This post was thought in advance for this community and when I read the topics proposed by Galen for this Weekend Engamememt, everything clicked. It's not content for one topic, it's content for more than one!!
Last weekend, the first of 2025, I did with my husband a tour planned since mid-December. We spent the end of the year at my mom's house. Those of you who have read my posts know that I have talked about that place, where I grew up. In spite of having lived in front of this place for so many years, I had never ventured to visit it, I am referring to the part that is in front of the house.
We left around 10:00 am, after the thick fog let us see the roads. The fog foreshadowed the heat of the rest of the day. The route should not be very long, so we assumed that we would be back by 1:00 pm.
The first part of the route was through yards and farmland owned by known neighbors. This area is humid and its soil is fertile for many crops. The farmers of the area take advantage of the elevations closest to the stream that runs through the area, to facilitate the irrigation of their crops.
We continue climbing along the paths laid out by forestry workers. On these trails they drag the wood from above. It was safer for us who do not know the area, although there is no danger, either from wild animals or any other kind.
We came to a clearing with perfect grass, as if it were mowed. The views from there are breathtaking. We could appreciate the majestic Sierra de los Organos, which rises right in the backyard of my mom's house. This mountain massif is part of the Guaniguanico mountain range that extends through almost the entire province of Pinar del Rio.
We continue ascending, the temperature was pleasant and the air quality was getting better and better. Only the sound of the pines moved by the wind and the chirping of birds accompanied our steps. It was becoming more and more difficult to make out the landscape we were leaving behind. We reached a point where the foliage obstructed the view and decided to start the descent, but not before we were silent and try to absorb all the energy we could from that place. It was a time to recharge 😁.
I can't say how many meters high the elevations we climbed were, no one we asked knew. I just know that the ride was extremely pleasant despite the logical exhaustion. We arrived at the lower area at the time we had planned. The heat was exhausting, but we continued on our way in search of another adventure. I will tell you about it in another post.
It is amazing how revitalizing this type of activity can be and I can't think of a better way to have started the year.
Some of the photos were taken by my husband, the others by me. The text is my own. I used DeepL for the translation.