Peninsula de Zapata, Cuba
Zapata swamp is the natural habitat of the Cuban Crocodile, considered as a national symbol after its resemblance with the geography of the island.
Birding in Cuba, January 2017: Part 2 - Zapata Peninsula
This is the second of three videos covering a birding trip to Cuba in January 2017 and focuses on the Zapata Peninsula.
With thanks to Angel Martinez Garcia and Yoandys Correa for guiding us around Zapata and to Andy Mitchell at Cuba Birding Tours for arranging all the logistics.
All bird clips shot on a Panasonic GH4 with Lumix 100-400mm lens. Panasonic HC-X920 camcorder and an iPhone 7+ used for other general clips.
Travel Cuba - Hotel Guama at Cienaga de Zapata
This video shows our trip from Vinales to Cienaga de Zapata. There we had booked an overnight stay at the hotel Guama. The hotel is located in the national park and consists of cottages on stilts. Here you can see many birds.
Hotel Villa Guamá & Crocodile Sanctuary, Peninsula de Zapata National Park, Cuba, May 2016
We stayed here on the 15th May 2016 on our 12 day road trip around Cuba. The highlight was a 6.00am row boot ride up the fresh water river to watch the sun rise, a truly magical experience.
ZAPATA CUBA & YACHT GEORGIANA - Everything you need to know
The Zapata Peninsula has some of the best flats fishing in all of Cuba. In this video Jon Covich discusses all details of a fishing trip to Zapata, Cuba. From details of travel to and from Havana, to a history of Zapata, to a description of the amenities aboard Georgiana and all that Zapata has to offer for fly anglers, this video offers a complete picture of this trip.
Cuba | Zapata Swamp
Every year, the seasonal rains flood the Zapata swamp.
The inland lagoons multiply and the birds arrive to nest, the migratory species joining the local ones.
This is a time of abundance, and the mangrove forest comes to life with the movement of the many different species searching for food. Humming birds and orioles fly among the flowers looking for nectars and insects, while in the open, recently-flooded areas, there is a veritable explosion of life.
Millions of small invertebrates proliferate among the floating vegetation. The larvae attract the fish, and these the egrets, cormorants and storks.
With the rains, in the water millions of mosquitoes are born. But the majority of them never reach adulthood, as they are trapped by the specialists walking across the water-lilies and aquatic plants.
The long toes of the jacanas enable them to reach anywhere where there is a floating plant. Light and precise, they lift up the vegetation and catch the invertebrates that live below.
The American purple gallinule also uses this same technique, though in this case instead of an invertebrate it is going to find a surprise.
With the increase in available fish, the double-crested cormorants get ready to breed. These cormorants are normally migratory, but the subspecies floridanus, which lives in southern Florida and the Cuban archipelago, has become sedentary, perhaps because of the year-round abundance of the mangrove forests.
During the mating season, the double-crested cormorants gather in colonies which can contain thousands of couples, and build their nests on the ground or in the branches of the different trees of the swamp.
he need to find a mate, and the concentration of so many cormorants in the areas chosen to build the nests mean there are sometimes fights between neighbours, but these never go further than frantic beating of wings and a shriek or two.
On this occasion, the dispute is soon over. Their splashing around has attracted dark shadows beneath the water, and the cormorants have learnt to respect the sharks that swim into the estuaries.
A manatee is exploring the newly-flooded areas in search of weeds and pasture to calm its insatiable appetite.
Propelled forward by its rear extremities converted into a wide, flat fin, the manatee advances, escorted by a permanent army of fish that feed on the sediment stirred up by the mammal, and the algae and parasites that cover its body.
Every day, a manatee must eat vegetable matter equivalent to one tenth its body weight, that is, between 40 and 70 kilos, the equivalent of eating 200 lettuces a day.
Its incessant feeding activity is good for the mangrove forest because it clears the water channels, which otherwise would be overrun by vegetation in just a few months.
These peaceful sirenias spend their lives in the water, periodically coming out to breathe. It was during one of these pauses for breath that in 1492 Christopher Columbus spotted them – the first ever mention of the species – and confused them with the mermaids described by Herodotus. Today, the mermaids are disappearing. In the entire West Indies, including Cuba, there remain no more than 2,500. And, unfortunately, each year this number falls further.
The Cuban mangrove forest is still an unknown world concealing biological mysteries and treasures which will astonish the world; a forgotten paradise ruled over by an impenetrable hell of marshy labyrinths, myriads of mosquitoes and dangerous crocodiles.
Science has not yet studied the complexity of its creatures and the balance of its ecosystems. And that is part of the charm of the Cuban mangrove forest, knowing that it remains exactly as it always has been, impenetrable, solitary, virgin. It is such a complex world that virtually nothing is known about it. And nonetheless, all its strength and complexity, all its biodiversity and richness, are due to tiny, intrepid travellers that still today, faithful to their spirit, continue to set out on anonymous journeys, crossing the sea and sowing the seeds of paradise.
Kuba: Halbinsel von Zapata / Cuba: Zapata Peninsula - Reise-Video / travel clip
Natur- und Umweltschutz spielen auf Kuba eine große Rolle. Der in der Nähe von Santiago de Cuba liegende Baconao-Park wurde von der UNESCO wegen seiner Artenvielfalt zum Weltnaturerbe ernannt. Der Montemar Naturpark auf der Halbinsel Zapata seinerseits ist das größte zusammenhängende Feuchtgebiet der Karibik mit unzähligen Wasservögeln, Säugetieren, Reptilien und Amphibien.
Cuba. Peninsula de Zapata y bahia cochinos
Beschreibung
Peninsula De Zapata - Krokodillen Farm & Laguna del Tesoro - Cuba
Scuba Diving in the Bay of Pigs, Zapata Peninsula, Cuba #1
Scuba Diving in Cuba
Cuba in Pictures - Topes de Collantes, Havana, Zapata Peninsula, Trinidad, Soroa
Cuba is such a multi-faceted nation: galleries with brilliant abstract art and streets lined with Buicks and Chevys from the 1950s. Cities where the sounds of Son and Danzon get your heart racing; and a vast countryside coated with small organic farms, and where colorful birds flit about in mountainous protected reserves.
Crocodile farm in Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata (Bay of Pigs) Cuba
Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata is in Matanzas province of Cuba. The national park is one of best birdwatching areas in the world, plus it has scuba diving and beautiful beaches. It's on Cuba's south coast, in the middle of the country, about a two-hour drive from Havana.
During our stay in Cuba we visited the Bay of Pigs a few times. Most of you will immediately think of the invasion of 1961 when
they hear Bay of Pigs”. Everywhere we saw memorials along the way of soldiers who were killed during the invasion. In the Bay of Pigs we visited a crocodile farm. The crocodiles were grown to be eaten. First, we could see how they were fed but the meat smelled awful. The smell was almost unbearable and I find crocodiles repulsive beasts. After the tour we had lunch with … crocodile meat. I can honestly tell you that I didn't like the idea. I eat everything but a crocodile .... I gathered all my courage and put a piece in my mouth and tried not to think it was crocodile meat. To my surprise it tastes good, it tasted a bit like chicken. I never had thought that I ever would put my teeth in a crocodile.
For more information about Cuba...a special island take a look at my blog:
Cuba - Zapata Peninsula, Playa Larga, Giron, Caleta Buena
Najpiękniejsze plaże na południu Kuby sprzyjają zarówno słodkiemu lenistwu nad brzegiem krystalicznie czystej wody, jak i nurkowaniu lub też snorkelingowi. Do tego jeszcze obserwacja różowych flamingów na Półwyspie Zapata - czy życie nie jest piękne? Zobacz też zdjęcia na blogu Filmy z plecaka w artykule
Cienaga De Zapata Vacation Travel Video Guide
Travel video about destination Cienaga de Zapata.
Swamps, countless canals and natural watercourses are typical of the rugged landscape of Cuba's Cienaga De Zapata Peninsula. The Montemar Nature Park that is located in the southern part of the Cuban province of Matanzas is regarded to be one of the largest wetlands in the entire Caribbean.Prior to the Cuban Revolution the area was owned by ten powerful entrepreneurs.At that time, woodcutters, charcoal-burners and crocodile hunters worked within its mangrove forests.Of the park's one hundred and eighty varieties of bird, twenty-three are endemic and due to their large numbers they are relatively easy to observe.The landscape of the Salinas is totally different from the Matanzas. In this savannah-like environment the vegetation is quite scant, the earth arid and cracked. Approximately three hundred and forty-two varieties of bird have been recorded in Cuba and the majority inhabit the Zapata Peninsula. With its abundance of natural splendour the Cienaga De Zapata in the heart of Cuba is like a beautiful work of art created by Nature.
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ZAPATA CUBA & YACHT GEORGIANA - Quick Facts
This is one of two videos I have made regarding fishing the Zapata Peninsula in Cuba aboard the boat Georgiana. This is a condensed version, highlighting the trip and what makes this area so special.
Cuba, Peninsula de Zapata.MPG
parque nacional: Peninsula de Zapata y rio Hatiguanico
PENÍNSULA DE ZAPATA (CUBA) - MUCHOCUBA
PENÍNSULA DE ZAPATA (CUBA). La península de Zapata pertenece a la provincia cubana de Matanzas, en el sur de la isla. El Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata se encuentra en este territorio de alto valor ecológico, donde es posible encontrar especies endémicas como la jutía de Garrido.
GoCuba.ca - Zapata Peninsula
Video of Zapata Peninsula in Cuba from GoCuba.ca
Cienaga De Zapata Vacation Travel Video Guide
Travel video about destination Cienaga de Zapata in Cuba.
Swamps, countless canals and natural watercourses are typical of the rugged landscape of Cuba’s Cienaga De Zapata Peninsula. The Montemar Nature Park that is located in the southern part of the Cuban province of Matanzas is regarded to be one of the largest wetlands in the entire Caribbean. Prior to the Cuban Revolution the area was owned by ten powerful entrepreneurs. At that time, woodcutters, charcoal-burners and crocodile hunters worked within its mangrove forests. Of the park’s one hundred and eighty varieties of bird, twenty-three are endemic and due to their large numbers they are relatively easy to observe. The landscape of the Salinas is totally different from the Matanzas. In this savannah-like environment the vegetation is quite scant, the earth arid and cracked. Approximately three hundred and forty-two varieties of bird have been recorded in Cuba and the majority inhabit the Zapata Peninsula. With its abundance of natural splendour the Cienaga De Zapata in the heart of Cuba is like a beautiful work of art created by Nature.
--------------
Watch more travel videos ►
Join us. Subscribe now! ►
Arcadia Television Live TV:
Be our fan on Facebook ►
Follow us on Twitter ►
--------------
Thanks for all your support, rating the video and leaving a comment is always appreciated!
Please: respect each other in the comments.
Expoza Travel is taking you on a journey to the earth's most beautiful and fascinating places. Get inspiration and essentials with our travel guide videos and documentaries for your next trip, holiday, vacation or simply enjoy and get tips about all the beauty in the world...
It is yours to discover!