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| The Caribbean from atop the Escambray Mountains |
From the Caribbean, the Escambray
Mountains rise steeply above Trinidad.
They are lush with second growth forest, the primary forest having been
almost entirely cut down during the years of Spanish and American control of
Cuba. Today there are huge mahogany
trees along with many imported, and now invasive, species, such as giant acacia
trees brought in to provide shade for the coffee plants. Coffee is a major mountain crop. The best quality coffee, shade-grown, is
exported. Cubans get to drink the less
desirable coffee grown in the much hotter lowlands.
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| giant ferns lined our trail through the mountains |
We spent the day in the mountains at Topes de Collones, a
village that surrounds several dismal hotels, a former TB sanitarium turned
resort cum spa, which looks like you’d never escape once you entered its
forbidding doors, and a number of coffee farms.
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| Unfortunately, a truck accidentally ran over this 10 foot long boa constrictor |
We hiked with an excellent naturalist who told us about the
birds, trees and shrubs as we walked about 8 miles round trip. The trail is very steep with lots of up and
down, but not difficult. We visited a
cave with a stream flowing out of it.
There are pools where you can swim and a waterfall to run through above
where we stopped, but we wanted to continue on to the trail’s end, where there
is a pretty and narrow valley with a little bar and toilets. There are also tents for those who want to
camp. Hibiscus flowers bloom on
the bushes and hibiscus trees, which are quite tall, while hummingbirds feed on
a variety of trumpet-shaped flowers.
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| old Russian tractor used on cooperative farm |
Over a very late lunch at a mountaintop restaurant, we
talked to our naturalist guide about his life.
He loves his job, but makes very little money. Remarkably, many of his clients don’t bother
to tip him, though tips are what make the low-paying job worthwhile. He and his wife both worked for a
construction company before, but she lost her job when the company
(government-owned) cut staff and can’t find another one. They have 2 young children.
He said most of the mountain tour company's employees live in government housing
where they pay a tiny amount per month to buy their apartments. If they work for the company
(government-owned) for 20 years, they own the apartment. He decided to build his own house so that, if
he lost his job, he would still have a home for his family.
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| a mountain family's home and transportation |
It has been an amazing process, though not to Cubans. You can buy a small lot from the government
if you pour a foundation and build a bathroom, complete with toilet, septic
system of some sort and water which does not need to be running water. That gets you the land. Then, you must build at least a 15 square
meter room (about 135 square feet).
Since he and his wife both worked for a construction company, they both
knew a bit about building a house and were able to obtain materials more cheaply
than on the open market. Of the cost of materials, 46% is tax.
They built the bathroom and first room 7 years ago. At first, they rented the room as a garage to
a neighbor and saved that money to buy the materials for the next room. When they had 35 square meters, a bedroom (former
garage) and tiny kitchen/living room, they moved in with their 2 children.
Before they moved in, they carefully bought, over a couple
of years as they could afford them, a washing machine, a blender, a stove
(small) and a fan. Just before they moved
in, they bought a small refrigerator.
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| government-owned, and very good, mountain top restaurant |
Today, their house is 47 square meters and has one more
bedroom. Their dream is to build a
second floor with 2 bedrooms and enlarge the living room/kitchen. But, that will take years to accomplish since
building materials are so expensive and their pay is so low. Even just a toilet seat, he said, costs about
$110. And pay is about $10 to $20 per
month. So tips are critical.
I asked if he would like to try to find a better-paying job,
which is no easy task in Cuba. He
obviously would, though he loves working in the mountains. He is hoping to add a bedroom and bathroom to
his mother’s house in a village outside of Trinidad. Then he could rent that to tourists, earning
both his mother and himself a little steady income. He also wants to have enough land to create a
garden because some tour groups come to Cuba to see beautiful gardens and pay
for the privilege. So, he has dreams,
which will be crushingly hard to achieve.
We have talked to so many Cubans who are smart,
well-educated and very talented, highly motivated to improve their lives, and
with such limited opportunities to do so until their economy and their wages grow
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