How I arrived deserves a post
Meanwhile, I want to tell you about the Technological Palace: Finca de los Monos in Havana, Cuba.
This place, until a few years ago, was entirely abandoned. It was an area forgotten by the city. Nobody entered; nobody knew what was happening inside.
A Forgotten Area of the City
Since I have memorie, this place had been peculiar. In this post: Chateau: Las Delicias, I tell you a bit about the architectural beauty that still remains "mostly" original.
But that wasn’t what made me visit it.
The place was converted into a Technological Palace for the little ones in the family.
Today, it features several recreational areas and quite unique zones.
What attracted me the most was the history of the place. Although I had heard about it, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I came across an article about its remodeling.
In the article, a section was dedicated to the history of the Finca, and just that section made me want to discover more.
The lady owner inherited the land from her father.
A wealthy landowner from the central part of the country. Fleeing the imminent war that had begun in the East, he bought this land.
After a fire destroyed the buildings and much of the forest reserve in the area, his daughter decided it was time to create something unique.
She decided to create the largest private reserve of primates in America.
Of course, this decision was not without its myths and legends.
Myths that have been lost over the years, but still, some older workers who were children back then and lived very close to the place have knowledge of them.
Under the pretext of being a babysitter, we went to visit the place.
🦍🦍🦍
We arrived so early that there was nobody around.
The whole place was ours alone :)
I felt like a child again.
But the first impression wasn’t very pleasant
:(
The place suffers from incredible neglect, but you can tell they made an effort to recreate the history of the site.
For example...
These cinematic primates have their origin in the rumors that circulated around the city.
According to many, the original owner would give tasks to the primates as if they were humans.
They said that more than one accompanied the owner like a servant and that many others did simple tasks like cleaning or maintaining the estate.
These stories were never confirmed.
Only the closest people to the family could enter the estate.
Unlike the rest of high society, there were no parties or receptions here; everything was created to respect the lives of the animals living within it.
The place was a fortress for the primates.
I was almost ready to give up when I met Juanito (not his real name).
Juanito was the oldest person I encountered that day.
An elderly man, short in stature, wearing maintenance or gardening clothes. He told me he saw me taking photos and paying attention to every detail, so I caught his eye.
I think I found what I was looking for. I found him!
After chatting a bit, Juanito, without me telling him why I was visiting, gave me a tour of the secret spots of the place.
We walked a lot.
I got to know every corner (much more than what visitors see)
Although due to some rules of the current Palace, I couldn’t access some areas that I wanted to (which I’ll show you in another post).
You can see the main house in this post, but the rest of the complex is also interesting.
To the point that they even have an airplane inside the place (I’ll talk about it in other posts).
I was struck by the fact that near each statue of the primates and in other more distant areas, they placed speakers with sounds of primates that repeated quite often.
At some point, it became a bit uncomfortable.
But then, suddenly, the power went out, and calm returned to the place.
It was the first time I was glad the power went out :)
I stayed talking with Juanito in the camping area.
An area created to promote activities for the Explorer Movement of the nearby primary schools.
An idea I love because I fondly remember the years I spent in the Explorer Movement and everything I learned (I’ve never applied it, but it’s important knowledge for certain situations).
I still have much to teach and tell you about the place, but I think this gives you an idea of the wonderful place that hides in the heart of the city.
A beauty that, despite being rescued, I don’t think its current use is the most accurate or the best utilized, but who am I to judge?
Well, it’s just about enjoying it.
Let me know in the comments what you think!
In future posts, I’ll return to show you more about the place.
I still have some interesting things to show you, from one of the planes that absurdly captivated Fidel Castro to the Train of Mystery.
But first, tell me if there are places like this in your city?
Or tell me if there’s a site that holds myths that are now inconceivable because at another time everyone believed them.
Let me know in the comments.
Don’t forget to follow me if you want to discover the rest, and if you liked it, leave me your vote ;)
Read you soon!
[dahpilot]
All images in the post are my own
