We were back on the road today heading to Cienfuegos. On the way we stopped at the El Nicho Waterfalls, a beautiful national park where we hiked through the dense forest to reach the falls. Located in the Sierra del Escambray mountains it is said to be Cuba’s most beautiful.  El Nicho is the name given to a series of waterfalls along a mountain stream. The area was ripe with diverse vegetation in the mountains – at every turn the landscape seemed to change. Banana trees were layered up the mountains and palm trees majestically looked down on the forest.  It is an ideal place for those who love nature tourism and there were several tour busses emptying out into the parking lot. The falls are picturesque and nestled in a verdant jungle with natural swimming pools. Carlos and Sacko went swimming while the rest of us wandered and photographed. The water was very clean and clear with a beautiful blue color.  We ate in the little restaurant right outside the park – the larger restaurant inside the park, while more upscale, was government owned and so we (Americans) were not supposed to eat there.

We arrived in time for lunch in Cienfuegos, checked into our casas and then met up with another Cuban photographer Aslam Ibrahim Castellon Maure for street photography in Cienfuegos.  Aslam walked us into an edgier neighborhood just two blocks off the main square. It was great for people pictures. After an exhausting day we had a late dinner in a small restaurant along the bay and retired for the night.