Al Oriente... above and below ground.

Saturday morning we set off walking south without many expectations or a plan and came back after:

Hiking along the black beach past the dilapidated stadium...

Our biblical guide, chauffeuring us over the flooded crossing.

we crossed the flooded passageway with a boat of jolly fisherman, following the same jolly fisherman through a swamp to the next boat which took us to the other side of the flooded river.....where we balanced along a tipsy a rickety boardwalk....

Crossing with care

arrive in busy little mud streets full of busy people doing busy chores, to climb up a hill, with our new friend, Alejandro (who learned about the world from Vietnamese and Russian soldiers, that taught him how to fight, so he could go to volunteer Angola in 1987, only to return to his family’s farm to receive a government pension and be friendly and happy in the country)

Alejandro, giving me a anon

continuing along the main road/track to the residence of the Fuente coconut farm, where we met Mr. Fuente, who led through his muddy and flooded coco nut fields, 

down two cliffs, to La Cueva del Agua, which we climbed inside of.... 

Cueva de agua.. less ominous then we thought.

 and swam in the "ice cold" (as Mr. Fuente called it) mountain water, 

Inside the deepest part of the cave 

then climbed out of to return along the mud path, back up the two cliffs, through the coconut fields, past the goats to the farm so we could eat fresh coconuts and passion fruit with the Fuentes,

The fruits of our success

then, realizing the time (just an hour before our only bus to Havana) to run back along the main track, down the hill, back through the busy street, over the rickety bridge, back across the two flooded crossings with the different jolly fisherman....

The best mode of transportation.. and it floats!

over the black beach, back to town… (well really to market to buy more chocolate!) We made our bus!