A Day That Felt Like Stepping Inside Cuba’s Soul
After the moped adventure, I thought nothing else on this trip could surprise me. I was wrong. We signed up for a bus tour to a location called Gran Piedra. It was the kind that promises “local sights” and “authentic experiences,” though you never really know what that means until you’re in the middle of it.
The road carried us deep into the Cuban countryside, weaving through farmland, palm groves, and rolling hills. Tiny houses dotted the landscape, some leaning from age, most painted in bright colours that had faded with time. We passed farms with more skinny cows, laundry lines fluttering between trees, and children playing in their yards.
It was quiet and unpolished.
It was real in a way the resort never was.
A Hillside Garden of Birds of Paradise
Our first stop on the way to Gran Piedra, was a hillside garden growing Birds of Paradise — vivid orange-and-blue blooms that look like they’ve been designed by a painter rather than grown by nature.
The air felt cooler there, softened by altitude. The flowers thrive in the climate, bursting into blazing colour like tropical fireworks.
It was peaceful.
Simple.
Unexpected.
And it reminded me that beauty often lives far from the places we’re told to look.
The Giant Rock I’ll Never Forget: Climbing Gran Piedra
But the real highlight — the moment permanently etched into my memory — was Gran Piedra, the massive volcanic rock formation rising out of the mountains above Santiago de Cuba.
Locals called it a mirador, a lookout, but to me it looked like a boulder dropped by sky giants.
The climb began innocently enough with carved stone steps. Those soon shifted to metal steps, then to a narrow ladder welded directly into the rock.
Near the top of Gran Piedra, the handrails simply stopped.
No guardrails.
No ropes.
Just sky on both sides and a long, unforgiving drop below.
It was the first time I understood how sheltered my Canadian upbringing had been. Other countries didn’t wrap danger in caution tape. They trusted you to take responsibility for yourself. The climb up Gran Piedra was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.
The view at the summit came in flashes. Low clouds drifted across the Cuban countryside, opening just long enough to reveal glimpses of the deep green landscape, clusters of tiny villages, and what might have been the coastline in the distance.
Even through the mist, the view was worth every shaky step.
The Man With the Piglets in His Backpack
On the drive back through the Cuban countryside, the bus slowed for an elderly man walking along the road with a walking stick and a sack balanced across his shoulders. His pack wriggled, and then tiny piglet heads popped out!
Pink, curious, and impossibly cute.
I asked our guide if we could stop to take his photograph.
When asked, the man said, “no.”
And that was that.
So now I only have a memory of that moment, but it’s still so vivid I can still see those little faces today.
Sometimes the moments you can’t capture stay with you the longest.
Gran Piedra & Cuban Countryside: Quick Facts for Curious Travelers
Gran Piedra (The Big Rock)
- One of the largest volcanic rock formations in the Caribbean
- Located east of Santiago de Cuba
- Over 1,200 meters above sea level
- Known for sweeping views of the Cuban countryside, often surrounded by drifting clouds
- Part of a protected ecological reserve
Birds of Paradise Garden (Jardín Ave del Paraíso)
- High-altitude microclimate allows tropical plants to flourish
- Known for vibrant, oversized Birds of Paradise blooms
- A common stop on countryside tours in the 1980s–90s
Cuban Countryside Tours
- Typically included farms, coffee plantations, gardens, and rural lookouts
- Offered a quiet contrast to resort life
- Many tours still operate today, though the routes have modernized
Coming Up Next: A City, an Island, and a Night I’ll Never Forget
Part 5 begins with a private tour into the heart of Santiago de Cuba — a day filled with colour, contrast, and quiet truths — and ends with a New Year’s Eve celebration that brought the entire trip into focus. It’s the moment everything I’d seen, felt, and questioned finally came together.
Read the Cuba 1989 Travel Series
A five-part memoir of a trip that changed everything.
Part 1 — Arriving in Cuba: The Other Side of the Island
Part 2 — The Resort That Wasn’t What We Expected
Part 3 — The Moped Adventure Through Baconao
Part 4 — The Giant Rock & the Moment Cuba Opened My Eyes
Part 5 — New Year’s Eve in Santiago & Cayo Granma
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