Loma del Seboruco
Seboruco's first day
As a hiker, each elevation 🏞 is a different challenge and each peak has a particular charm. On this occasion, it was the highest point in the province of Pinar del Río: the journey to Seboruco begins.
A few years ago, the hill known as Seboruco was another, but after a relatively recent political-administrative division, this hill snatched from his neighbor the category of the highest point and, incidentally, also took the name (this would bring us problems later).
Left by truck 🚚 from the bridge at 100 and Autopista at 9:00 a.m. sharp; we arrived quickly in San Diego de los Baños, and by 10:30 we were there. People spread out to buy pizza, malt, and some occasional refreshing beer 🍻.
The instruction of a forest guard and the fortuitous arrival of an empty bus took most of us to La Vigía, located only 3 km away by road. Some stragglers were buying food and those of us who waited for them had to walk there 🚶, which served as a warm-up for the journey that was beginning. Unfortunately, we would later understand that it was a mistake to attempt the road through this entrance.
After meeting up with those who had arrived on the bus and resting for 10 minutes, we started on our way.
In the beginning, the road was very sunny 🌞, with trees with little shade for shelter. Around 1:30 p.m. we stopped for lunch. The heat, the physical effort and the lack of food (since breakfast at 7:00 a.m.) made me start to feel sick, so I stopped for a while in the shade and drank some honey to recover.
We followed the trail, guided by the map until we reached some ruins near the house of a farmer who lives in the area and his family. He showed us the way to the river, which involved going back and turning off the mapped trail, climbing a small elevation and then heading towards the water path.
Around 6:00 p.m. we arrived at a good place to camp ⛺️: a meadow in the yard of a farmer’s house, 15 m from the river, with a low grassy area ideal to place the tents. The owner of the house wasn’t there, but that didn’t stop us from taking over the place, always respecting other people’s property.
After setting up camp, we bathed in the river and ate the food we brought from home. With the dark, some started to play games, others to listen to music, while I tried to take pictures of the stars ☄. With a cellphone camera it’s a bit complicated, but feasible. Among all celestial bodies, the trail of the Milky Way and the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio caught our attention.
Seboruco's second day
At 6:00 a.m., a companion and I got up to explore a trail and decide if it was possible to make the ascent that way. After almost an hour of walking, we arrived at a river crossing that went in the wrong direction, so we returned to camp to leave with everyone in the other direction. When we arrived, at almost 8:00 a.m., breakfast was not ready yet, so we had to wait for a while before leaving. One group stayed in the camp, so we were able to walk without carrying weight, which allowed for faster progress.
Around 10: a.m. we began our hike. When we reached a junction, I went ahead to explore while the group waited. After verifying that this path was the right one, we all continued along it. After half an hour of advancing 🚶, we reached another fork that brought us closer to the exit trail and the ascent of the hill, which was convenient for the return.
We began the ascent, but the vegetation 🌴🌴🌴 quickly obstructed the path, so we took out our machetes and hacked up our way up. Although we could see a trail (because of the closed road) the progress was very slow.
We had ground peanuts for lunch at one o’clock in the afternoon and continued walking until 3 o’clock. When we climbed a small elevation, we gave up continuing our advance because we were tired, there was still a stretch to go and there was no more road, we had to cross with machetes. The return was quick, the road was already marked and was mostly downhill. When we arrived at the camp, we found the food was almost ready: yellow rice with meat in sauce 🥘, the hunger contributed to feeling it delicious, although we have to give credit to the cooks, who took great care. After bathing in the river, we sat down to talk, play cards and rest, preparing for our return the next morning.
Seboruco's third day
We woke up in the morning, with the sun rising behind the mountains 🌄, creating a paradisiacal image. After getting ready, we started our way back, which was very fast since we knew the places we were going to pass through.
At one point, due to coordination problems, the group split up, some of us returning by way La Vigía while others continued to San Diego. Almost at the town, we stopped for a swim in a river that crossed the road. After refreshing ourselves, we finally arrived in San Diego de los Baños. We went to a local cafeteria to eat pizza while we waited for the truck that would take us back to Habana*. It arrived at the agreed time. 2:00 p.m. and we got on it to make the return trip again.
Despite not reaching the objective, it was a good trip and I enjoyed it a lot 😄.
Note: All images are of my own 📸
Hey, what a great experience! Are there any groups like this that do these excursions?
Yes, it was a great experience. And yes, in Cuba we have the Movimiento Cubano de Excursionismo (Cuban Hiking Movement), which is like a macro-group, and several little groups (mine's name is Escambray). But these groups aren't exclusive, anyone who wants to go on a trip with us can do it. In fact, in the Seboruco excursion, there were people from Escambray and Colín, and several others that don't belong to any group at all.
Do you have a website? Or WhatsApp group? I saw in a Google search that you have Facebook but I don't use it.
The Movement (MCE) has a Telegram channel, and an Instagram account. And every group has its chat on WhatsApp. If you're interested, write me into my Telegram.
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