Breakfast at 7 am so that on paper we could leave at 7.30 am to try and beat the anticipated crowd climbing to Commandacia de la Plata. Did we leave at 7.30 am? Of course not.

Back into the two 4x4's for the drive to the 5 km to the end of the road at Alto del Naranjo. The wide concrete road was really steep and no wonder why we had to take the 4x4 to go from 250 metre asl up the 700 metre asl. Now at 950 metre asl and after a briefing by Anatoli our local guide, we started the 3 km walk along what seem to be along a ridge descending to 930 metre asl. Half way along we stopped for a toilet break and to pay our CUC$5 / US$5 / NZ$ 7.70 for using our camera. Finally reached via the rocky track Commandacia de la Plata.

The cocina or kitchen still has the remains of the tree where the meals were cooked at night. Why at night? So that the smoke couldn't be seen. That plus the branches at the top of the tree dissipated the smoke.

The highlight was seeing the Casa where Fidel Castro stayed for 6 months between May and November 1958. His king size bed and infamous white fridge with a bullet hole caused by an aircraft gun remains. This kerosene powered fridge was carried by 8 guys up here. It was the only building that we could not enter.

Topping a crenelated mountain ridge amid thick cloud forest, this pioneering camp was established by Fidel Castro in 1958 after a year on the run in the Sierra Maestra. Well camouflaged and remote, the rebel HQ was chosen for its inaccessibility and it served its purpose well – Batista's soldiers never found it.

Today it remains much as it was left in the '50s, with 16 simple wooden buildings providing an evocative reminder of one of the most successful guerrilla campaigns in history. It's easy to appreciate the site's strategic location. The main site, culminating in the Casa de Fidel (Fidel's House) is approached via an open space, then a climb through thick trees.

Highlights include the small museum, near the beginning of the complex, the masterfully designed Casa de Fidel with its seven concealed escape routes in case the Revolution's leaders got discovered, and the steep climb up Radio Rebelde to the radio-communications buildings where the rebel's early broadcasts were aired. The hospital buildings, a wake-up call to the brutality of guerilla medical care, lie far below along a separate path (positioned here so the injured wouldn't give the camp location away in their agony).

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/gran-parque-nacional-sierra-maestra/sights/landmarks-monuments/comandancia-de-la-plata#ixzz3x1jHkZXG

Returning we stopped for another toilet stop, coffee and some fruit before continuing back to our two 4x4's.