Cuba far away

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Rock Climbing Program in Cuba
MCS AlexClimb Rock Climbing School

In one of his speeches, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, said: the revolution was done by climbers and cavers!

The leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, with his associates in the Sierra Maestra Mountains

This statement was based on the real historical facts: during the guerrilla war against the Batista regime, Cuban revolutionaries fought in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, where, due to the complexity of the terrain, they often had to use mountaineering equipment.

In cases of particular danger, the heroes of the revolution hid from the enemy in numerous deep caves, where it was impossible to get without a rope.

Revolution Square in Santiago de Cuba in the Sierra Maestra Mountains

Despite such rich historical background, mountaineering, rock climbing and speleology have not developed in Cuba until recently.

Fat officials even began to put a spoke in the wheel of the climbing progress - for a long time in the Viñales National Park there was a ban on climbing and equipping new routes. But socialism is the father of immunity to stupid prohibitions - most of the climbers paid no attention to the ban and climbed for their own pleasure.

Communism is when nothing is allowed, but everyone does it

The situation has changed radically since 1998, when European climbers first visited Cuba. They began to explore the rocks in the area of Viñales, small town located 170 kilometers from Havana, in the province of Pinar del Rio.

The time machine was invented by science fiction writers. But, as it turns out, traveling to the past can easily become a reality - all you need is just a little of imagination and sufficient budget to buy a ticket to Cuba.

It's amazing how much the age of the car park determines the feeling of the epoca

Having arrived in Havana, we set time on our watches back some eight hours and found ourselves in the past by about 40-50 years. Although, judging by the cars on the street, then it easily could be as much as 80.

Cars are the first thing that catches your eye as soon as you find yourself in the urban bustle of Havana, the capital of Cuba.

The car park in Cuba consists mainly of early Soviet and ancient American cars, all Soviet cars were produced in 1975-85, American ones - in 1940-50. All rarities are running and in active use, thanks to the climate, lack of alternatives and caring owners.

Ancient American cars in Cuba are not a luxury, but important means of transportation

A bit later came a more subtle, but no less powerful feeling of something painfully familiar for Russian people, native and long forgotten. Something from childhood. Despite the palm trees, tropical heat and skin color of the local population... That is Socialism. After all, for the heirs of the Soviet era, this is their genetic past.

At the first glance, there were no obvious signs, only a fleeting feeling, an elusive atmosphere, something painfully familiar in the expressions of the eyes of passers-by and numerous works of modern Cuban art.

The communist theme of numerous compositions and installations does not surprise or irritate anyone in Cuba. Society, as a whole, has survived this period of its history without upheaval, the attitude of the people towards soviet past is more nostalgic than radical.

A quote from Che Guevara - A person's life is worth more than all the wealth in the world. I wonder how this thesis is consistent with an armed struggle with anyone?!

In the center of the huge composition, decorating the façade of the bus station, was the elderly, mustachioed ideological inspirer of the revolution - Jose Marti, merged in a creative impulse of the artist with horsemen flying in the background with drawn sabers.

On the left, a column of stern workers and peasants marches with the slogan "No tyranny!" Very modestly, but with dignity (there is no cult of personality of course), in the right corner there was Fidel Castro himself.

Cuba as it is

With a piercing gaze and a wise fatherly smile on his stern bearded face, he points the thick barrel of a machine gun at something hidden in the distance and invisible to the viewer - (most likely at a happy future). In the background, there are all the enemies of the revolution merged with the dense tropical vegetation - scoundrels-traitors, gamblers, prostitutes...

By the way, as many Spanish expressions pronounced in Russian, the slogan Huye Batista is consonant to something very different although still offensive!

There are no other ideas in contemporary Cuban art, one can say

Like many other things, beef trafficking is prohibited in Cuba; for illegal trade or even consumption, you seriously can go to prison - this law appeared in Cuba during the times of isolation and acute food shortages - cows were kept only for milk and work in the fields.

The imbalance in agriculture as a result of this restriction took the form of widespread breeding of pigs and poultry.

Cuban cow - he who laughs last, laughs best

Due to some geopolitical peculiarities, all the roosters in Viñales are nervous, anxious, half-plucked and tirelessly screaming.

It is quite possible that premature baldness is associated with continuous stress and the threat of reprisals in the master's kitchen....you must agree, if you live in such conditions from childhood, it will definitely lead to a serious mental disorder.

Cuban roosters all are rebels and guerillas at heart

- Strange, it's not at all the correct time to scream, - I noticed, going to bed and hearing the ringing trill of a rooster...

Two hours later, struggling with my jet lag and unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep plugging my ears from the incessant cock-a-doodle-doo every twenty seconds, I got an idea of what I would ask the host to serve for dinner the next day.

When in the morning the polite host asked what the guests wanted for dinner that day, the answer was unambiguous - a rooster.

- What kind of rooster would you like, roasted or boiled?

- It doesn't matter, but please the loudest one!

Everyone pointed a finger at the innocent-looking culprit of the night's disturbance, walking around the yard. Nevertheless, the death in the soup of a comrade did not teach anything to his feathered fellows.

The next day it became clear - in Viñales there is a real rooster mafia, which takes revenge on the hated tourists for the untimely death of the night screamers.

The solution of the rooster problem not in favor of the rooster

The picturesque Viñales Valley is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The landscape of the valley is heartbreakingly beautiful: a strange combination of the flat red fields and high hills of the very special shape, which the local population calls mogotes.

Cuba, Viñales Valley

Steep, often sheer at the base, rock massifs with caps of dense thorny vegetation on the tops, is cut by deep karst galleries and caves.

Mogotes are an ideal natural relief form as like it was specially created for rock climbing and caving.

A relaxed walk in one of the many karst caves in the vicinities of Viñales Valley

The Viñales Valley, in its relatively small area, is home to a wide variety of rock relief forms.

Everywhere within walking distance from the town you can find smooth walls up to 200 meters high, caves with huge stalactites and bizarre dripstones, powerful rock overhangs with tuffs - plant roots that have grown through the rock and turned into bizarre columns.

The base of the mogote hill with a huge 50-meter grotto

Roughly plowed fields of red clay alternate with massifs of characteristic gray rocks, with a surface like frozen ocean ripples and frequent vertical ribs, sharp as knives.

Curious Cubans, not burdened with an excess of labor obligations due to the favorable climate and specific government structure, soon appreciated the new sport.

My Cuban climbing partner climbs the Esplendido 8a+ route

The number of climbing routes grew, and the number of Cuban climbers grew as well. Today, the Viñales Valley is a large popular climbing center, with a large number (more than 3,000) of interesting rock climbing routes from 5 to 8 grades.

The local climbing community, experiencing enormous difficulties with the equipment, which is impossible to get in Cuba, nevertheless, constantly equips new climbing routes, develops new rock bastions - bolted routes appear almost daily! Every year, more and more climbers from Europe, Asia, the USA and Canada come to Viñales to spent there their fantastic rock climbing vacations.

Rock climbing Guidebook 2005, second edition published in 2023

The trail goes steeply up the gorge, and soon we find ourselves in a large bright clearing, surrounded by rocks on all sides. This is "Ensenada de Raol" - the place of our first close acquaintance with the rocks of the Liberty Island.

What a freak of nature - it would seem, what is February for northern people? It is deep winter. In Moscow, gloomy frozen people dig up huge snowdrifts every morning, hoping to find their cars...

And here in the Viñales Valley the rocks overgrown with cacti, agaves and palms, even in the shade are hot to the touch... It is almost impossible to climb in the direct sun - it's good that at these latitudes the sun does not rise to its zenith - you can always find rock surfaces sheltered from the direct heat.

Rocks in Cuba - an ideal alternative to a dusty indoor gym

We hung our ropes on the first several easy routes on the shady side, warmed up. Soon a crowd of Cubans arrived, we met some of them the day before.

The language barrier is a problem only for those who are not interested in communicating! Despite the obvious lack of Spanish in our group, immediately began a lively conversation.

Rock climbing is the best way to communicate in the whole world

In the friendly conversation we remembered mutual friends - the subjects of the most famous soviet cartoons: The Cat Matroskin, Pechkin the postman, the poor Wolf and the cunning Hare. Soviet cartoons, as it turned out, are very popular among Cuban climbers.

Some photos sent from Moscow made a huge effect - the sight of the snow caused a storm of emotions - never in history the temperature in Cuba dropped below zero.

Then, all together, we went to climb in the climbing sector of Cueva Larga (Big Cave). It is unlikely that we would have been able to find this place on our own. A narrow, inconspicuous canyon is hidden among a pile of stones and bushes. Through it you get into a large and very high oval-shaped cave.

We climb some various interesting 7a-b in the silence and coolness of the cave

About five meters wide at the bottom, and twenty meters long, Cueva Larga is an open at the top natural well with walls about 50 meters high - an ideal shelter from the daytime heat and a cool place for rock climbing at any time of the day, since the sunlight gets inside in a diffuse form, leaving all the heat and sultry air outside.

The opportunity to climb in a cave is a priceless gift for those who want to do rock climbing during the daytime heat

About twenty routes of 6 and 7 difficulty grades are laid along the walls of the cave. The rock climbing is very special here, on the smooth dripstones and stalactites, sometimes you have to use as holds the large transparent quartz crystals.

The next few days we climbed in different climbing zones, each of them interesting and unusual in its own way. Personally for me the route called "Wasp factory, 7b" was especially memorable.

The author of the text climbing the Wasp Factory route

The route is 35 meters long (there is nothing to do in Cuba without a 70-meter rope) and it goes along a forty-degree overhang and ends on a giant stalactite about 15 meters long.

The name of the route comes from the fact that there is a large colony of wild wasps nearby - their elongated honeycombs hang on the rock in large numbers. Such a neighborhood adds a decent amount of adrenaline to the rock climbing...

Most of the rock climbing routes in Cuba are overhanging and very gymnastic

But, seriously speaking, wasps are usually busy with their own business and are not aggressive. During our stay in the sector, only one guy managed to get bitten, and that happened by pure chance - apparently, the wasp confused its house with the poor guy's T-shirt.

For being the true paradise, there is only one thing missing in the picturesque valley of Viñales. That is as that great location does not have the sea nearby. Seacoast is located 50 kilometers north of Viñales, and the trip to the beach takes about 1.5 hours.

The sea is always good of course. But boring

On the fourth day of our rock climbing training, we cut our schedule in half and went to the beach after lunch.

Our neighbor - a doctor who lived in the house nearby to the ours and was a happy owner of a luxurious 1945 Chrysler New Yorker helped us with a transportation to the sea.

Such rarities, especially on everyday use, can probably only be found in Cuba

Approaching the coast, the doctor asked if we did not forget to take our passports with us. Having learned that we had not just forgotten our passports, but had deliberately left them in the safe place, he got very upset.

It turns out that getting to the beach in Cuba is not always so easy - there is a check point system, and you are allowed to swim only after showing your documents.

A wooden barrier blocked the road. Two stern officials with large guns looked suspiciously at our car. Fortunately, I had my driver's license with me which could confirm my foreign citizenship. Otherwise, they might not have let us to go...

The oldest profession in the world is not what you think, but a barrier opener

The reason for such strictness is that the northern coast of Cuba is especially popular with Cubans who want to illegally move to the neighboring United States. To the delight of sharks, many go into emigration by swimming or using some improvised floating shit. The distance separating illegal travelers from their goal - the United States - is only 100 kilometers, so if some really want to, they can swim away on air mattress.

Besides of that, the barrier happened to be a very successful business - for its lifting, we had to pay five euros each.

One thing I as a climber just don't understand ... how is it possible to spend more than one day on the beach and not to die from boredom?!

The sea... To be more precise, on this side of Cuba it is the Atlantic Ocean. But geographical correctness is not so important in that case.

The dazzling beach of white sand stretches for tens of kilometers to any side. The water close to the shore is a muddy azure color as the surf lifts sand from the bottom. But if you look seaward - in 200 meters from the shore, the muddy turquoise cloud ends and the water takes its normal, dark blue-green color.

A day off from rock climbing can be dedicated to a full-fledged relax

I brought a mask with fins with me and the first thing I did getting to the shore - was go snorkeling. By the way, diving is a many times proven best addition to rock climbing training.

Snorkeling close to the shore was useless because of the turbidity raised by the surf, but where the water was not so shallow the transparency of the became ideal and one could enjoy an amazing world of bizarre coral reefs.

Occasional beach trophies

The first thing I saw when I dived to the reef was something that looked very much like two colorful wings of a huge butterfly. These wings lay on the flat top of the coral exactly opposite each other, at a distance of a little more than a hand stretch.

Intrigued, I swam closer and, literally from a distance of half a meter, discovered between the wings a thick fish, completely covered with long spines, completely merging in its body color with the coral relief. Actually, what I took for wings were the fish fins.

Then I got frightened by a very large fish, more than a meter long, similar to a tuna, darting to the side from behind my back.

Cuban sports schedule - three days climbing one day relaxing on a beach

After all swimming fun we lay on the warm sand and listened to the roar of the ocean surf until the evening. Somewhere I heard that it was the very first sound that appeared on earth... After enjoying the magical spectacle of the sun setting into the sea, we headed back to Viñales in a perfect mental state ready for the rock climbing training the next day.

Amazing sunset in the Atlantic Ocean. However, sunsets are beautiful everywhere

An unexpected extreme was waiting for us on our way back. The passengers of the vintage car wished to know at what speed our iron horse was racing along the poorly paved road.

On the dashboard in front of the driver, there was only one light working, and the pointer of the speedometer was absent. To help people to obtain the desired knowledge, I turned on the GPS navigator to get the idea about the speed.

The doctor sitting behind the wheel turned on the high lights (which were working at least two meters in front of the car), and began to peer intently at the small display of the navigator, pressing the accelerator down to the floor.

The car was getting speed slowly. The road was dark and almost invisible. Passengers in the rear seats fell silent, those in the front closed their eyes. The doctor fiercely pressed the gas, deciding once and forever set a speed record for a car of this age category.

- 75 km/h... (the sharp bumps gave way to smoother ones - the asphalt ended),

- 80 km/h... (how did he guess there is a road turn?),

- 85 km/h... (we rushed past a dark village, from under the wheels were heard sharp pig squeals and chicken feathers flashed in the lights),

- 90 km/h... (after a deep hole, the asphalt began again),

- 100 km/h! (who would have thought that it can do it!),

- 103 km/h... (according to the crunch in the suspension, the asphalt ended again).

Full of happy satisfaction, the doctor released the accelerator... The passengers exhaled and asked for paper napkins to wipe their cold sweat.

The next day, everybody in Viñales knew that the doctor's rattletrap could run more than a hundred km per hour. But I was asked not to take out the navigator while driving with local homemade racers.

Definitely risk is a noble cause, but in the morning no one could understand how it was possible to accelerate to 100 km/h on this road?!

Author of the idea of Cuba climbing trip, of the text and photographs - Alex Trubachev

Your mountaineering and rock climbing guide in Cuba and, in general, throughout all Latin America

MCS EDIT 2024