Hello to all the members of this beautiful platform. I've been on HIVE for only 1 month, but this is definitely the best place to post my story today.
In almost all Latin American countries (including Cuba, where I live) it is a tradition to celebrate the 15th birthday of teenage girls. The emergence of this festivity is very peculiar. It is not the subject of my post, but here is a link for those who want to know its origins.
The historical heritage makes such an occasion eagerly awaited by every young person. Its celebration may include parties, photo sessions in studio, outdoors and something else depending on the culture and traditions of each place.
A few months ago my daughter reached her 15th birthday, but unlike her friends, she didn't want a traditional celebration. No parties, no pictures with a suit and crown. She wanted to go rock climbing!!
Luckily for us, here in Havana there is a project that is dedicated to organizing this type of experience. Very professional guys, with a first class service. With Skalan2 in Havana we had already been on adventures twice, so we knew them and trusted them completely. Keep in mind that I was going to take with me a group of teenagers to develop activities with some risk, so safety issues were very important.
Coordinations began on the part of the Skalan2 team and ours. After all, it was a 15th celebration and it took some preparation. 😜
We wanted to go somewhere new, that would be a surprise for my daughter. After some paperwork and permission requests, the group coordinator confirmed to me that everything was ready for the appointed date.
With the help of my friends and family, we prepared all kinds of appetizers for 18 people. I also made a birthday cake decorated with things my daughter likes and with flour that I could eat (I'm celiac and can't eat anything with gluten in it). I wanted to eat a piece of my daughter's 15th birthday cake ğŸ¤.
We left at 7 am. When we arrived at the agreed meeting point, the three instructors were already waiting for us. We knew two of them from previous occasions, the other one was new, but just as professional. After giving us the usual talk, explaining the risks and asking us to pay the maximum attention in every step we took, we set out to get to the climbing site.
When I saw the staircase we had to descend with more than 80 steps, no handrail and a considerable height, my legs trembled and I feared for everyone. It is a pity that I have no photos to show you. For safety reasons no one had their cell phone in their hand, the camera was in its case and then I completely forgot about it.
After a few tense minutes, everyone downstairs safe and sound, we were speechless, the place was simply beautiful, fascinating. The choice was more than right, it was perfect. My daughter was happy!!!.
We were in the moats of the Morro de La Habana. Right in the breach that the English, in July 1762, after 44 days of intense combat, managed to open in the wall and penetrate the interior of the fortress. Thus our Havana was English for 11 months.
There we were, on the footprints of history. I was super excited. I tried to transmit my excitement to that group of teenagers, but it was in vain, as everyone was enjoying the place in their own way. I understood...it was not the time for a history class 😉.
An explanation of the characteristics of the climbing routes (2 of 21 meters high each), the basic methods to be used for ascending and descending, the technical conditions of the safety equipment to be used and a warm-up to prepare the body and mind, preceded the adventure.
All set!!! The honoree was one of the first to climb while another climbed the other route. Some got very close to the top, others not so much, only one girl managed to touch the belay anchor (maximum point where the rope was secured) on both routes. It was all adrenaline and fun, for many, it was their first time.
The day was long, we all climbed the 2 routes and from time to time we stopped for a snack. Around two o'clock in the afternoon we finished. The climb up the stairs was endless, the elevation and the fatigue made it so. Once at the top I sighed with relief, we were all well and the day was going perfectly.
There was still one part of the fun to come, a visit to a unique place.
That will be in a future post. I hope you enjoyed this story of my extraordinary daughter's 15 unconventional.😜
Thanks for making it this far. I'll see you soon.
The images are from my personal gallery, taken with Nikon D5100 camera. Text written by me in Spanish, my native language, translated on DeepL