour are now obtained from the ration store, which would involve a trip to town, or delivery by a family member. I can see why healthcare, education and a modicum of financial stability were so appreciated.
Angel Perez Rosabal did not know these things when he helped feed Castro and his companions. He just extended the hand of courtesy with chunks of pork, apples and plantains. Apparently Angel laughed when Fidel told him they'd come to liberate the Cuban people. Sadly, his hospitality put his whole family at risk. They knew the Batista forces would arrive soon, so the family left in a boat, traveling west toward Cienfuegos. I couldn't find anything further about their fate online.
Fidel's troops, on the other hand, started heading inland toward Pico Torquino and the Sierra Maestra mountains. The short story was that, in the end, only 21 of the 82 Granma guerrillas survived encounters with government troops, and even that number is questioned by some as being too high. Nevertheless, this rag tag troop ended up taking over the country which was defended by an army of 40,000. It struck me as an unbelievable story.
Happily, the subject of our journey soon changed into a marvellous enounter with a 2 km nature-archeology walk , called El Guafe. Much of the island is limestone, so it was predictable that we would end up seeing caves. We only entered a few large caverns lit by daylight, but we had no idea that they were visited long ago by pre-Colombian peoples.
The most wonderful surprise was this rock carving of this Taino deity, Atabeira. She is known as the goddess of fresh water and fertility. The Taino had chosen to carve this image on a stalagmite that only catches direct sunlight at the winter solstice. It was a most wonderful treat to see her up close and personal and to know many feet had walked before me in this space. Our guide told us that people will still come from other parts of South America to worship here.
This walk also revealed crabs......
....and a 500 year old cactus 'tree'.
It was really quite impressive. Our guide also showed us a funerary cavern where Taino's had been thrown for burial. The ground is so hard, there was no possibility of digging graves, so the bodies were put in caves. The peons were thrown in together. Happily, this happened a long time ago - so no odor now. The bones have also been removed to museums.
The fate of the upper echelons was a little different. They were placed more carefully.
However, they did not want people coming in to these caves to disturb the dead, so again, they used the stalagmites to create very skeletal-looking faces.
This ghost-like face was placed deeper in the cavern - our guide said it was a warning to people that they would be turned into a ghost if they went further! I figured I would turn back!
After all that darkness and tormented history, it was refreshing to arrive in Cabo Cruz, at the far, south eastern end of Cuba. It was a small fishing village and we realized that, until now, we had not seen any boats on our journey. There was a sailing boat moored off shore. It seems it had just arrived and the occupants were rowing ashore to report to the authorities. It garnered much attention from our guides and the locals.
We were informed that even commercial fisherman are not permitted to set nets, so all fishing is done by hand! It appears the intent is to have sustainable fishing practices, but it meant all the boats were small.
I chose a most interesting fish ball - it was flaked fish on the outside, cheese and ham on the inside. The whole thing was the size of a softball and deep fried. I thought it was pretty good!
One of the reasons wee had come to this remote area was my interest in seeing another UNESCO World Heritage site, which I mentioned earlier in this blog. The UNESCO website said of the Disembarco de Granma site that it 'has uplifted marine terraces and ongoing development of karst topography and features...........includes spectacular terraces and cliffs as well as some of the most pristine and impressive coastal cliffs bordering the western Atlantic'. Well as you can imagine, this former geologist was psyched and set off with our guides to see this natural treasure.
We walked past a barbecue with a pig on a spit (I decided to spare you the image in deference to the faint of heart!) and soon after saw a cavern. It had bats, but sadly, the graffiti artists had also been there.
Not much further along the beach, I was told that the area ahead was restricted by the military because of drug trafficking. As a result, we could go no further. So these views were the best I could get of 'impressive coastal cliffs'. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed.
Fran, meanwhile, had chosen a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed the lovely water. I don't regret my slog in the sun, but it remains as a reason for me to return to Cuba for a visit. I will just have to figure out how to access the correct area and hope the American government stops restricting us.
It was time to return to Bayamo for the night, but being the way things are in Cuba, there was much to see on the way - both planned and unplanned!
You may recall Carlos Manuel Cespedes, the 'Father of Cuba', who had been born in Bayamo. Because of his importance in Cuban history, our guide wanted us to visit the few remaining relics from his sugar plantation near Manzanillo. It was a really attractive monument and was lovely in the low evening sun.
I particularly appreciated seeing the Demajagua bell that Cespedes had used to summon his slaves on the morning of October 10th, 1868. When they were gathered, he announced to them that they were now free and then he invited them to join him in the war against the Spanish. This is the moment, 'Grito de Yara' (Cry of Yara) that began the Ten Years War. Fidel Castro 'kidnapped' the bell in 1947 to protest against the corrupt Cuban government before he was well known.
Another revolutionary who is renowned in Manzanillo was Celia Sanchez. She started the 26th of July Movement in Manzanillo, was one of the first women to assemble a combat squad and became one of Fidel's closest companions.
It was also fun seeing men out in the cool of the sidewalk playing dominoes.
........and were very grateful that this was not our fate for the evening!
My interest however, was to see 'the spot' so off we trotted for the 1.3 km walk - this time along a very easy concrete boardwalk through the mangrove swamp.
I now have hundreds of photos of a mangrove swamp in my futile attempt to demonstrate for you what a horrible experience it must have been for the men involved. We were told it took them 5 hours to negotiate the same 1.3 km. They were exhausted after the 7 day journey from Mexico. They had suffered seasickness and insufficient rations, had just been shot at by a helicopter and had a pretty good idea that the Batista troops were headed their way.
Even with a machete, I could not imagine myself hacking through this with full military kit and brand new steel toed boots! The reports indicate that they were pretty much in a position where there was no choice but to do so.
There was a concrete platform marking the spot where the boat finally ran aground. This Cuban family was taking advantage of the holiday week to visit this important historic site.
I leave you with just a few more pictures, just to drive home the point! At least there were no alligators and snakes!
Once they were out of the swamp, they saw the smoke from a nearby campesino bohio. The farmer, Angel Perez Rosabal was a charcoal maker.
Seeing the inside of this traditional building (reconstructed - these structures don't last that long - very organic) was most interesting.
 |
| Typical bench top 'stove' |
 |
| Kerosene lamp made from a tin can |
 |
| Meat smoking rack - stops rodents |
 |
| hollowed out royal palm provides a gutter between the two roofs |
 |
| The wooden frame lasts longer than the thatch |
It was a good lesson on campesino creativity. Life must be simple, repetitive but self sufficient. Basic foods can be grown on the property. Rice, sugar and flour are now obtained from the ration store, which would involve a trip to town, or delivery by a family member. I can see why healthcare, education and a modicum of financial stability were so appreciated.
Angel Perez Rosabal did not know these things when he helped feed Castro and his companions. He just extended the hand of courtesy with chunks of pork, apples and plantains. Apparently Angel laughed when Fidel told him they'd come to liberate the Cuban people. Sadly, his hospitality put his whole family at risk. They knew the Batista forces would arrive soon, so the family left in a boat, traveling west toward Cienfuegos. I couldn't find anything further about their fate online.
Fidel's troops, on the other hand, started heading inland toward Pico Torquino and the Sierra Maestra mountains. The short story was that, in the end, only 21 of the 82 Granma guerrillas survived encounters with government troops, and even that number is questioned by some as being too high. Nevertheless, this rag tag troop ended up taking over the country which was defended by an army of 40,000. It struck me as an unbelievable story.
Happily, the subject of our journey soon changed into a marvellous enounter with a 2 km nature-archeology walk , called El Guafe. Much of the island is limestone, so it was predictable that we would end up seeing caves. We only entered a few large caverns lit by daylight, but we had no idea that they were visited long ago by pre-Colombian peoples.
The most wonderful surprise was this rock carving of this Taino deity, Atabeira. She is known as the goddess of fresh water and fertility. The Taino had chosen to carve this image on a stalagmite that only catches direct sunlight at the winter solstice. It was a most wonderful treat to see her up close and personal and to know many feet had walked before me in this space. Our guide told us that people will still come from other parts of South America to worship here.
This walk also revealed crabs......
 |
| Blue crab - it scuttled away quickly |
 |
| Hermit crab in one of the caverns |
....and a 500 year old cactus 'tree'.
It was really quite impressive. Our guide also showed us a funerary cavern where Taino's had been thrown for burial. The ground is so hard, there was no possibility of digging graves, so the bodies were put in caves. The peons were thrown in together. Happily, this happened a long time ago - so no odor now. The bones have also been removed to museums.
The fate of the upper echelons was a little different. They were placed more carefully.
This ghost-like face was placed deeper in the cavern - our guide said it was a warning to people that they would be turned into a ghost if they went further! I figured I would turn back!
 |
| Cabo Cruz |
After all that darkness and tormented history, it was refreshing to arrive in Cabo Cruz, at the far, south eastern end of Cuba. It was a small fishing village and we realized that, until now, we had not seen any boats on our journey. There was a sailing boat moored off shore. It seems it had just arrived and the occupants were rowing ashore to report to the authorities. It garnered much attention from our guides and the locals.
We were informed that even commercial fisherman are not permitted to set nets, so all fishing is done by hand! It appears the intent is to have sustainable fishing practices, but it meant all the boats were small.
I enjoyed watching this pair head out to the reef for their day's catch.
 |
| The base of the lighthouse was in need of significant repair |
 |
| This building looked as if it has been been around a while! |
We knew lunch would be fresh, so fish was definitely on the menu.
One of the reasons wee had come to this remote area was my interest in seeing another UNESCO World Heritage site, which I mentioned earlier in this blog. The UNESCO website said of the Disembarco de Granma site that it 'has uplifted marine terraces and ongoing development of karst topography and features...........includes spectacular terraces and cliffs as well as some of the most pristine and impressive coastal cliffs bordering the western Atlantic'. Well as you can imagine, this former geologist was psyched and set off with our guides to see this natural treasure.
We walked past a barbecue with a pig on a spit (I decided to spare you the image in deference to the faint of heart!) and soon after saw a cavern. It had bats, but sadly, the graffiti artists had also been there.
Not much further along the beach, I was told that the area ahead was restricted by the military because of drug trafficking. As a result, we could go no further. So these views were the best I could get of 'impressive coastal cliffs'. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed.
Fran, meanwhile, had chosen a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed the lovely water. I don't regret my slog in the sun, but it remains as a reason for me to return to Cuba for a visit. I will just have to figure out how to access the correct area and hope the American government stops restricting us.
It was time to return to Bayamo for the night, but being the way things are in Cuba, there was much to see on the way - both planned and unplanned!
 |
| I just want to make sure you understand how people get around |
 |
| We saw a number of baseball stadiums in passing - I liked the color of this one |
 |
| This farmer and his oxen had a timeless look in the soft evening light |
You may recall Carlos Manuel Cespedes, the 'Father of Cuba', who had been born in Bayamo. Because of his importance in Cuban history, our guide wanted us to visit the few remaining relics from his sugar plantation near Manzanillo. It was a really attractive monument and was lovely in the low evening sun.
I particularly appreciated seeing the Demajagua bell that Cespedes had used to summon his slaves on the morning of October 10th, 1868. When they were gathered, he announced to them that they were now free and then he invited them to join him in the war against the Spanish. This is the moment, 'Grito de Yara' (Cry of Yara) that began the Ten Years War. Fidel Castro 'kidnapped' the bell in 1947 to protest against the corrupt Cuban government before he was well known.
 |
| Celia Sanchez Memorial on Manzanillo |
 |
| There are two frangipani's here that have rifle barrel legs |
 |
| Along with the doves, note the sunflower (left Center) made with rifle barrels |
 |
| When I arrived back down the many steps of Celia's monument, I found Fran practicing her Spanish with locals! |
After visiting Celia's memorial, we spent some time walking around Manzanillo. It had the usual beauty of dereliction ....
...and was also hilly.
It also had a very nice paseo......
....and a lovely parque.
It was also fun seeing men out in the cool of the sidewalk playing dominoes.
Like these cyclists, we were ready to head back to our 'home' for the night.......
........and were very grateful that this was not our fate for the evening!
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