Okay, Let’s Try This Again

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So we were supposed to be in Cuba last week over the Holidays however our plane left without us, 11 hours prior to the originally scheduled departure time. Who has ever heard of such a thing? I certainly haven’t but can tell you that it will never happen to me again. We started checking and rechecking flight plans over a day ago. So far so good. And so we have spent the week here trying not to mope around in anticipation of getting on that plane and heading out this week. Admittedly I am finding it difficult to get back the level of sheer excitement I was experiencing last week but hopefully that will return once we are safely on the plane and on our way.

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Sort of like this except in real trees rather than in a greenhouse.

From a plant-lovers perspective alone our trip should be nothing short of fantastic. We are staying in a UNESCO Biosphere nestled within the Sierra Maestra mountains and located just outside the city of Santiago de Cuba where there are a reported 138 endemic plant species in addition to all sorts of tree ferns, cacti, and epiphytic plants. I’ve still not decided exactly which film cameras I will be bringing but I have stocked up on extra digital camera cards to avoid any situations that would require deleting images in order to make room. I can’t wait to make all kinds of amazing discoveries and I can’t wait to come back and share those here with you (okay maybe I can wait to come back).

All-in-all not a bad way to start the year.

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Like this but 20,000 times better. And with tarantulas. (At the Montreal Botanical Gardens. Oct 07)

Until then, I want to wish you all a very relaxing and enjoyable New Year. See you in 2008!

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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4 thoughts on “Okay, Let’s Try This Again

  1. there’s a terrific botanical garden outside of cienfuego–it used to be owned/managed by harvard before the revolution. The guide we had when I was there was terrific. Museo de Hemingway also has nice grounds (though not as well taken care of as one would like).

  2. Oh man that would not be good. I was particularly worried about luggage going to Cuba because you can’t get replace much there! I had a lot of carryon as a result of my paranoia.

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