A Cuban nature adventure | Opinion

I recently returned from Cuba. With all the news of countrywide black outs and hurricane damage, I wasn’t sure we should go.

Travel to Cuba remains feasible from the United States for now, although it requires a special visa. We were instructed to check the box for humanitarian aid and participated in an educational endeavor as part of the program. All in all, it was an easy trip, and one that I’m glad I made. 

The first week was spent scuba diving on a live aboard boat in an archipelago called the Gardens of the Queen National Park (Jardines de la Reina), a marine protected area that lies about 60 miles from Cuba’s southern coast. We took photos, videos, and recorded the species we saw.

Our group was a mix of biologists, journalists, humanitarian professionals and businesspeople with a shared love of nature. The wide-ranging conversations on conservation and world events were enlivened by experiencing an abundance of marine life. Each day we dove up to four times, led by local dive masters. 

Gardens of the Queen has banned commercial fishing since 1996, except for a well-regulated artisanal lobster fishery, making it a destination among divers looking for big fish. 

As part of the education component of our visas, we were encouraged to pick a specific fish species and record its abundance at each dive site. There were numerous species of groupers. I picked the Nassau grouper — a big-lipped predator easily identified by a black square near the base of the tail. Most beguiling was a goliath grouper nicknamed Lola. She was the size of a giant pig, reportedly more than 40 years old. She trailed behind us like a giant Labrador retriever, charming us all.

On many dives we were swarmed by Caribbean reef sharks and silky sharks. It made me nervous. To distract myself, I examined each shark for its inevitable remora fish attached by a sucker. Remoras glean parasites off the sharks and eat food scraps that escape their jaws.

Our dive masters pointed out the hidden critters like moray eels and octopus. I especially loved the night dives when luminescent comb jellies and blizzards of plankton glittered in our lights like an underwater cosmos. It was good for the soul to see an area with such abundance of marine life.

After a brief visit to Havana, we went in search of birds — my passion. Although Cuba is a poor country, it is rich in bird life. And, because of its isolation, there are many bird species in Cuba that are endemics, meaning they are found nowhere else on earth. 

We hired one of Cuba’s top birders named Alejandro Llanes Sosa to be our guide. First we traveled to the Zapata Swamp near the famed Bay of Pigs, in search of the secretive Zapata wren — a tiny bird with a boisterous song. We caught only glimpses of it, but we reveled in its music. American flamingos, wood storks and other abundant waterbirds made birding like sampling treats in a candy store.

We especially hoped to see Cuba’s special hummingbirds, including the glittering Cuban Emerald and the world’s smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird, locally known as Zunzuncito.

Alejandro took us to the home of a poor farmer named Bernabe. Bernabe and his wife live on the edge of a dense forest. They love the hummingbirds and have created a haven for them. Many of the feeders Bernabe makes are rustic affairs made of empty cigar cases. The hummingbirds don’t care. The sugar water he provides is a reliable source of food.

The threats to these tiny gems are many. Loss of habitat and hurricanes have taken their toll. Before the last hurricane, Bernabe coaxed the hummingbirds inside by bringing the feeders into his home. Then he enclosed the hummingbirds and feeders in a mosquito net to protect them. The house creaked and groaned all night, but withstood the hurricane winds. The next morning, after the hurricane passed, he released the birds and put the feeders back outside. 

Even if the winds don’t kill the birds, the hurricanes blow all the flowers off the trees, which can cause the hummingbirds to starve. Bernabe’s many feeders tide them over.

To cover the costs of sugar, Bernabe carves and sells wooden replicas of the hummingbirds. We bought four carved hummingbirds, which our friend Winfred Van Wingerden has made into a mobile for his daughter Eva’ s first child: Lily Hope. I am hoping they will inspire her to become a bird lover.

Our final day was to Viñales, a UNESCO world heritage site where karst mountains rise above a lush valley. I wished we had more time to explore but we managed to see several more local specialties including the Cuban solitaire, Cuban trogon and Cuban pygmy owl. Alejandro took his job very seriously and in four days we saw 21 endemic bird species. 

Across Cuba, we saw birds thriving. Kestrels dotted the powerlines and sat atop broken palm trees where they nest in cavities. In North America, Kestrel populations have plummeted due to pesticides, and lack of cavity nesting sites. Cuban farmers do not have the money for expensive and toxic pesticides favored by their North American counterparts. We met several farmers who proudly showed us their crops and their natural and organic pest controls. A side benefit is that the forest fringe is filled with bird song and dazzling displays of colorful feathers. Nature abounds.

Cuba exceeded my expectations. I would urge anyone with an interest in nature to visit. By visiting you are helping local people and providing much needed income to a beautiful but struggling country.