Pinar del Rio and on to Las Terrazos

Erratum.
I have had to put up with a fair bit of snigering from Shanti at my memory of the tobacco farmers name - it was Benito. And the limestone Karst are called Mogotes, locally. Other factual information may also be incorrect!

Today we said goodbye, sadly, to the Valle Vinales, where the mogotes emerge in the early light and sink back into it at night. They are the same type of structures as in few places in Asia including China, and are quite striking. During the day the valley is a picture of contentment as the farming community work the land at a quiet pace, with not a sound from their activities.

Im now writing from a hotel called La Moka in la Terrazas, west of Havana, where we have three days.
On the way here we had the special experience of visiting a small cigar factory in a town called Ria de Pinares, where they roll Trinidad and Romeo y Julieta cigars, both icons of the cigar world. No photos are allowed in the factory - or of other various government controlled activities. In the case of the cigar factories I can understand they want to protect the detailed processes that make their product so unique. We entered an unremarkable door off the street and were ushered into a small narrow hallway. About 20 workers in benches three wide were at work - each completing cigars from start to finish. Wooden benches, hot, fans whirring, the smell of tobacco - this time the mature product. They use a hand held cutter to prepare leaves which they rolled and wrapped to go into a press, then out of the press after several hours to be completed with wrapper and a cap in two sections. Around the factory floor move others carrying materials. A radio was playing - in older days workers were read to. We were mesmerised to see the process and to realise that each cigar must be absolutely identical in every way. Next we viewed an area where each cigar is weighed, measured in length and guage. The rollers were very swift and can perfectly judger to a gram or two the amounts to use, and can roll cigars after cigar that you could not distinguish one from the othere. There were men and women of various ages who flicked a quick look or maybe smile as we stood near them. We clapped several who raced through the [process top produce a perfect item, whicg got a smile from them. In an adjoining room, bales of tobacco were being sorted for distribution to the tables, with each wrapper being individually inspected as the finished surface must be perfect. Every whorl on the plant is named and its leaf considered to have special characteristics, plus the distinctions of which specific location which produced it. In the packing area each cigar is graded into a range of colour variations, so that on opening a box the colour is perfectly consistent. By hand the labels were attached and finally cedar boxes packed. There were 70 opeople in all in the factory, includings some serious characters. Our guide explained many of the details and impressed us with the devotion to detail from the farm, through the fermentation process, then to their factory for production. Top cigars are several years in the process and touched only by human hand. Even when completed they are held for months befotre final packing, for further maturation. When we were given a box to marvel at we could now appreciate what had gone into it and what a unique expresion of cuban culture they were. We thought back to Benioto and his rousing lecture on how he tended his crop, picked each leaf by hand, sorted them according to which tier of the plant they grew on and now we were seeing the culmination of the process, several years on. We bought a Trinidad as a special treat (Castro's choice for diplomatic gifts, althouigh he himself smokes Cohiba Esplendidos) and will deal to it when the opportunity arises.

In the afternoon we taxi'd to this location, maybe 100k away. The driver was a worry and air con = all windows open, but hey we got here. Its a wildlife and forest reserve, and we just settled in then noticed the woodpeckers and other birdlife around us. I fired up the 200mm lens and have our first good bird photos. The viewing was so good from the open air bar we repaired to that establishent and had a wee nip of rum. On the way, there had also been a quick stop at a rum distillery - another substance the locals love, and which you could get used to. It is the distillate from a by product of the sugar industry, aged in wood and flavoured with specific local fruits, such as a tiny guava berry.

Bit rushed sorry, typing a bit average at any time let alone at end of a long day! Shanti is writing a diary but i might talk her into a guest blog spot. She sends loves as do i,

Shanta