Rancho San Vincente

Pygmy owl, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody. They were our favourite three, but we saw so many more! 

From what I can remember:

Grey lizard bird, Cuban green woodpeckers (two lots feeding families in a hole in a tree trunk - never seen that before), grey cat bird, scaly necked pigeon (we had to feign interest at the sound of a pigeon but it was beautifully sleek), mockingbirds, nightingales, yellow faced warbler (maybe), Indian woodpecker, belted kingfisher, green & blue heron (one that caught a frog), emerald hummingbird, North American redstart. I forget the rest but hopefully can find them from photos.

Panchon, the bird guide was great and loved his job, happy to spend time taking us to a local walk from our Casa too when we arrived home. He spoke some English but not much, yet somehow we still shared the enjoyment of nature with him.

His twin brother hoped he might move to Havana with him and his family but he couldn't imagine the noise, pollution and lack of green space. It has never been easier to understand someone's point of view. We love Havana, but living there compared to here?! 

We've whiled away the afternoon with a walk into town and a fabulous tortilla in 3Js, followed by rocking chairs on the shaded roof terrace (with the vultures swirling) and chatting with a guy who has arrived from the travel company we booked through. He's just started there and it was enjoyable finding topics of interest to chat about.

I bought two postcards in town, remembered the word for a stamp this time and understood enough vocabulary to find our way to the post office to buy them.

Before dinner, I nipped out for a stroll and asked half a dozen people for their photo, practising my Spanish and a little white lie of saying they were my photo for today. I'm fairly certain it will be a bird but imagine:

- Craftsperson burning letters into a wooden souvenir
- Singer smiling as he sang and played the guitar from a bar balcony
- The ration shop (fascinatingly stark and empty)
- The huge crowd queuing for pharmacy goods
- Old fashioned barber's seat outside a house with an older gentleman enjoying the sun sitting beside it (he called for his wife to join the photo shoot!)
- A pair of feet sticking out high up on the viewing terrace of the football pitch. His friend pointed me out so I 'chatted' to him about Leeds United in my limited Spanish recital. 

I had fun!

The three of us ate another wonderful dinner courtesy of Tomasa before heading to bed. It's been the relaxing energy giving day we had hoped for.