Bay of Pigs – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

Cuba – Topes/Zapata Peninsula/Bay of Pigs

Jan 232015

The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) – also known as Zunzuncito or Zunzún hummingbird.
It is found only in Cuba and is classified as Near Threatened. They are the smallest known living bird in the world

The Cuban Emerald Hummingbird

We began our day in the Zapata Swamp looking for the Emerald Hummingbird and the Bee Hummingbird.

Steve Stancyk searching for the screech owl we never did see

This was day two of birding. Steve Stancyk explained to this non-birder, that the group was looking first for endemic birds and secondly birds not found in the U.S. that were new to the group.

The endemic birds that have been seen by the group consisted of the Striped Headed Tanager, Cuban Blackbird, Cuban Tody and the Cuban Trogan (the national bird).

What the group also saw were a lot of warblers on their winter migration from America.

Our morning stop today at the Zapata Swamp was very successful. We were not only able to spot the Emerald Hummingbird but the all-elusive Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world and endemic to Cuba.

My initiation into birding has put me in an elite group my very first trip out.

Alex Armentrout admiring the fighter jets

Alex Armentrout admiring a Hawker Sea Fury

Our next stop was the Bay of Pigs. I have absolutely no intention of discussing the Bay of Pigs Fiasco, that is what Wikipedia is for. If you are interested in learning more I suggest Bay of Pigs by Peter Wyden.

We heard two stories about the naming of the bay. First that the pirates of the 1700s gave the name due to the amount of wild pigs, something they could hunt and eat. The second was that this is where the Europeans off loaded the pigs as they brought them to the island, both plausible and fun stories.

We visited the Bay of Pigs Museum. Needless to say it was as flag waving, patriotic as one can possibly imagine, then take that same sort of nationalism and drop it back to the 1960s and you get a feel for the museum

There was a propaganda movie as well; complete with English subtitles so you can be reminded of how weak the American Cubans were against the almighty Cubans that remained behind with love of country behind them.

Our tour leader Nadia Eckhardt and our driver Luise stocking up on water and snacks.
Luise not only spent hours during the day driving, but had to log his trip every evening as well.

A quick stop across from the museum

Bill Madar being told “Made in Cuba, Not China….YET”

Our guide Gustavo showing us his mighty swing

Our guide Gustavo showing us his “wicked good” swing

A fun lunch outside at Punta Pairdiz, consisted of the usual underwhelming pork, chicken, fish choice on a buffet, with vegetables and rice.

After lunch, those that chose went snorkeling in the Bay of Pigs. I dipped my toe in this historical spot and then enjoyed the afternoon watching the frolicking in the beautiful blue water.

The Bay of Pigs sits within the Zapata Swamp area of Zapata Park. This sits within the largest municipality of Cuba. Prior to the 1960s charcoal production was the only source of income for this region. Since the area has become an eco-tourist spot there has been a large increase in both economic and cultural growth.

Time for a group photo at the Bay of Pigs

Dinner was at a parador called Milly. Run by a husband, wife and mother-in-law it was small and delightful. Dinner was the usual chicken, a fish, and again langostino, but lovingly prepared and quite good. The highlight was the fresh vegetables and fruit and the best Mojitos.

Milleys

Our hotel was the Playa Larga, coincidentally named for the second landing site of the Bay of Pigs. Moderate and yet clean and right on a beautiful beach with bungalows that reminds you of summer camp.

Hotel Playa Larga

Itinerary:
Transfer to Zapata Swamp
Meet a local guide to search for the bee hummingbird
Continue by coach to Playa Giron, driving along the Bay of Pigs
Lunch at Punta Perdiz at the Bay of Pigs
Visit to the Bay of Pigs Museum
Continue to hotel for check-in
Visit with Frank, a local naturalist, for discussion about the wetlands
Dinner in a local paladar across from the hotel
Overnight Playa Larga

See on the road to Bay of Pigs "The Big Homeland that Grows"

Seen on the road to Bay of Pigs
“The Big Homeland that Grows”

Cuba Playa Larga/Soroa/Vinales

Bay of Pigs, Cuba, Topes de Collantes

Jan 222015

The Cuban Green Woodpecker

We had the privilege of a lecture from Frank Medina, director of the Zapata Park. This 5000 square kilometer Park is the most important wetland of Cuba. It is recognized by UNESCO as a bio-reserve.

Cuba is 1200 Kilometers long and in it you will find 290 natural beaches, 4095 different keys, 4 mountain ranges, 103 protected areas and 45 nature parks. Almost 20% of Cuba’s land is protected.

Within Zapata Park live 9000 people. There are 3 biological stations that monitor fish, crocodiles, mangroves and marshes.

There are 366 species of birds in Cuba and 258 of them live in the park. The Zapata Wren, last reported in 1998 was again sighted on the 12th of November 2014, encouraging to the work the conservationists are trying to do.

There are 12 mammals in the park, 100 species of spiders, 16 species of fresh water fish and 13 amphibian species, mainly frogs.

The crocodile is the one species that is receiving the heaviest care. The Cuban Crocodile is on the endangered species list and can only survive in a 300 square kilometer portion of the Zapata Swamp.

There are three crocodile farms built with the intent of breeding the crocodiles and repopulating the area. The crocodile is the umbrella species in the area and vital to its ecosystem.

Even so, there is also the American crocodile on the island, and although they prefer brackish water to the fresher water of the Cuban Crocodile, there has now been at least one sighting of interbreeding.

The park also has a few human problems to deal with, hunting of the crocodiles for the hide, illegal since 1960s, fishing of the Gar Fish, and catching of the Cuban Parrot for domestication.

Other problems are Forest Fires, primarily in the dry season of November to April. Invasive species; the Melaluca bush that is so prolific it is easy to spot everywhere. The Lionfish is one they are keeping an eye on and then there is the catfish, grown for food on the island, but a 1998 tropical storm caused the rivers to run so high they escaped their northern farms and got into the local waters. And then, of course, climate change affecting everything from the loss of shoreline to salinity in the marsh area.

Our afternoon began at a crocodile farm at Boca de Guama. This was a sickening tourist trap that even sells stuffed crocodiles. Hard to understand how working this hard to protect a species is coupled with the blatant selling of its parts. At the park one walks around a small area gazing at crocodiles while passing by several stores and one large restaurant and bar.

A twenty-minute boat ride puts you at the center of this Guama Tourist Center and a replica of a Taino village. As you walk along raised wood walkways and over 5 bridges, you pass 25 sculptures by Cuban sculptor Rita Longa. Lunch was crocodile, chicken or squid. We did find it interesting that after a lecture of the success of catching catfish as the most viable eradication process, the catfish in the water, just over the railing of the restaurant, wasn’t on the menu. All and all the food was very good even if the setting left a lot to be desired due to its overly ridiculous tourist hype.

Rita Longa was one of Cubas finest contemporary sculptors, these are not representative of her finest work

Itinerary:

Early morning birding with Frank Medina
Depart for visit to Korimakao Project for interaction with artists, musicians and dancers (see Art in Cuba)
Depart for Boca de Guama
Visit the Crocodile Farm
Enjoy a short boat ride to our restaurant for lunch
Depart for Pinar del Rio
Dinner at our hotel
Overnight Hotel Villa Soroa

Why do I never remember to take pictures of my room until the morning we leave?