Viñales

The West of Cuba is quite different to the East. This area is more lush and fertile with the rich red soil, fields of tobacco and coffee and beautiful birdlife against a background of limestone mogotes.

The pace of life is slower here by necessity rather than design. The roads are in the poorest condition, making a trip to the sea a two hour marathon one way.

So far we've spotted over 50 species of birds which is pretty amazing.

What makes me sad as our trip comes to an end is that the situation here isn't because of external forces but from within. People have to operate within a system that is broken and they have found ways to do that.

It isn't fair or easy to know that as we go back to our comfortable lives, people here will continue to struggle. Some people hope for change while others doubt that it ever will. I hope they are wrong. Given a chance Cuba could be so much more than it's allowed to be.Read more