Finally off towards Havana with a stop at Soroa to see Cuba's largest orchid garden at Orquideario. Here the local guides have to climb up and down the steep path up to 12 times a day leading the groups really got fit around the 35,000 sq m site.

Tumbling down a landscaped hillside garden next door to Hotel & Villas Soroa is a labor of love built by Spanish lawyer Tomás Felipe Camacho in the late 1940s in memory of his wife and daughter. Camacho traveled round the world to amass his collection of 700 orchid species (the largest in Cuba), including many endemic plants. Though he died in the 1960s, the Orquideario, connected to the University of Pinar del Río, lives on with guided tours in Spanish or English.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/soroa/sights/parks-gardens/orquideario-soroa#ixzz3wpGArnuP

With now more than 25 000 orchid species from different parts of the world, including around 100 Cuban species. The garden also has 6,000 species of other ornamental plants, trees, and flowers that represent the national flora of several countries.

With around three hundred species, including a number of endemics, Cuban orchids form an important component of the broader Caribbean flora, and have connections both with those of Meso-America and North America.

http://wikimapia.org/15578510/Soroa-Orchid-Botanical-Garden

 




























































































 

 









































































































































  
At last arrived back to Plaza Hotel as darkness fell. My room 420 was still kind of a construction site in the final stages of being renovated. However with dust was everywhere and the bathroom floor all covered in water, it was a relocate to room 207. It had another scrapping tight door to open, but had hot water with good pressure, plus in its favour twin beds in the larger room. Great for repacking!

The group farewell dinner which most went to La Moneda Cubana with an 8 pm (20:00) departure time. So we had a bit of free time. Theory was that as I had 2 hours to see a bit more of Havana, return for a much needed shower before dinner. Didn't quite happen.

Having caught the tail end of sunset down at the Malecon with the fishermen and locals, walking back up Paseo de Marti (Prado) I noticed that at each intersection there was a policeman with a red light stick and hardly any vehicular traffic. Then outside the Hotel Inglaterra next to Gran Teatro de la Habana there was a crowd waiting. Five buses were parked up nose to tail in front of the building. Plus plain clothes security with their black cars and a few uniform policemen. Who was it? Raul Castro had entered the Gran Teatro de la Habana at 4 pm to open the building after it was restored. No one knew when he was due out and were waiting for a glimpse of him. So did I waited for over an hour. With 8 pm (20:00) looming, I left but with the traffic disruption Leo and Jose were late as well. They got to the hotel at 8.15 pm (20:15). No time for a shower. When we left I saw that Raul had left the Gran Teatro de la Habana as the buses and security had just left.

Dinner was shredded beef CUC$18 / US$18 / NZ$28. I should have had the seafood platter. Tracey presented Jose and Leo with our group gift.