My favorite place to go hiking.

This is my first post this year for the Weekend Engagement, and I want to thank Galen for bringing up this topic.

Actually,at the beginning of last year, I shared with you all a post about a hiking route my husband and I did in my favorite place, the pine forests of Sumidero, in Pinar del Río, Cuba.

I've told you many times about that beautiful place where I was born and spent my early years, and that I return to whenever I can to visit my mother and reconnect with my roots. The pine forests near my mom's house are full of paths and trails. It's not an area with marked routes, and hiking isn't common there, so every outing is an adventure and a challenge. The images I'm sharing today are from a route we did during a visit last July.

A few years ago, we decided that every time we visited my mother, we would explore a new trail, and that's what we've been doing. Unfortunately, this past holiday season we couldn't go because my joints were still recovering from the chikungunya virus that's been bothering me since early November (and it still has me out of action) 😬. This time, my favorite hiking spot was left waiting. From the front porch of the house, I looked out at the pine forests, and a feeling mixed with nostalgia and sorrow washed over me. I hope that by the time we go back, I'll be in good shape and can get back to my walks.

I have a pending goal, to find a hidden waterfall in those mountains. We've gone out twice looking for it and haven't found it yet, but I hope to share my discovery with you all someday 😉.

_{The text is my own; I used DeepL to translate it. The images were taken by me and my husband, who authorized their publication.}