Hiking Winter Park Colorado

hiking winter park colorado

Sunday was beautiful. The cold front has finally passed through the rain is gone and we had a beautiful warm sunny day without any humidity.

My hostess is also a guide to the National Park System and Vinales is a protected natural habitat nationwide. He had planned a journey through a side valley of Vinales (Valle del Ancon) with 3 participants, an elderly couple from Germany and me.

The tour was great, we picked up by a local into a taxi and I'm about 20 minutes from the city and entered a local elementary school, which was several communist slogans painted on the outside. Political graffiti, paintings and message boards are very common in Cuba. Although there is no western style advertising, there are many political slogans (a collection of some of which I summarize to a point later).

It is a very strange experience when it comes from a Western capitalist country like Canada, then you see all these political slogans about Communism and defending Revolution. Truly fascinating indeed, a different world.

In our journey of 3 hours on foot through local fields, spoke about the local fauna, Special birds (the Cuban Trogan, vultures and other birds. He also talked about local agriculture, which always takes place with human labor, manual plows and oxen. We were introduced to crops such as Malanga (pureed and given to babies), cassava, potato variety sweet corn and yam.

A highlight was a 20 minute walk through a limestone cave through one of the hills Mogote. We've seen some interesting strange rock formations and plants even more light inside the pitch-dark cave. Our guide had illuminated the cave with a flashlight strong the 4 of us and it was an easy walk, without basement dwelling animals in sight, only one political slogan spray-painted on the cave (apparently this was a hideout for the revolutionary army at some point ..).

After leaving the cave, we found ourselves in a small valley uninhabited completely surrounded by mountains and we met a farmer aged 60, whose face and body slim leather gave the appearance of a man of 80 years, evidence from several decades of sun and hard work.

There was a flock of turkeys (with 61 chicks), a dog and some fields maize and beans. And in general, spends most of his days working manually in this valley, totally isolated, spending, sometimes in one night hut made of wood and palm leaves real national tree of Cuba. No radio, no television, no sanitation, no kitchen, just a wooden bed with coverage in a hut with dirt floor. Once again a reminder of how life can be different in this country ....

Then we crossed a small ridge and back into Ancon Valley, where we saw a Casa Campesino, a museum of traditional country house, which was also read a few years ago by Fidel Castro. Near the farm is a beautiful river that flows from a cave and 3 young Cuban teenagers were swimming and jumping in the water and many pleasure. The entrance to the cave is also surrounded by wasp-hives (if that word exists), so there are tons of wasp dwellings hanging rock formations.

We took the taxi back to town and still had 3 hours or less before I left the bus Viazul. 2 local teenage boys, Rider and Rigo, approached Me (and this is true in the style of the underground economy), suggested I rent a bike for $ 3 and take me for a palace or a private restaurant. I thought, Why not, he seemed decent enough. So I took the 3rd bike and went with them in the hills of Viñales.

It introduced me to a local family and the lady of the house served me with a complete vegetarian meal for $ 8.00. So I rented the bike for $ 2 for 1 hour and I went around Vinales and outside the city a bit to take some pictures of Mogotes. The bike ride, though short, was an excellent way to explore the city and its environs.

At 4 hours, I jumped on the bus back on Viazul and returned to Havana (La Habana). At 7:30 or if I got to the bus station and ended up having a Viazul "Cocotaxi" yellow cab 3-wheeled scooter-type rounded yellow roof partially covering the 2 seats at the rear and the driver in front.

The driver was initially set Cocotaxi your vehicle had a tire blown and he changed the wheels. The trip took about 20 minutes to the hotel and was definitely an experience. Then the INISTE inviting me to a drink and I said immediately that he was not interested in a funny business, I am a woman married, only here to study Spanish and not interested in romance. (Approaches romantic Cuban men and women from abroad is very common here).

He said that problem, just wanted to talk and sat in a conversation that was quite nice for some time until it begins to make moves on me, sometimes very explicit verbally on the road. I never felt physically threatened, especially since it was so short like me, but really angry against him and apologized to the end behavior.

However, This brief experience taught me to control my friendship and my openness a little with the locals, since things can be easily misunderstood in this culture ....

Another lesson ....

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

"Life is a Journey ­ Explore New Horizons".

The interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews

Outdoor activities in Colorado?

im to see your aunt in Denver. Me and my love to the outside. Snow time. I prefer to walk. Forest, sledding, skiing, watch, and a tour. Im. Both are to vail breckenridge, steamboat. Or winter garden. Is that. Be made in this general area. That. A range between about 2 hours. They and Denver. What fun. Do outside? im in February. So im not sure of the area. Im to the ski. A good thing. More. Any ideas whats fun to do. How.

All of the area. You mentioned a variety of skiing. Winter outdoor activities. In addition to skiing. Will have letters on foot. Of snow for skiing. I. That much is unknown, but the sledding. How is the weather and snow. Has decreased, you can raise. Both the number of cross-country ski snowshoe. Very good location status. You can. Try rapids. A number of. Hiking and around Denver during the month. Again in February. Based on the amount of snow. By. General enough to melt snow. Many places open. Check. Test Jeffco Open Space and Park, Colorado. Public place for walking. Forest near Denver. Http: / / www.co.jefferson.co.us/openspace/ http://parks.state.co.us/ you may. Look for Grayline tour hours http://www.grayline.com/.

Winter Park Wine Festival