"Marea del Portillo, Granma Province" by YanetT

I love the Sierra Maestra mountains and will put more photos here soon. I have 5 albums' worth but no scanner, sorry. Here are few from my saved collection, of Marea area and some of my Cuban friends.

This photo is taken through glassless window at Hotel Farallon del Caribe. The hotel is situated on a lovely bay that goes out into the ocean and choral reefs.

Yanet

This beautiful spot is about two hours from Marea del Portillo. An hour and half by horseback through the Sierra Maestra Mountains and then a hike up some rocky terrain, but it was all worth it, and a chance to slide down the rocks into the cool water.

We were then treated to an amazing lunch, campfire style, spicy chicken, rice and beans, yucca and a cooler full of beers to refresh us.

Not far far Marea on the road to Santiago de Cuba you will come across this amazing view of the highest mountain, 2005-meter Pico Turquino, in Cuba and this range of mountains.

This beautiful ecologically protected park called Desembarco del Granma National Park,SW corner of Granma Province. This area of Cuba is full of history of the Revolution, as the region is named after the boat that landed at Playa Las Coloradas near Niquero in 1956.

For caving enthusiasts there are many areas in Cuba (this one, and Vinales, that have caves to explore.

In the village of Mota not far from Marea del Portillo, there is a cooperative store, where local Cubans go to buy their produce, alloted by coupons, as they are restricted by amount of food, rice, etc. they can receive each month.

I was allowed to take this photo in classroom in town of Mota, Granma Cuba. Very old fashioned, no high tech here and definitely needed a new blackboard.

If you visit Cuba, especially in the outlying areas, take some pens, pencils, chalk, erasers and paper for the schools.

the typical Cuban house with a palm leave roof and walls is called a "bohio". These two houses were near the beach and home to a friend of mine.

The amazing thing about bohios, is when you go inside they are so clean and spacious. The high peaked roof, lets the air flow through and the vented wooden slats for windows keep the house cool. Usually there is a concrete floor and off the main room are curtained rooms bedrooms and a kitchen at the back, sometimes a bathroom but that may be outside as well.