Maniweros, an opportunity to sense the forest

It has been five days since I decided to embark on an expedition with a group of young people through the mountains of Soroa, in the western province of Artemisa, very close to Havana. It was 24 hours of intense hiking, but also many other experiences where our main hosts were the forest and the mountains. And the forest brings people together, do not doubt that, just as the slogan of Maniweros (El Monte Une), this small but powerful project led by Rolo and Limón, says.

We boarded a truck under the Highway Bridge and Calle 100 in our capital after cordial greetings between strangers who did not know what awaited them on those two days, but I sensed that each of us was in the best frame of mind to face whatever came our way, because that is the Maniweros spirit.

It was a 45-minute journey, leaving at 8 a.m., and when we arrived at the Candelaria bridge, we had to wait for a bus to take us up to Villa de Soroa, from where we would walk to the farm where we would camp that night.

While we were waiting for the bus, Rolo pulled a great idea out of his backpack. How so, you may ask? Well, a friend of his who makes chocolates (choka_na on Instagram) sent each of us a small chocolate bar with a challenge hidden inside the wrapper that we had to complete during the trip. Rolo suggested that we do it without saying anything, record evidence of our completion in some way, and then share it in the evening when we made the campfire, a time to tell something about ourselves and get to know each other better, chat and, why not, philosophise. Fire has extraordinary qualities... And buses in Cuba... have the extraordinary quality of not running on time, so we had to get on a tricycle, divided into two groups, to a town called Candito.

The challenge made us laugh and talk a lot, because imagine that each of us had to do something different. So little by little we began to interact. And I realised that I was the super granny of the group because everyone else was so young...😂... their ages, between 23 and 32, presented me with another challenge, even more than the one I had on my little piece of paper, which I kept in my backpack until today.

Walk 10 steps balancing on a log.

We got off the tricycle and walked to one of the pools in the Soroa River, and there, given the delay, the plan changed a bit. We decided to cool off there, have lunch—each of us had brought a snack in our backpack—and there was no shortage of pleasant sharing there either. How lovely. I said that this has been one of my best experiences in recent years, and it's absolutely true. I enjoy so much seeing people laugh and have a good time without so many gadgets, without so much sophistication. It is the most genuine way to feel present in the now, which is what we really have.

We all bathed in that pool, and there I also accomplished my challenge with some difficulty: the log was floating on the water. 😀


Limón waiting for the lagging photographer

I won't deny that the trail to the big waterfall is demanding, and it's a shame that it hadn't rained much in those days, so the waterfall was a bit thin, but still enjoyable. Being there for a while, absorbed in the sound of the water, the wind gently blowing through the vegetation, where, as you can see, the tall royal palms stand out, and the birds singing... oh, you know I love birds, and I heard so many songs that I couldn't recognise. I need to be there longer to be able to observe them and, incidentally, try to photograph them.

This is our national bird: the tocororo. Thanks to Rafa, who was holding my camera at the time and saw it, he was able to capture it because I tried later, but the tocororo flew to an awkward place where I got the third shot. It's not a Lifer for me as I've seen many in the central Escambray area a few years ago.

We left there feeling very motivated and eager to continue accumulating experiences. It was time to climb Loma el Mogote Viewpoint, but first we had to get to Dani's place, the Afromatica farm, set up our tents. More walking, of course... and spectacular views as a reward.