(bright, resonant music)
- [Richardson] During my stay in Cuba,
my girlfriend and I decided to visit Vinales,
a small town in western Cuba.
The area is protected by the Cuban Constitution
and was declared a national monument in 1978.
Since 1999, it has been listed
as a UNESCO World Heritage site
for it's outstanding landscape, traditional agriculture
and vernacular architecture.
- [Woman] It's so nice that you live here.
- [Guide] Yes.
(talking over each other)
- [Richardson] Look here, what's the name of the plant?
- [Guide] Mimosa plants.
- Mimosa? - Yeah.
- [Woman] This one looks pretty.
(talking over each other)
- [Richardson] We're heading to Santo Tomas,
Cuba's largest cave system
and the second largest on the American continent.
I'm not sure what to expect, but apparently
there are over 46 kilometer of galleries
on eight levels and no artificial lighting.
Our guide explained that these pictures
were taken in this cave
and we are about to get a glimpse
of Fidel Castro's revolutionary hideout.
- [Guide] We go down maybe 80 meter, and it's flat.
- Okay, let's go.
- Can you put your...
All right. - Does he hurt?
- Yeah, it's nothing.
- Ah! (chuckles) - Does it hurt?
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Okay.
- Look at this.
- Oh my goodness. (chuckles)
- You and this woman, very special tour.
(talking over each other) - That's so cool, yeah.
- The rock is formation for three different minerals.
White color is calcium, gray iron, black magnesium.
Here, you can see different formation columns
and stalactite, stalagmite, craters, scallops.
This stalactite is formation for a water filtration.
Grow one centimeter every 100 years.
And that's 4 million years old.
(rocks crunching)
Okay, here.
(shoes scraping)
Are you okay? - I'm okay.
- This is area number 5
in this cave. - Okay.
(rocks scraping) - Oh, you good?
- [Guide] Yeah, yeah, I'm okay.
- [Woman] Watch your back.
(bright, resonant music)
- [Richardson] It's this way, right?
- [Guide] Yeah, take right, yes.
(talking over each other)
- You okay? - Yep.
(water splashing)
Oh it's wet, it's still wet.
It leaks from the water here probably, right?
Was it high, the water?
- Yeah, it's full, full.
- [Richardson] It's beautiful.
- [Woman] So beautiful.
So crazy. (water splashing)
- [Guide] The water coming in from the roof there, look.
The water go down every time. (talking over each other)
- [Woman] That's so cool.
- Strong. (patting)
(voices echoing)
- [Woman] And it looks like this, yeah.
Does it sometimes get full of water?
- Yes. - Depending on the season?
(talking over each other)
- [Richardson] So sometime, it can come in?
- Yes. - This water, wow.
(talking over each other)
- You okay? - Yeah.
- You good? (rocks crunching)
- [Guide] What's here?
- See? - Calcium.
(talking over each other)
There, later.
You have one surprise later.
- [Richardson] Okay, perfect.
- [Guide] This is the stalactite.
These horizontal formations grow 2.5 centimeters
every five thousand years.
You can see only in this cave in Cuba.
- [Woman] Wow.
- [Richardson] That's beautiful.
(stalactites ringing)
- Wow! - Wow, that's really cool.
- Okay, thank you. - That's amazing!
(stalactites ringing)
- When we went in the cave, our guide made us turn
off the light of camera for a few seconds.
It was pitch black and dead silent.
If you visit Santa Tomas, make sure to wear suitable shoes
and be aware that the cave requires some steep climbs,
crawling, and scrambling over slippery rocks.
As long as you're not scared of bats or the dark,
you'll have an opportunity to observe underground pools
and interesting rock formation.
(bright, resonant music)
(birds chirping)
We're just waiting for our driver to come pick us up.
The tour just ended, it was amazing.
(talking over each other) Yeah, si.
I have to wash my hand.
I put all the mud on my face in the cave
because I was sweating.
I wanna make sure to remove that.
- You put mud on your face? - Yeah.
(woman laughing)
- 'Cause of the sweat, you know?
- [Woman] Did you turn into a real caveman
while we were in there? (distant speaking)
- Yeah, that's amazing.
Well, if you guys come here, I recommend
to bring a lot of lights because the one they have,
what they have the most is people
that will actually donate lights.
Because you don't really get this light off in here.
All these light were donated by tourists.
Woo, all right.
(bright, resonant music)