Ryan and I hooked up with Devin and Alberto for a day of climbing at La Palenque Wall.
We decided to catch a taxi as it is slightly out of town (only a few km). Upon arriving we can see the classic Cuba Libre wall - it is a very steep long route that works its way out of a huge cave largely visible from the road.
Devin and Alberto are climbing a little harder than we are (Alberto is currently the top climber in Cuba), but we start out together on the vertical face on the other side of the road from the main Cuba Libre wall, where there are a few 10s to warm up on. Starting off on 'Socialism ? Oh Muerte' (10a), I am eaten alive by mosquitoes. Bad timing as this is the first day that I have decided to forego the long pants that I have worn the last few days to avoid this particular problem. With a rash of bites up and down my arms and legs, I still manage to have a good morning of climbing. We next jumped on La Kirenia (10d), Confiscado (11b), Allez, Allez, Allez (11a), and Mi Amore (11a/b). Being a bit slower climbing than Devin and Alberto, they decide to lounge on the grass across the street while we finish up the last climb, which takes us a little while - it being a little run out in a couple of places and phasing Ryan a little. I decide to just clean this one rather than lead it under the circumstances. Seconding wasn't too bad, though I am sure the headspace would have been quite different on lead.
Once we are done, everyone is in more of a mood for lounging than climbing, so we sit on the lawn in front of La Palenque - (also a touristy spot for a cave restaurant that we didn't even check out. Apparently on some Saturday nights they have a nightclub here in the cave which sounds fun, but I never did get to).
In the end, we don't even bother climbing in the afternoon, and simply hitchhike on an old tractor back to town (or at least most of the way back).
Friday, March 21, 2008
First day off
On my first day off, I thought I would try to do some sightseeing, so Ryan and I decided to try our hand out with the 'yellow jackets' - government workers wearing a yellow vest that essentially stop most traffic heading out of town to allow hitchhikers to ride with them. There is a queue, and he gives you a number that indicates your priority in heading a particular direction. As it turns out we time it quite poorly and end up waiting over 3 hours for a ride. Luckily, we met a nice Spanish woman waiting for the same ride, so we were able to pass the time chatting. Nevertheless, after 3 hours we had had pretty much enough, and Ryan suggested we give it another 15 minutes tops. 14 minutes later a truck came by and we all loaded in! Despite our wait, we had a great ride standing up in the back of the truck with all of the other passengers. The countryside in this area is quite scenic - lush and rural.
The ride itself costs 1 cuban peso (standard) - about 4 cents!
Our destination is a large cave outside of town that is quite well known. We have to walk a little from the sideroad where the truck lets us off, but it is a pleasant walk and not too far. Once we get to the cave area, we decide to avoid the tour groups and guides, and wander up the path to where the cave entrance is (we think). After a 10 minute walk up a trail, we arrive at the opening to the cave, but it is deserted and there is a fence and locked gate barring the entrance. We decide to just climb over the fence and wander in on our own since we have headlamps. Inside there are sections which are quite impressive cavernous sections, but probably not worth the $10 or $15 entrance charge. After about half an hour of exploring we hear voices and figure that we should lay low, but it is too late. The guide sees us and inquires how we got in. He knows we jumped the fence and suggests we simply wanted to avoid paying - which is partially true. We feel a little guilty, and are a bit sheepish about how it looks, but he is fairly cool about it. In the end, Ryan suggests that we make our way out so that he can pretend he never saw us and he agrees. We head out and down to the main information station, where we inquire about getting a guide (since we know that they probably saw us head up the trail, and wanted to make sure we had a story that would both keep us from getting in trouble and prevent the guide we had met from being interrogated about us).
The price for a guided tour is a little steep, and we don't really want to go back so we come up with an excuse and head back. On the way back to the main road, Ryan is feeling hungry so we decide to ask a family with some banana trees outside if we can buy a few bananas. They wander back to the house and come out with a bunch of bananas, not taking any money.
On the way back we get picked up by something that looks like a local van / bus - it is fairly empty, but people seem to use it as local transportation. They drop us off in Vinales and do not take any money (not even a Cuban peso). We are a bit confused about this, but happy to have had the chance to try yet another form of transport.
The ride itself costs 1 cuban peso (standard) - about 4 cents!
Our destination is a large cave outside of town that is quite well known. We have to walk a little from the sideroad where the truck lets us off, but it is a pleasant walk and not too far. Once we get to the cave area, we decide to avoid the tour groups and guides, and wander up the path to where the cave entrance is (we think). After a 10 minute walk up a trail, we arrive at the opening to the cave, but it is deserted and there is a fence and locked gate barring the entrance. We decide to just climb over the fence and wander in on our own since we have headlamps. Inside there are sections which are quite impressive cavernous sections, but probably not worth the $10 or $15 entrance charge. After about half an hour of exploring we hear voices and figure that we should lay low, but it is too late. The guide sees us and inquires how we got in. He knows we jumped the fence and suggests we simply wanted to avoid paying - which is partially true. We feel a little guilty, and are a bit sheepish about how it looks, but he is fairly cool about it. In the end, Ryan suggests that we make our way out so that he can pretend he never saw us and he agrees. We head out and down to the main information station, where we inquire about getting a guide (since we know that they probably saw us head up the trail, and wanted to make sure we had a story that would both keep us from getting in trouble and prevent the guide we had met from being interrogated about us).
The price for a guided tour is a little steep, and we don't really want to go back so we come up with an excuse and head back. On the way back to the main road, Ryan is feeling hungry so we decide to ask a family with some banana trees outside if we can buy a few bananas. They wander back to the house and come out with a bunch of bananas, not taking any money.
On the way back we get picked up by something that looks like a local van / bus - it is fairly empty, but people seem to use it as local transportation. They drop us off in Vinales and do not take any money (not even a Cuban peso). We are a bit confused about this, but happy to have had the chance to try yet another form of transport.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
through Cueva Cabeza de la Vaca (Cow's head cave)
On the third day, we meet up with Devin and the three of us head in through the tunnel Cave at the top of the steps (Cueva Cabeza de la Vaca), and through to the other side to Paredon de Josue. Devin is a Canadian climber and photographer who is down here for over a month.
Soon after starting, Henri and __, two young Cuban climbers in their early teens join up with us to climb on the same routes.
We warm up on Calentaddo Baterias (10b), Tarentala (10c), and Econommizando (10b/c). Chan Chan de Illusions (11b) has a bit of a tricky section early on that is quite technical with balancy footwork but very fun. I wish to do one more route and tackle Mujer, Peligro y Placerh (11a) - an exposed climb that starts just to the right of an obvious tufa stalactite. It is a very enjoyable climb, but run out in a couple of sections making it quite a scary route to lead.
Soon after starting, Henri and __, two young Cuban climbers in their early teens join up with us to climb on the same routes.
We warm up on Calentaddo Baterias (10b), Tarentala (10c), and Econommizando (10b/c). Chan Chan de Illusions (11b) has a bit of a tricky section early on that is quite technical with balancy footwork but very fun. I wish to do one more route and tackle Mujer, Peligro y Placerh (11a) - an exposed climb that starts just to the right of an obvious tufa stalactite. It is a very enjoyable climb, but run out in a couple of sections making it quite a scary route to lead.
Multi-pitch
The next day we ventured out to see if we could knock off three multi-pitch climbs. Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of trouble finding the first routes which were supposed to be side by side, and which we had expected to be easy to find as they are area classics. In the end, we only found one route and figured it was probably one of the first ones we were looking for. The first pitch of Mas Tarde (10b/c) scrambles a little up out of the trees to a belay station. The second and third pitches are stunning with great views and good solid climbing, finishing on a gorgeous ledge with views out over the entire valley.
Guao / Guano / Espina ('Poison Oak'/ 'Guano' (bat shit)/ 'Cactus Thorns') - (10b/c) is a similar climb very close by with a very difficult to find start that scrambles up through rock and dirt to a belay station among the trees. The climb itself is not really as enjoyable as Mas Tarde, but in part this may be due to the fact that it is still not as well cleaned.
With all of the searching we do not have time to attempt Huevos Verde con Jamon (11c), but decide to find it so that we know where it is. On a climb a few metres to its right, Alberto is pumping himself through Papito (8a). Alberto is currently Cuba's strongest climber - the few other stronger climbers that preceeded him having left the country when the opportunity arose.
Guao / Guano / Espina ('Poison Oak'/ 'Guano' (bat shit)/ 'Cactus Thorns') - (10b/c) is a similar climb very close by with a very difficult to find start that scrambles up through rock and dirt to a belay station among the trees. The climb itself is not really as enjoyable as Mas Tarde, but in part this may be due to the fact that it is still not as well cleaned.
With all of the searching we do not have time to attempt Huevos Verde con Jamon (11c), but decide to find it so that we know where it is. On a climb a few metres to its right, Alberto is pumping himself through Papito (8a). Alberto is currently Cuba's strongest climber - the few other stronger climbers that preceeded him having left the country when the opportunity arose.
Cueva Larga & Ana Banana
First day of climbing started out a couple of climbs in Cueva Larga.
This is a cave with roughly parallel walls about 3 or 4 metres apart that rise 30m to the sky visible above. It is generally shaded and cool on a hot day, and it is packed with climbs ranging from 10a to 12a.
I started out on Chipojito (10a) and Chipojo(10a), moving on to Papi (11a) - a variation on the end of Chipojo (and probably a little soft for the grade). All these the climbs are straight up (90 degrees), and well featured, with small stalagtites and roughly contoured formations - generally it takes more effort to search out the best hold option than to actually hold onto it.
Heading out from the cave and following the cliff wall for a hundred metres to the left (facing cave entrance), we encounter the classic Ana Banana (11b). This is a fantastic climb with a huge variety of climbing over the course of the continuously overhanging 30m that it covers. This was a nice climb to do at this stage since it had begun to rain. I was essentially dry on lead all the way up until the last 5 metres or so when the rain was refreshing and not too much of a hindrance - the holds at the time being slick, but sharp.
Just to the right an enjoyable layback crack called Pikin (11a) was a little easier.
In the same area, another fun climb was Bititi (10d). We then ventured onto Tiburon Siguoto (11b), which we had a much harder time than expected. It seems much harder than it looks - I struggled through it, but with difficulty.
Setting up a top rope for the climb next to it - Tacto Rectal (12a), we worked our way up this one, but having to make multiple attempts at two very difficult cruxes. The top is very fun and balancy, but making it over the primary crux at the slight overhang made us suspicious about the grade - there appears to be a small flake of cleanly broken rock where a crucial hand-hold may have appeared. As it is, it is doable, but this move feels like a very hard 12b move - but maybe its just us...
This is a cave with roughly parallel walls about 3 or 4 metres apart that rise 30m to the sky visible above. It is generally shaded and cool on a hot day, and it is packed with climbs ranging from 10a to 12a.
I started out on Chipojito (10a) and Chipojo(10a), moving on to Papi (11a) - a variation on the end of Chipojo (and probably a little soft for the grade). All these the climbs are straight up (90 degrees), and well featured, with small stalagtites and roughly contoured formations - generally it takes more effort to search out the best hold option than to actually hold onto it.
Heading out from the cave and following the cliff wall for a hundred metres to the left (facing cave entrance), we encounter the classic Ana Banana (11b). This is a fantastic climb with a huge variety of climbing over the course of the continuously overhanging 30m that it covers. This was a nice climb to do at this stage since it had begun to rain. I was essentially dry on lead all the way up until the last 5 metres or so when the rain was refreshing and not too much of a hindrance - the holds at the time being slick, but sharp.
Just to the right an enjoyable layback crack called Pikin (11a) was a little easier.
In the same area, another fun climb was Bititi (10d). We then ventured onto Tiburon Siguoto (11b), which we had a much harder time than expected. It seems much harder than it looks - I struggled through it, but with difficulty.
Setting up a top rope for the climb next to it - Tacto Rectal (12a), we worked our way up this one, but having to make multiple attempts at two very difficult cruxes. The top is very fun and balancy, but making it over the primary crux at the slight overhang made us suspicious about the grade - there appears to be a small flake of cleanly broken rock where a crucial hand-hold may have appeared. As it is, it is doable, but this move feels like a very hard 12b move - but maybe its just us...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Bienvenidos a Vinales
Arrived in Cuba in late afternoon and after asking around to see if anyone was heading directly to Vinales, gave up and headed for central Havana. The city is huge, and varies a lot. The central area where I stayed is quite old and looks a bit like an unkempt Buenos Aires.
I found a casa particular to stay in – basically someone´s home where you stay in a room of your own – on the 8th floor of a building which offered great views overlooking the city, though in this area it is pretty rundown. Inside, however, most of the furniture is gorgeous solid wood – very expensive looking old colonial furniture that is probably worth more than most people here make in a year.
Being pretty beat from the previous night´s lack of sleep, I wandered around a bit at night, but hit the sack pretty early so I could catch the bus early the next day for Vinales.
After a 3 hour bus ride, I arrived in Vinales – a small town, much more relaxing in atmosphere. You can wander around Vinales easily by foot, (and can walk to a vast array of climbs in the area). Again, most people here stay with local families who provide room and board at a reasonable price – also offering you the opportunity to brush up a bit on your Spanish. There is one casa in particular which is recommended for climbers – Ryan has a large section booked for the two of us with two separate bedrooms and a kitchenette (which they also use to prepare our food). When I arrived a couple of climbers had just left and another couple was leaving the following day. Strangely, however, after 3 days, we haven´t seen another climber in sight. There is one other foreign climber in town that we know of, but otherwise there is only us. This makes for easy access to climbs, but is a bit of a shame on the social side, and I was hoping to run into a bit of a climbers community in the area.
On our first day of climbing, we started out with a couple of moderate climbs inside a cave. The walls of the cave are about 3 or 4 metres apart and rise 25-30 metres, opening up to the sky. Upon reaching the top of the climbs, you are greeted by a cool breeze and bright sunshine – very nice. After this we tackled a tougher climb outside the cave – a long 30 metre slightly overhanging route called Ana Banana (11b). It has a great mixture of thin pockets, edges, and a couple of sharp crack jams (luckily only a couple). I managed to lead this cleanly, though was greeted with a downpour two thirds of the way to the top. After this, we tried a couple more before attempting a short 12a that may have had a few holds come off – it was an incredibly fingery climb with a crux at a slight overhang where you had to dyno from a couple of sharp two finger huecos to a sharp nubbin the size of 4 stacked nickels. From there an incredibly balancy section in which you try to grip onto what resembles a sharply textured stucco wall.
The following day we managed a couple of multi-pitch routes which offered commanding views of the farms below from 30 stores up a steep vertical cliff face. Looking down we could see hawks (or are they vultures) circling in the thermals below us.
Today we will be exploring another cave with a mixture of moderate and difficult routes. My fingers are starting to get pretty sore already.
I found a casa particular to stay in – basically someone´s home where you stay in a room of your own – on the 8th floor of a building which offered great views overlooking the city, though in this area it is pretty rundown. Inside, however, most of the furniture is gorgeous solid wood – very expensive looking old colonial furniture that is probably worth more than most people here make in a year.
Being pretty beat from the previous night´s lack of sleep, I wandered around a bit at night, but hit the sack pretty early so I could catch the bus early the next day for Vinales.
After a 3 hour bus ride, I arrived in Vinales – a small town, much more relaxing in atmosphere. You can wander around Vinales easily by foot, (and can walk to a vast array of climbs in the area). Again, most people here stay with local families who provide room and board at a reasonable price – also offering you the opportunity to brush up a bit on your Spanish. There is one casa in particular which is recommended for climbers – Ryan has a large section booked for the two of us with two separate bedrooms and a kitchenette (which they also use to prepare our food). When I arrived a couple of climbers had just left and another couple was leaving the following day. Strangely, however, after 3 days, we haven´t seen another climber in sight. There is one other foreign climber in town that we know of, but otherwise there is only us. This makes for easy access to climbs, but is a bit of a shame on the social side, and I was hoping to run into a bit of a climbers community in the area.
On our first day of climbing, we started out with a couple of moderate climbs inside a cave. The walls of the cave are about 3 or 4 metres apart and rise 25-30 metres, opening up to the sky. Upon reaching the top of the climbs, you are greeted by a cool breeze and bright sunshine – very nice. After this we tackled a tougher climb outside the cave – a long 30 metre slightly overhanging route called Ana Banana (11b). It has a great mixture of thin pockets, edges, and a couple of sharp crack jams (luckily only a couple). I managed to lead this cleanly, though was greeted with a downpour two thirds of the way to the top. After this, we tried a couple more before attempting a short 12a that may have had a few holds come off – it was an incredibly fingery climb with a crux at a slight overhang where you had to dyno from a couple of sharp two finger huecos to a sharp nubbin the size of 4 stacked nickels. From there an incredibly balancy section in which you try to grip onto what resembles a sharply textured stucco wall.
The following day we managed a couple of multi-pitch routes which offered commanding views of the farms below from 30 stores up a steep vertical cliff face. Looking down we could see hawks (or are they vultures) circling in the thermals below us.
Today we will be exploring another cave with a mixture of moderate and difficult routes. My fingers are starting to get pretty sore already.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Cuba - part 1 - getting there
I have been keeping an eye open for flight deals that will enable me to escape the long cold wet Vancouver winter for at least a brief respite. The top contenders are Bangkok and Cuba - both of which offer some amazing sport climbing. Bangkok offers the added attraction of amazing food on the cheap, while Cuba has been beckoning me for quite some time, and I may not have long before Wal-Mart replaces socialism and turns the culture on its head. I have also been keeping an eye out for cheap flights to London, since that might offer the chance to hook up with a relatively affordable flight to Zanzibar to visit Steph on her brief holiday from MSF in Darfur. While Cuban flights don't come cheap, Cancun flights are often on special and there are daily flights between Cancun and Havana.
Well, with Cuba having a slight lead to begin with, it turned out to be good timing. I ran into a friend at the climbing gym a couple of days before the New Year who was heading to Cuba for the month of January. With some incentive to get off my butt and replace my 'aspirational targets' with some hard tickets, I was able to find a flight to Cancun for under $200 (though it turns out to be $450 after taxes). A quick request for time off on very short notice, and only a few days later, here I am updating this new blog from a backstreet hostel in Cancun.
Getting from the airport was a bit of a worry for me since I arrived after 11pm. Some internet searching told me I might have to fork out $60 US one way from the airport(which would quickly add up to put a serious dent in my intentions to travel on a budget) As it turns out, the collectivos run until much later than many web sites suggest, and I found one- though I did have to wait for a while for it to fill up since most of the passengers promptly boarded large buses bound for their all-inclusive hotels. In the end they didn't even bother trying to fill a van- there was just two of us so they just put us in a taxi (owned by the same company that runs the collectivos). We took the scenic route into downtown Cancun (where I am staying), by driving through the hotel strip to drop off the other passenger - a woman from Nanaimo on a two week timeshare holiday. The strip itself reminded me of Las Vegas - clean and classy, but a bit sterile, unreal, and totally surreal for 99.9 percent of the Mexican population.
In the end, my driver managed to find my modest hostel even though it was tucked away on a small cul-de-sac which itself ran off a relatively small street. It seems fairly clean and tidy and quiet - hardly anybody seems to be here, but that is ok with me.
The morning started out a little rough - and these things seem to happen in 3's:
1 - While attempting to extricate my brand new toothbrush from my toiletry bag, it somehow springs out and into the air. With catlike deftness I snatch it as it passes at shoulder height. Unfortunately, cats do not have opposing thumbs so it simply bounces once off my hand and plops into the toilet.
2 - I am only a 20 minute walk from the bus station, so I decide to head out a bit early to walk and look around on the way with plenty of time to catch the 10am bus from the city to the airport. Unfortunately, when I am almost there, I realize that I still have the keys to the hostel where I am staying. Thinking that I can probably afford to catch the 10:30 bus, I decide to run back to return them. It takes me a little longer than I thought, but I manage to make it back to the bus station with about 10 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, in the process, and in the humid Mexican heat, I have turned my nice clean shirt into a soaking mass sticking to me like saran wrap.
3 - While I seemed to arrive on time, with the bus casually loading people, whoever was manning the ticket booth decided to go on a break - and they will not let me onto the bus without a ticket. They redirect me to another place where I can buy the ticket, but there is a lineup that takes about 10 minutes. In the end I buy the ticket just as the bus is pulling away and I have to wait for the 11am bus.
In the morning a little over-hyped about my impending adventure into an unknown (at least to me) part of Cuba, I feel a little like Indiana Jones. The day, however, seems determined to cast me instead in the role of Mr. Bean.
Luckily things get much better after this (can they get worse), and I make it intact into Cuba by that afternoon.
Well, with Cuba having a slight lead to begin with, it turned out to be good timing. I ran into a friend at the climbing gym a couple of days before the New Year who was heading to Cuba for the month of January. With some incentive to get off my butt and replace my 'aspirational targets' with some hard tickets, I was able to find a flight to Cancun for under $200 (though it turns out to be $450 after taxes). A quick request for time off on very short notice, and only a few days later, here I am updating this new blog from a backstreet hostel in Cancun.
Getting from the airport was a bit of a worry for me since I arrived after 11pm. Some internet searching told me I might have to fork out $60 US one way from the airport(which would quickly add up to put a serious dent in my intentions to travel on a budget) As it turns out, the collectivos run until much later than many web sites suggest, and I found one- though I did have to wait for a while for it to fill up since most of the passengers promptly boarded large buses bound for their all-inclusive hotels. In the end they didn't even bother trying to fill a van- there was just two of us so they just put us in a taxi (owned by the same company that runs the collectivos). We took the scenic route into downtown Cancun (where I am staying), by driving through the hotel strip to drop off the other passenger - a woman from Nanaimo on a two week timeshare holiday. The strip itself reminded me of Las Vegas - clean and classy, but a bit sterile, unreal, and totally surreal for 99.9 percent of the Mexican population.
In the end, my driver managed to find my modest hostel even though it was tucked away on a small cul-de-sac which itself ran off a relatively small street. It seems fairly clean and tidy and quiet - hardly anybody seems to be here, but that is ok with me.
A rough start
The morning started out a little rough - and these things seem to happen in 3's:
1 - While attempting to extricate my brand new toothbrush from my toiletry bag, it somehow springs out and into the air. With catlike deftness I snatch it as it passes at shoulder height. Unfortunately, cats do not have opposing thumbs so it simply bounces once off my hand and plops into the toilet.
2 - I am only a 20 minute walk from the bus station, so I decide to head out a bit early to walk and look around on the way with plenty of time to catch the 10am bus from the city to the airport. Unfortunately, when I am almost there, I realize that I still have the keys to the hostel where I am staying. Thinking that I can probably afford to catch the 10:30 bus, I decide to run back to return them. It takes me a little longer than I thought, but I manage to make it back to the bus station with about 10 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, in the process, and in the humid Mexican heat, I have turned my nice clean shirt into a soaking mass sticking to me like saran wrap.
3 - While I seemed to arrive on time, with the bus casually loading people, whoever was manning the ticket booth decided to go on a break - and they will not let me onto the bus without a ticket. They redirect me to another place where I can buy the ticket, but there is a lineup that takes about 10 minutes. In the end I buy the ticket just as the bus is pulling away and I have to wait for the 11am bus.
In the morning a little over-hyped about my impending adventure into an unknown (at least to me) part of Cuba, I feel a little like Indiana Jones. The day, however, seems determined to cast me instead in the role of Mr. Bean.
Luckily things get much better after this (can they get worse), and I make it intact into Cuba by that afternoon.
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